23 Years in Business

There are a lot of books out there detailing how we go about starting a small business but truthfully none prepare you for the love affair you are embarking upon.  Like any passionate love affair you will want to pull your hair out at times, you will definitely want to break up and walk away and you will never want to leave the embrace.  A small business can be a chokehold and a vehicle of freedom, all on the same day!  Talk about a roller coaster ride.

Owning a hair salon was the main purpose of my life for so long I sometimes forgot to breathe while waiting for enough money to pay the rent, taxes and payroll.  Looking back I can now see that although I didn’t feel like I could breathe the reality was I could, was and still am.  I am much better at it now.  I breathe all the time, mindfully and with intention.  This has helped more than I can ever say.  Thank you yoga.

We are looking  ahead to our 23 year in business and we have come to a great place, with great people.  It has been an amazing journey with awards, accolades and much industry respect but it still boils down to one thing and one thing only,  the people we serve.  Without the incredible people we have had the honour of styling over our 2 decades in business our victory would be hollow.  The lives we have interacted with and affected have left us stronger and happier and better professionals.  For this we give you our endless gratitude.

Irresistible Peachy Pink

This is a beautiful example of the power of a great consultation.  This client originally came in wanting dark plums but after a thorough consultation using the Village Consultation, Heather determined that the client really didn’t want to go dark but thought dark was her only option for a fun color.  Heather also made sure that her client was ready and able to take care of a pastel blond and everything that is required to maintain her hair in optimal health.

This client started with 4-5 inches of natural level 6 regrowth from a full high lift color with some highlights done with  bleach.

1.  full head bleach application to line of demarkation, started in the back with 30 vol and 20 vol in the front – lifted to level warm 9 using De Colour B Diamond Lifter
2. Olaplex  #1
3. pink toner – Framesi Eclectic  – 0.5 9.62 +  0.1 pure pink +  0.6 clear + basic developer 1:2
4. peach toner – Framesi 2001  0.75 clear  +  o.25 9.43  +  10 vol (1:2)
5. applied pink at zone 1 ( one inch) and small diamond section at crown root to end and alternated pink and peach on panels following diamond shape along each quadrant
6. Olaplex #2

At home – Olaplex #3 once a week, Framesi Primer 11 Intense daily or with every wash, shampoo and conditioner with Color Lover Smooth Shine.

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October Lash Special – 20 % Off

Gorgeous Semi Permanent Lashes by Brandy.  Perfect for travel and everyday.  Give yourself an eye lift or just look “done” all the time.

When I travel I get a new set of lashes, lipstick and sunscreen and I’m always ready to go anywhere from the beach to the restaurant or dancing after.

This picture below is a picture Brandy took of my sister’s lashes after a full set.  They are just beautiful.  I see a lot of false eyelashes out there that just look like a strip of lashes, not individualized like what Brandy does.  She has over 50 choices of curvature and length and it’s your face shape that determines the shape she creates.

For the month of October, Village is offering 20% off a full set of Lashes!!

Call to book 905-542-9555

Autumn Reds

This fall red seems to be especially hot, thanks to actresses like Emma Stone, Bryce Dallas Howard and Hannah Murray. It’s not just celebrities that want red,  I have a lot of people in my chair asking for red highlights, red lowlites, red sombres and strawberry blond.

Soft creamy blond ribbons beside beautiful champagne reds and deep burnt amber with apricot hues.  How do we resist colours that sound so gorgeous?

The real question is how do you know which one is right for you?  Red can be tricky for a number of reasons.  First it requires commitment to proper home care.  Second there are just so many shades.  We used to have some strict rules about what skin tone can wear red but we are trashing a lot of those rules now.  There is a red for everyone.  We just have to do it right.

How do you satisfy the urge to go red?  It may be enough to have some red in your hair, for example as a low lite or a highlight.  When the red is not the primary colour that you see then the tone is not as important as if it were the main color reflecting on your skin.  When you don’t want to see any orangey tones in your red it is best to go a little darker.  If you want to try red but don’t want to be dark then maybe a strawberry blond highlight is for you.  One of the tricks to making red look real is to make sure there are a few colours in the hair so that there is depth and different tonal values working together.

Creating red is one of our favourites at Village and we will be happy to discuss any and all color with you – in fact we could talk about it all day long!

Stylist Profile – Brandy Eberhardt

Brandy is simply one of the best people to work with.  You don’t need to ask me, just ask her happy clients. 

She is a great blow dryer and famous for her long-lasting red-carpet blow out. 

She also studied hair and aesthetics.  This combination has led to a special knowledge of face shape and that is why she is so good at Lash Extensions. Her Lashes are wonderful and make the morning routine so easy – no mascara needed.  When I am wearing lash extensions I look as if I have had an eye lift – no surgery required.

In 2009 she was part of my Contessa collection, “Vintage Love”, for which I was nominated as a Finalist for Canadian Session Stylist of the Year.

 She was invaluable on set and we needed her ‘get it done’ attitude.

I admire how she is not afraid to ask for what she needs in order to bring her creative best to her clients.  In fact knowing what you need is half the battle and she takes the time to understand that.  For her clients this means that they are always well taken care of.

She is very reliable, clients and team members can count on Brandy to always work hard and do what she says she is going to do.

She is a great hostess and you will never leave her house hungry.

She always opens her home to friends family and colleagues. 

She has two amazing dogs.

She is a natural blonde (am I allowed to say that?)

Simply put, we love her.

Stylist Profile – Sebastian Raya

Sebastian has taught me to be calm.  He is always the calm in the storm, in fact his calm can blow the storm away.  This attitude is most apparent when he is doing extensions.  He is by far the most time efficient extension artist I have ever seen. The kicker is that he never seems to move quickly when he is doing them.  His intense focus and smooth manner of moving get the extensions in quickly and accurately.

It is important to Sebastian that his clients love their hair and he knows that the same solution will not work for everyone.  He works hard to be very skilled at what he does so that he can offer the right extension solution for everyone.  My sister and business partner, Shannon, has worn extensions for over 10 years.  The only days she has gone without are the times where she has to wait a day between taking old ones out and putting new ones in because Sebastian is booked with other clients.  It’s important that her own hair remain undamaged.  That’s why for fine hair like Shannon’s he uses Great Lengths exclusively.  The bond leaves the hair strong and the extension hair is 100% human hair.  When the bonds are put in properly the hair will style just like your own but better and because it’s human hair you can blow dry, curl and flat iron.  If you have any questions about Great Lengths extensions Shannon or Sebastian will be happy to answer them.

Beach Waves – How To

This is a style that everyone likes because of its casual laid back vibe.  This style is perfect in its imperfections and that’s what makes it so great.

Here are a few tips to remember when creating this style;

-always use a heat protector like Framesi Primer 11

-a curling iron can be used just like a wand, grab a section of hair and wrap it around the barrel, remember that if the ends are straight it will look better so there is no need to burn your fingers trying to curl the ends

-a flat-iron can useful because it can tame the roots and then a simple turn of your wrist will cause the iron to no longer flatten hair but it will curl it instead

-you don’t need much root volume for this look so a quick blow dry or air dry will work just as well as a full round brush dry, good for days when you are in a rush

-this look can be red carpet ready if you do a full round brush blow dry before hand

This is a very versatile look and is worth learning to do.  If you try to create this look and are still having trouble give us a call and book a styling lesson.  We charge the same as we do for a haircut but we give you a hands on lesson with your own tools.  Or you can simply give us a call and let us do all the work while you get to chill.

 

What are Ionic Hot Tools and are they worth it?

How does ionic technology work? An ion has a negative or positive charge. Your hair has both negative and positively charged areas and ionic hot tools take advantage of that. Ionic dryers that emit negative ions cause water molecules to divide into smaller particles that evaporate faster. The result is less drying time. Conditioners contain positively-charged ingredients that attach themselves to the negatively-charged sites on your hair which allow them to stay there and treat your hair by strengthening it.

New blow dryers have technology which allows you to choose frizz free control or volume control but what you are really choosing is which type of ion the dryer will emit.  I have been using a dryer with this technology for over a year now and I have noticed a difference. I will use the volume setting to dry roots and frizz free setting to dry the ends.

For me, ionic technology is a bit like electricity.  I know I have it, I know it works and I’m super grateful to have it but I don’t fully understand it.  Ionic technology helps me to create the hairstyles that my clients want and I don’t really want to do hair without it anymore.

Who We are At Village – our History

Sometimes I look around at the salon and I wonder how it all happened, how did so many years go by?

As a young girl I dreamed of owning many different kinds of businesses, a law firm, a private detective firm, a clothing store and during university an Archaeological consulting firm.  Never had I thought of owning a hair salon until I was unemployable after university having decided that Archaeology was not really for me.  My Mom sat me down and said why don’t you get your hairdressing license and then you can own a salon.

During school my Mom, sister and I had worked at a friends’ family business called House of Masters.  We sold and serviced amazing hairpieces to men and some women from all over the world.  Our friend and our boss Ben Petersen was a great barber and he turned that skill into a multimillion dollar hair piecing business by giving people back the confidence they lost when they lost their hair.  I was not really interested in hair pieces but there was something in me that sparked at the idea of the art of dressing hair!  I quickly enrolled at Bruno’s School of Hair Design and got down to business.

A year later I was working for Andre Trudeau of Andre Trudeau Coiffure and he told me that he was moving to South East Asia with his partner and the salon was for sale.  Was I interested?  Umm, let me think for a millisecond – Yes!!  I had not yet finished my license hours but the law states that you may own a salon provided there is one person with a valid license.  Yeah, I was on my way.  Agh wait you want money for the salon……

I get teary eyed when I think of my next phone call to my parents.  “Mom, Dad, Andre is selling the salon and I want to buy it. ”  Their unbelievable response was “how much do you need?”  There is no way to repay that kind of belief.

Little did my mother know that my dream kinda indentured her to many years of service!  She is not a stylist, nor does she want to be one.  But she has worn many hats.  Counsellor, receptionist, hot water maker when the hot water tank breaks down, financier, loan officer and thanks to me, proud owner of a family hair salon business.

Fast forward almost 23 year.  We are still in business and doing better than ever.  We have an amazing team led by my talented sister Shannon Bartlett, my amazing mother, Marg Bartlett and me Cindy!  Keep in touch to learn more about us through my blog posts!!