April 09, 2008 (RALEIGH, NC) – Jack and Joelle Ray, the husband-and-wife team behind Samuel Cole Salon in North Raleigh, recently served as judges to help select the 2008 “Salons of the Year” winners, a national salon décor competition sponsored by Salon Today magazine.
The Rays were asked to help judge this year’s winners after Samuel Cole Salon — remodeled and enlarged last year — received the magazine’s 2007 First Runner Up honor, placing second only to the grand-prize winner, Frederic Fekkai’s new salon in New York City.
The “Salons of the Year” competition focuses on new and newly remodeled salons. The magazine’s panel of editors and art directors evaluate all the entries and narrow the field down to 20 salons.
The judges then view seven to 10 photos of each remaining entry and score them in six décor categories: (1) use of color, (2) lighting, (3) flooring, (4) efficient use of space, (5) consistency of design, and (6) overall aesthetics. The salon with the highest score is the grand-prize winner and will be featured on Salon Today’s June cover. The next highest score is first runner-up. The second, third and fourth runners-up follow the same progression. The remaining salons are designated “Salons of Distinction.”
“Judging was lots of fun as well and it was an honor to be asked participate,” said Joelle Ray. “The process was more difficult than we thought it would be because there were many unique, interesting, and innovative designs to choose from.”
All of the winning salons will be published in the June edition. Based in Lincolnshire, Illinois, and published by Vance Publishing, Salon Today is a leading business magazine for fine salon and spa owners. Its sister publications include Modern Salon, Process, and Renew magazines.
