Samuel Cole Salon | Raleigh NC

February 20, 2008 (RALEIGH, NC) – Jack and Joelle Ray, the husband-and-wife team behind Samuel Cole Salon in North Raleigh, will help select the runway models for STRUT, a televised fashion show to be held in North Hills on May 3, 2008. The Rays’ salon was selected as “Official Salon” for the show, which means their stylists will create all of the hair and make up designs for the event.

Auditions for models will be held at The Mint on Fayetteville Street in downtown Raleigh on March 4. STRUT organizers Brian Williams and Betzi Hekman say they will need over 30 men and women to model clothing and accessories by top designers with Raleigh “roots,” including Miranda Laughlin, Amy Stephenson, Guy Marshall, Elizabeth Yarborough and Holly Aiken. Several Raleigh-area boutiques will also participate in the show.

The Rays will be on hand at the auditions to make sure the models selected also offer opportunities for high-end hair designs.

February 1, 2008 (RALEIGH, NC) – Samuel Cole Salon, an award-winning hair salon in North Raleigh, will serve as the Official Salon for STRUT, a gala fashion show to be held in downtown Raleigh on Saturday, May 3, 2008, beginning at 9 p.m.

According to producer Brian Williams of Brian Williams Television, STRUT will spotlight new collections by top designers with Raleigh roots, including Miranda Laughlin (dresses), Amy Stephenson (jeans), Guy Marshall (boots), Elizabeth Yarborough (jewelry) and Holly Aiken (bags), plus fashions from several local designers and boutiques. And when the models strut down the catwalk in the designers’ couture, they’ll also be wearing hair and make up created by the stylists of Samuel Cole Salon (www.samuelcole.com).

“The behind the scenes action of a fashion show has more electricity than any other type of live production,” said Jack Ray, senior stylist and co-owner of the North Raleigh salon with his wife, Joelle. “All the creative energy and effort coming together to create a vision that will walk down the runway – it’s quite a rush. We are excited to be chosen for this amazing opportunity.”

Besides the cameras capturing the show itself, which will be televised on CW22 (Channel 2), more cameras will capture the excitement and frenzy backstage as the stylists prepare each model for his or her turn on the catwalk.

“Our stylists from both salons are very excited,” Ray said. “This is a fantastic opportunity for our team to showcase their talents and really be involved with fashion in the full context of hair, clothing and makeup.”

STRUT will feature live musical and dance performances along with the fashion show, Williams said. The specific venue will be announced soon, along with advanced ticket information. Social The Magazine is a partner in the venture.

Are you adventurous? Willing to try something new? We’re looking for male and female hair models to assist our stylists with their on-going, state-of-the-art education. Each week we work on new and exciting trends in cuts and colors, and we need men and women who will welcome what could be a completely new look – for free! If you have available time on Monday, Tuesday or Thursday mornings and would like to be a Samuel Cole Salon hair model, send us your age, gender, current cut and color and, and contact information and we’ll contact you as the need arises.

August 17, 2007 (RALEIGH, NC) – For the second year, Samuel Cole Salon in North Raleigh has been voted one of the Triangle area’s “Best Hair Salons” and “Best Color & Highlights” destination in the Best of Citysearch audience poll. Every year the popular online guide to U.S. cities asks its users and editorial staff to vote for the best restaurants, bars, salons, spas, shops and services, then publishes the results. Samuel Cole Salon is owned by hair stylists Jack and Joelle Ray. After seven years in operation, they made many changes to the salon, from altering their hiring and training procedures to bookkeeping and inventory coordination. “We altered anything that wasn’t working perfectly,” Joelle said.

Soon afterwards, their client based doubled, then continued to grow by 50 percent over the next two years. When the space next door to them at 240 Newton Road became available, the Rays leased it immediately and began a major enlargement and renovation of the salon. In July, that effort was well-rewarded when Salon Today magazine named Samuel Cole Salon ‘”First Runner Up” in its annual décor competition, second only to the grand-prize winner, Frederic Fekkai’s newest salon in New York City. A member of the Bumble & bumble network of high-end salons in America, Samuel Cole Salon “is setting the standard for salons in Raleigh,” according to American Salon magazine, which featured it in the July edition.

“It’s a very inspiring, very uplifting salon,” Joelle Ray told the magazine. “It feels good to be here.”

A list of the most popular categories in Citysearch’s nationwide “Best of Citysearch” services list can be found at http://national.citysearch.com/feature/41890 or under their respective category and city.

July 8, 2007 (RALEIGH, NC) – In keeping with their commitment to provide on-going education for their stylists, Jack and Joelle Ray, owners of Samuel Cole Salon in North Raleigh, recently hosted a five-hour Wella hair care class that introduced the salon’s staffs to The Wella Corporation’s new “Wellastrate” and “Voluminate” products. Pamela Mackowiak, a professional service educator with The Wella Corporation, presented the class.

According to Mackowiak, Wellastrate is an effective yet mild hair-straightening, cream based preparation developed to straighten very curly or frizzy hair. Formulated in two versions for different hair structures, it contains Jojoba oil which, Mackowiak says, protects the hair. “Voluminate” is a demi-permanent product (lasting six to eight weeks) that adds volume, texture and natural movement to hair that couldn’t otherwise hold hairstyles.

“Wellastrate works as a curl reducer and as a excellent means to tame unruly hair, making it more manageable” Joelle Ray said. “Yet it’s not as intensive or as expensive as the Japanese Silk permanent hair straightener, which takes five-hours to complete.” (The Japanese straightener is only available at Samuel Cole Salon, not Salon Moxie.) “Voluminate” is “great for those who want more style options,” Ray said, “but it’s not a long-term commitment like a permanent wave. And it can be used on color-treated hair.”

According to the Rays, every stylist at both salons receives regular in-salon professional training such as this class, as well as continuing education from instructors at Bumble and bumble University in New York City, a graduate school for hairdressers. The classes and workshops are mandatory for both salons’ staff.