March 26th, 2012
We all want to make sure our hair is in good hands; lets be honest, we want the best. New Leaf has recently revamped its education to an intensive 6 month training program with our top Senior Stylists in Precision Cutting, Color Technique, Bridal Design and Blow Drying – sending our newest stylists onto the floor with a skip in their step and a stellar skill set you’ll be delighted to try out.
Soooo, if you’re ever in the mood for something fresh (and complimentary ), our girls are always looking for models to spruce up while refining their talents. Who can resist such an enticing offer?! For all of you New Leaf groupies out there – there is one in all of us – be sure to check back as we’ll be posting the new class schedule for May and showcasing pictures of everyone’s fabulous work and progress.
Without further adieu, we’d like to introduce our newest graduates in a fun little interview.
Drum roll Pleeeeease…
Amanda
Q ~ As fun, interactive and ever changing our industry might be, is there something else you could picture yourself doing?
A ~ I would love to be a professional organizer, someone who goes into individuals’ homes and businesses to help them with clutter control and home or office organization. As long as I can remember I’ve enjoyed organizing and de-cluttering spaces. I’ve always been a ‘neat freak’, so why not consider making a living utilizing those skills?!
Q ~ So… We’ve heard through the grapevine that you’re an amazing calligrapher, any other hidden talents up your sleeve?
A ~ Currently, I’m trying my hand at custom book binding. I’ve created a few things for the new moms here at the salon, mostly memory keeping books where they can write notes or add pictures of their new bundles of joy. I also recently started making my own recycled paper out of scrap paper. By blending the scraps with water and draining the pulp through a custom made screen, I’ve been able to create my own beautiful pieces of paper. I even add fresh flowers or spices to the pulp to make each piece unique. If you want to check out my calligraphy work, visit www.calligragirl.etsy.com.
Q ~ What are the must have products you would recommend coming out of the dry winter season (if you could call this winter…)?
A ~ We all know that during the winter months, the harsh conditions make it tough to keep our hair moisturized and avoid those nasty split ends. Aside from getting regular trims, I recommend coming in for one of our Kerastase conditioning treatments. We custom mix each treatment to suit each client’s hair needs. Next, I love working with Kerastase’s Nectar Thermique through towel dried hair to help protect dry ends from the heat of the blow dryer. Finally, for my favorite finishing product, I’d suggest Bumble & Bumble’s Brilliantine on dry hair for ultimate shine and definition.
Nicole V.
Q ~ Having grown up here in Bristol, you seem to know everyone you come across. Ever think of running for Mayor?
A ~ So, wait… I’m not the Mayor?! *wink wink*
Q ~ Which celebrity’s hair are you dying to get your hands on? What products would you send them home with?
A ~ This is a tough one… I’d have to say the Kardashians. They are glamorous, with gorgeous hair and each with a different hair personality.
For instance, Kim loves that sleek and full body blowout. With a little of Oribe’s Royal Blowout for a polished shine and Volumista for extra bounce you achieve the perfect va va-voom that has made Kim’s style so signature. For Kourtney, she’s always up for something new and fun – especially braids. Bumble & Bumble’s sumo tech is my fave to give a little hold and liveliness to the style. And last but not least there is Kloe. She’s fearless with color and here at New Leaf we have an abundance of amazing products to help in the preservation of every shade, my first choice being Oribe’s Beautiful Color shampoo and conditioner.
Q ~ If you were a super hero, what would your claim to fame be?
A ~ Ha ha… “The Batman of Blowouts”
July 5th, 2011
Last week, New Leaf Hair Studio celebrated it’s tenth, yes, TENTH anniversary! In June 2001, New Leaf opened it’s doors on Willett Avenue in Riverside, Rhode Island and we are all lucky enough now to work in such a fantastic, beautiful space here on the waterfront in Bristol. A big congratulations goes out to Amy… (since she’s not controlling the keyboard right now, we can sing her praises:)! A wild ride it’s been, one that would not have been possible without fearless leadership of a savvy business woman, the help of her amazing family (happy 10th anniversary shout out to her mom, Jennifer, too!), the most loyal clients, a.k.a New Leaf-ers, and her hardworking and supportive staff.
***
Amy decided to celebrate with the New Leaf family… The day started off gray and rainy and because the sun always shines here in Bristol, the clouds cleared and we welcomed the sunshine at Agave Restaurant. We felt like we were hanging out at a waterside cafe in Cannes the afternoon was so stellar…perfection!
Here is the woman of honor, Amy Silva, looking so happy and simply stunning;-)
Pam, Danielle Robin, Courtney, Amanda, Jamie, Julie, Danielle Crugnale and Nicole Crugnale
(you aren’t seeing double, Danielle and Nicole are identical twins:)
Courtney and Amy
Stacy sipping her martini after she exited her yacht…kidding, but see what we mean about feeling quite glam at our locale?!
Michelle and her hubby Shaun…and a tasty margarita!
Danielle Crugnale and Yadira of Skincare by Yadira
Our silly Stephanie…trying to get a serious picture of her is rough but always hysterical when looking through the camera later…
Nicole Valenzuela and her adorable bf
Michelle and Danielle Crugnale
See what we mean about Steph’s expressions? Always one in every crowd;-)
Jamie and Julie
Stacy and Nicole Cabral
Amanda, Jamie, Nicole Crugnale and Julie
Danielle and Courtney
Amy’s adorable boys, Kaden and Max, came out to celebrate too…really, how cute??
This is what they REALLY came for…CAKE! Courtesy of Vienna Bakery
This is our favorite photo….Max eyeing the cake while a gleaming knife tempts his sugary senses (the knife was plastic, FYI). An emotion caught perfectly, we’d say.
Disclaimer: No children were injured in the cutting of this cake:)
Okay, so if you know Amy, you know she H-A-T-E-S being the center of attention and has been known to shed a tear or two when things get sentimental. That being said, we put together a little, okay, long poem called “Ode to New Leaf” that we thought was funny.
We got through the reading of it with a few tissues and scolding from Amy for making her cry…sorry about that;-)
For those who couldn’t make it….
Ode to New Leaf
There once was a little girl who loved to play ‘store’,
she stocked her room full of retail, receipts and much more.
Her mom wondered how this game could be played for such long hours,
but her daughter didn’t dream of living in a castle with a prince but inside of Trump Towers.
This little girl would line the shelves with inventory just right,
trying to sell off her headless barbies to her big sister Kim with all of her might.
Little did her mom know that she had an entrepreneur in the making,
and her shy, sweet Amy would one day have East Bay’s beauty business for the taking!
Fast forward 20 years to when Amy met Liz,
a friendship bloomed and decided it was time to open their ‘biz.
Ten years ago, as they turned a new leaf,
completely unaware a tiny salon was about to cause such grief!
Riverside was the first salon or the ‘original’ place,
where robberies, short-lived employees, and wardrobe wars threatened to take over the space.
Then came the kids, oh such a joy
life became much more interesting with a bouncing baby boy.
To shorten the drive, New Leaf Bristol was born,
Riverside became Barrington so clients never felt torn.
The Hide-a-way was quite hidden and little Thames street liked to flood,
even with a freezing cold water ‘heater’ New Leaf continued to bud.
With a single phone call, opportunity came a-knocking,
a space on State Street was available, boy that was shocking!
Amy jumped on the chance, as she always does,
because she never wants to regret or think back on what was.
Mario went to work, Amy picked up her paint brush,
New Leaf doubled in size and trust us, in quite a rush!
So exciting it was, the salon all fresh and new,
new staff was hired… some quickly walked on through!
Because one thing about Amy is that she is ever forgiving,
people left and came back to her famous laugh and some teasing.
The salon is always changing, the pace can be fast,
sometimes we leave for the weekend and come back aghast.
The beauty bar, the bridal lounge, and therapy boutique,
all Amy’s brainchild, all very cool and unique.
Clients always say, “my gosh, it’s always different in here…”
we laugh and smile as mario hangs his head and sheds another tear.
Some wonder how Amy does it, and we aren’t exactly sure,
but she never settles for average and always strives for much more.
She might be last minute, and may plan big events in a rush,
but walk in with snow cones and a popcorn machine and all the clients gush.
Bigger is always better, less is never more,
because NOT being seen in gold lame costumes for a spelling bee would be such a bore!
That’s what makes New Leaf special, really it is true,
Amy’s love of her team and need for everything to be new.
Our staff is like family, sometimes we smile and then pout,
but at the end of the day there isn’t a doubt.
We all love what we do, we love to create,
as long as we’re not hungry, hungover, or running a bit late.
So thank you Amy for being everything you are,
the boss, the mom, and the business extraordinaire.
No matter where or when people might roam,
we are all so proud to call New Leaf OUR HOME.
Amy opening her card (which she chose to read at home since we had just about all the emotion we could handle for one day)!
“Celebrating a decade of New Leaf 2001-2011″
Amy and her husband (and our favorite Mr. Fix-It) Mario. Do you recognize him? You probably have seen him at the salon…hammering something, painting a wall, replacing a bulb, etc., etc. He’s part of the New Leaf staff, or at least we’d like to think so:)
The group shot…apparently, taking a photo where everyone is looking at ONE, specifically OUR camera proved to be tougher than taking a family Christmas card photo for a family of five. Seriously.
Take 1: two people are hiding…
Take 2: Mary escaped…
And Take 3: Aaaaaaand…..no one is looking at the camera and Jamie is hiding again, but you get the idea….
Thanks again to Nicole Crugnale for snapping all the pictures…without her, we’d have 2 pictures, one of which would most likely be of our feet. Ha!
***
Also, a big, huge, GINORMOUS thank you to our faithful New Leaf-ers….our clients.
Cliche? Maybe, but without you, this salon would not be what it is today. Some of you have been with Amy and the salon for all ten years so happy anniversary to you as well! We always say we have the best clientele…Your loyalty, your happiness, your need to look and feel great make driving into work each day a joy. Oh, and you keep us all employed, which a nice, added bonus;-) Few people can say they love their jobs and ask any one of us, and the answer is the same…yes, we DO!
We’ve said it before but it deserves to be said again, a HUGE thanks to Amy for creating the New Leaf ‘family’…we love you xo
May 15th, 2011
We are super-excited to announce Danielle Crugnale, professional make-up artist, has joined the New Leaf Hair Studio team. She comes to us from New York City (that’s right, the BIG Apple!), where she worked with Dolce & Gabbana and Trish McEvoy Cosmetics. She also freelances under her business name, On Location NYC, which she established in 2003. Danielle recently decided to move out of the city to move closer to her family in RI, and we are so lucky she did!
Even though she is a Rhode Islander again, she still makes frequent trips to NYC. Recently , she was busy making models gorgeous at the Spring 2011 NYC Fashion Week for designer Jonathan Cohen and just wrapped up a shoot for designer Katie Brierley’s Fall 2011 Look Book. Her work has been showcased in many trade and fashion magazines like Harper’s Bazaar, WWD, Boston Globe, and Allure, just to name drop a few. Below is just a tease of her recent work, but stay tuned because she has a lot of great things in store for you! You’ll see why she is so fabulous and already making clients immediate fans.
So, stop by the studio or schedule an appointment to meet Danielle. Her warm, sincere personality along with her genuine passion for make-up will transform you into feeling (and looking) like a supermodel. She can teach you some trade secrets, show you how to achieve the latest looks with ease, update your cosmetic bag, get you stunning for a big event, or simply refresh your lipstick. She’s looking forward to meeting all of our beautiful clients…and you’ll be happy you did!
March 23rd, 2011
The cold weather hasn’t brought the girls at New Leaf down. We are ready for spring and have had our first photoshoot of the season to prove it. We had a great time styling our models (hair, make-up, accessories, AND clothing…courtesy of Therapy Boutiques). We are so excited to share some of our favorite pictures with you.
Roxanne is a New Leaf client and thankfully agreed to model for us…she is a pro. Her hair is a perfect ‘undone’ look. Courtney styled her hair with Bumble’s new Texture. If you haven’t tried it yet, stop in for a free sample…you’ll love it.
Cait has the most unbelievable hair! She has been a model for us in the past…you can actually see her pictures from our Holiday Open House http://newleafhairstudio.com/newleaf/2010/11/oh-what-a-night/hp2010-9/. Danielle styled her hair in this gorgeous textured updo, perfect for any event. This dress has been very popular at Therapy…as of right now only 2 left!
Does she look familiar? That’s our very own beautiful Pam modeling for us! She styled her own hair using Oribe Curl by Definition. Then she finished it off with Oribe Dry to create more volume and texture.
Kristen is also a veteran New Leaf model. Her classic bob was finished with a little Bumble Brilliantine to tame some flyaways and add a little moisture to her ends.
Thanks to all of our wonderful models for being so gracious and fun! Most of all, we couldn’t have done it without our favorite photographers, Mariah and Trish, from Snap! Photography. Hopefully, this gives you a little glimmer of hope that spring weather is on its way!
January 5th, 2011
Start the year off right with New Leaf’s Top 5 Must Have Products. These will be sure to turn your winter blues to ahhh’s.
1. Oribe Masque for Beautiful Color. This will add incredible shine, keep your color absolutely gorgeous until your next appointment, and add needed moisture during the dry winter months.
2. It’s hard to believe, but just think Moroccan oil…but better. Kerastase really outdid themselves this time with Elixir Ultime. This cocktail of emollients and anti-oxidant active ingredients will give your hair the ultimate shine, suppleness, and condition, all while promoting cellular renewal…bonus!!
3. This will make your mornings a little easier. Smashbox just released the InBloom Soft Focus powder eyeliner. This will create a soft, smoldering eye in seconds…absolutely foolproof.
4. Go from dull to luminous in 30 seconds. This tinted moisturizer from Becca is the secret. It will transform your complexion while increasing collagen renewal and protecting against UVA and UVB rays.
5. New Leaf loves Spray de Mode. We have used almost every hairspray but this is our fave. Why you ask? It has flexible hold, workability, and amazing memory…that’s right, memory.
We hope everyone has a beautiful New Year!
