DRESSING ROOM : NLR salon has plum cachet after Aussie stylist’s visit
Posted on Thursday, September 11, 2008
URL: http://www.nwanews.com/adg/Style/237066/
Nine days after international hair-product magnate John Paul DeJoria visited North Little Rock, the city played host to another titan in the hair-beauty industry.
Jamie Carroll — award-winning Australian hairstylist and entrepreneur — conducted an Aug. 22 training program with the team at Payton Place Salon, 4515 John F. Kennedy Blvd., working to enhance the salon’s relationship with its clients.
Carroll is regarded as one of the world’s top teachers of the art of hairdressing. Owner of Jamie Carroll Hair and Beauty in Sydney, he has served as stylist to Hollywood celebrities and for U. S. runway shows. He is also creator of Envision Academy, a hairdresser training collection published in 25 international magazines and in multiple languages. “Envision” offers a series of multimedia creative collections that offer stepby-step training modules via payper-view. His newest educational tool, “The Stylist Collection,” is an interactive CD and DVD collection demonstrating the latest cuts, colors and styles.
Payton Place and its owners, Angela and Keith Justice, will be the first salon in the United States to operate on Carroll’s business systems, for which he won the Salon Global Entrepreneur Business Award in 2006. The collaboration came about when Angela Justice approached Carroll after he gave a keynote speech in New Orleans. Later, Keith Justice traveled to Australia to learn more about Carroll’s operation.
Carroll’s Sydney salon grew by leaps and bounds thanks to the innovative foundation upon which he built it, according to his Web site. He calls it “‘ continuous education, ’ strong business systems and a philosophy of ‘working smarter, not harder.’”
“Say somebody does 40 hours a week,” he says. “We train them to do as much in 36 hours.”
Carroll’s business-training model falls into three sections. “We have what we call foundational training... aspirational training, and then innovation,” he says. “It’s [putting ] creative and business [aspects ] together to... understand the reasons why you do what you do and how you achieve it.”
Carroll’s trademarked phrase is: “Think local. Act city. Be global.” As a partner, Payton Place will be the only salon in Arkansas that will be able to use the phrase.
For more information about Carroll, visit jamiecarrollh airandbeauty. com. au. Call Payton Place at (501 ) 992-1000.
ALL THE RAGE All the Rage, the prom and pageant gown boutique in west Little Rock’s Market Place Shopping Center (11121 N. Rodney Parham Road ), is under the new ownership of former Mrs. Arkansas International Buffie Mayo and husband Mike. The couple have operated Buffie’s in Sheridan for the past nine years. Now known as Buffie’s All the Rage, the remodeled Little Rock store will be the site of a Grand Opening Celebration during regular store hours Sept. 20 and from 2 to 4 p. m. Sept. 21. Donated gowns from Tony Bowls, Jovani, Terani and others will be sold as a benefit for Arkansas Children’s Hospital. Courtney Chivers, the reigning Mrs. Arkansas America, will sign autographs. Former Miss Arkansas winners and other state pageant title holders will also make appearances. In addition to ready-made gowns, the store offers specialoccasion wear and custom gowns. Regular hours for Buffie’s All the Rage are 10 a. m.-5: 30 p. m. Monday through Saturday. Call (501 ) 225-7666.
BALM-Y DAYS Less than four months after hitting shelves in Arkansas and neighboring states, Omnibalm Daily Foot Therapy — the latest product by Arkansas-based Balm Innovations — has been named a “Small Chain Niche Pick” and a “Key Special Niche Product” in Chain Drug Review’s second annual niche products report. The top-10 list includes products from high-profile companies such as Procter & Gamble. The foot therapy is a cream for general and diabetic foot care, designed to repair dry, cracked skin. It was developed by University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences pharmaceutical researcher Bill Gurley, who created the original Omnibalm cream after suffering a severe sunburn. Balm Innovations was formed in 2004 when Lydia Carson, a graduate student at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock, joined with Gurley to participate in the Governor’s Award for Entrepreneurial Development competition. In 2006, Omnibalm Cucumber Melon, the company’s second product, was introduced. For more information, go to omnibalm. com or call (888 ) 996-6642.
TIE ONE ON “Make your wife the gameday diva !” urges Elizabeth Scokin, the celebrated Blytheville native whose line of aprons flies under the now-trademarked name Haute Hostess. Once again, she’s offering aprons ($ 100- $ 130 ) in the colors of the schools in the Southeastern Conference, including the University of Arkansas. Meanwhile, Scokin’s fancy, don’t-you-dare-cook-withthem-on aprons continue to make the rounds. The pink “Madamoiselle” apron, from her Glam it Up collection, will make an appearance in the October issue of Cosmo Girl. Scokin’s new line of aprons for men is fast approaching. Check out the aprons at hautehostessaprons. com.
DRESSING ROOM PICKS Two more little black clearance items from Newport News’ Shape Fx department (newport-news. com ): The Off-the-Shoulder Knee-Length dress ($ 29 ), and the Pencil Skirt ($ 14 ). The former is a silk-blend sweater frock featuring folded-down neckline, deep ribbing at the waist, three-quarter sleeves and a hemline that falls 23 inches from the waist. If you already have an hourglass figure, this dress will show it off to its best advantage. The latter is a vertical rib-knit, 36-inch pull-on skirt made of a rayon-nylon-spandex blend. It’s a good all-season piece, sized a bit generously.
To add to my Zumba Fitness wardrobe (see previous column ), I returned to Zumba. com and requested the Splash Pants ($ 64. 95 ). Made in Brazil, these black, boot-flare Supplex pants have a waistline that can be folded down for a low-rise look. Zumba logos and designs adorn the rear waistband and right leg. The pants come in only three sizes, but Large will fit XL wearers. However, they’re cut for tall women. Others may want to have them hemmed.
Among the highlights in the Ashro fall catalog (ashro. com ) is the Kenosha Dress, $ 114 and in sizes small to 3 X. The full-length, Empire-waisted rayon dress features an abstract black-andgold African print and is accented with vertical multicolored metallic stripes and gold trim. Long bell sleeves, a plunging V-neck with pointed insert and a draped, asymmetrical waist-to-hem insert add drama. It looks a bit better in the photo than it does in reality, but is still magnificent without being overdone.
I have finally acquired a pair of Tummy Tuck Jeans by Not Your Daughter’s Jeans. These are the original, butter-soft, curvefriendly stretch jeans said to hold the lower abdomen in, contour the hips and lift the derriere — with no back-waistband gap. Wearers can buy them a size or two smaller. Most Not Your Daughter’s Jeans styles start at close to $ 100, but mail-order retailer Time for Me (timeformecatalog. com ) offers for $ 63. 99 the Tummy Tuck Wide Leg Retro Jeans. I can’t say they completely flattened my abdominals, but the jeans fulfill just about every promise made by the maker. Another purchase from Empress Cyncha, a favorite River Market vendor-artisan whose booth is just outside Boulevard Bread Company: A $ 25 necklace featuring metal and multicolored, various-size beads and a stunning three-dimensional African mask pendant. Strings of oblong beads emerge and trail from the bottom of the pendant. Dressing Room is published biweekly. Send news releases to Helaine R. Williams, Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, P. O. Box 2221, Little Rock, Ark. 72203, or e-mail:
hwilliams@arkansasonline. com