VAIN is thrilled to present new works by local artist and musician John Atkins (764-Hero, The Can’t See). Opening reception Thursday, November 1st from 6 to 10pm at VAIN’s downtown location! The collection of paintings and mixed media pieces will be on display through the end of November.
Hope to see you at the opening on Thursday!
Recently, I’ve had some clients bring in pictures and say “I know you probably hate when I bring in pictures, but…”.
Let me at least speak for myself, and likely the rest of Vain when I say this: I love it when a client brings in a picture. I’m not perfect, and when discussing a plan for your hair, sometimes words don’t explain it all. We as stylists always do our best to listen to what you want done with your hair, but it is possible to get words mixed up and misunderstand what you’re trying to convey to us as. So, if in doubt, please don’t ever feel bad about bringing in photos. Also, look at photos and find elements of what you like about a particular hairstyle. Not every picture has to be the exact style you’re looking for, but you may see various elements that you would like to have worked into your style. I know you don’t look like Jessica Alba or Pete Wentz. But, your hair can look like theirs. 
–Jake
Saturday night our Ballard crew stayed late to celebrate the second Saturday Artwalk and the success of our new location. VAIN’s Wig Shoppe migrated from downtown to the front windows of VAIN Ballard. Along with sweet beverages, candy, and cupcakes, we invited people to try on this wearable art. The transformations were surprising and delightful!
The full set of photos can be found on VAIN’s flickr account. As for the wigs, come see them downtown - they’re perfect for not only the upcoming holiday, but for a night out on the town that’s above and beyond.
xo,
Sarah Jo
Vain has a Blog! I couldn’t be happier, as I am a person who does indeed like to formulate ideas and thoughts and transfer them to paper (or computer screen in this method).
It’s been almost a year that I’ve been working at Vain. The time has flown by at a speed that I’m unaccustomed to in my working career. As a father of a 4 year old, I have a tangible piece of life to judge time by. In my career, days can blend into another, and time just tends to keep on movin’. But at Vain, the work days are just that much easier to come to and I find myself inspired in different ways than I ever have been in my career.
As someone who started doing hair on their own at a young age, I have to keep myself motivated and inspired. I do hair because I love doing hair. That’s what’s so fresh about Vain. I work in an environment where I’m constantly surrounded by like-minded people. We, at Vain do what we do because we genuinely are inspired by the culture of hair. We’re all a little quirky and crazy in our own unique ways. But, our common bond is tied together by one long, diverse strand of hair that has many different layers and textures.
Come check us out at Vain. I bet you’ll understand what I’m talking about, and I bet you’ll be inspired too.
–Jake
When I started Vain in 1996 I really didn’t want to run my own hair salon, I wanted to open a community center - a place to learn and share brilliant, beautiful, radical or tragic ideas and experiences.
I envisioned a comfortable relaxed open minded environment for cultural events, art, music, activism, fashion and beauty could come together in an accessible street level space.
But outside of my own monkeywrenching and grass roots organizing I knew very little about the non-profit world. What I knew best was hair and salon culture and the community that surrounds it. I knew that style didn’t have to be exclusive of substance and that all the elements of a community center could be realized in a salon context. This blog is an extension of that concept. Beauty doesn’t have to be about me me me, it can be about us. Welcome to VAIN.
Thanks for reading.
Truly,
Victoria Thomas Gentry
VAIN