VAIN Blog

Prepare yourself for this Saturday when VAIN hosts the opening of It’s not all about the Benjamins, baby - a collection of art for $50 or less! There will be all kinds of art from the 13 participating artists; from highbrow to lowbrow, downright irresistible, and simply excellent - all affordable. The opening is Saturday, August 1st, 4pm - 9pm at our downtown location.

Not even all, La Rousse will be on our “front yard” for a daytime sidewalk sale from 12pm - 6pm. Chic, modern clothing for the ladies will be offered at reductions of 50% off or more!

Come by for cold refreshments, feast your eyes on art, and find something stylish this Saturday!

A sneak peak in gallery:

“Moroccan Restaurant” by Mark Selander

Austin Sapp’s “Olivia”

Visit us for It’s not all about the Benjamins, baby in the gallery space adjacent to the salon at our downtown location:
2018 1st Ave E, Seattle.
Opening: Saturday, August 1st, 4pm - 9pm.
La Rousse sidewalk sale: 12pm - 6pm.
Art on display through August 31st.

Another day, another VAIN staffer celebrating 10 years of making VAIN a great place to work and get your hair done. Last week it was VAIN front desk mastermind Eli Blu, this week it’s our administrative director Melissa (aka Mel).

We love Mel for a lot of reasons- she’s kind, she’s creative, she really cares about our hairstylists and our customers, and she’s committed to community and forward thinking in a way that we all truly admire… plus she’s got a great sense of style and rocks the red lipstick like nobody’s business.

Happy 10th to Mel. You make VAIN a great place to be.

xo,
VAIN

In the past year, Sam, one of our up and coming stylists here at VAIN, has made the journey from apprentice stylist to full blowin’ stylist before our very eyes. Since her debut, she has been getting rave reviews from all kinds of clients for all kinds of style types, from soft to punky, as well as straight and curly hair alike. We think it has a lot to do with her ability to lend a good ear and her sense of adventure. We took some time to chat with Sam to dig deeper into her methods.

Nothing like a smile from Sam to brighten up your day!

Giving good consult
Sam believes that the success of any cut relies on meeting eye-to-eye during a consultation. Those first 5 minutes or so (before any hair is washed or scissors grasped) form the path of  her approach - Sam isn’t just listening to what the client wants as an end result, but really tries to understand the natural behavior of both the client’s hair and regular styling habits at home. She also isn’t afraid to suggest options that might work better for a certain hair type or level of maintenance. In her own words: “I think it’s a disservice as a professional to not listen to the clients’ wants and needs.” Sam strives to make sure that her clients can accomplish their new looks without straying far from what they normally like to do every day. She  further explains that she likes to be challenged by the diverse looks that people as individuals bring to her. “I like to be inspired by everyone and everything out there, rather than feel like I’m pushing any standard look of what’s cool.’”

Curly hair? Bring it on!
Sam has her share of trying new looks on a regular basis. In any given week, you can see Sam with a head of bouncy blonde curls one day, spiked out and teased the next, and then 3-feet-long, colorful extensions passing you by in a flash the day after that. “I’m always trying out a different look. I want to learn from a personal prospective what I need to do to make a look work from day to day, so that I can pass on that advice to my clients.” Her sense of adventure has also played a huge role in her ability to grasp the concepts that allow for curly hair cutting. Never one to shy away from a challenge, Sam took to the task by listening to her curly haired client’s needs and issues, and using a combination of learned technique, experience, and her instinct to form a look that is natural (no pyramid head here!) and easy to take care of.

We truly love Sam, and can’t wait to see the new challenges she takes on in the future!

To book an appointment with Sam at VAIN downtown call 206.441.3441 or visit us at 2018 1st Ave, Seattle

New and only at VAIN Ballard, AkeeWakee (”ay-kee-way-kee”) candles! Made with soy wax and 100% natural essential oils, these environmentally friendly candles are a step above and beyond most others on the market. Unique fragrances such as Banana Leaf, Green Ember Musk and Ginger Herb Sage quickly fill a room without overpowering it and the beautiful, gasp-inducing (seriously, I’ve seen it happen) packaging make AkeeWakee the perfect gift.

The best thing to happen to your olfactory system since bacon!

Yours Truly,
Julie K

Get your AkeeWakee on! Drop by VAIN Ballard @ 5401 Ballard Ave NW, Seattle.

VAIN blog readers, meet Moroccan oil. It’s an amazing hair product that works for every hair type and leaves hair silky, shiny, and smelling soooo good. It has natural UV + heat protectors and won’t weigh hair down. Magic! We don’t mind admitting that we’re a little obsessed.

VAIN downtown stylist Jenn C loves Moroccan oil for her fine-haired clients (YAY!), thick haired clients (ALSO YAY), clients with extensions, and everyone in between. Here’s what VAIN dowtown + VAIN Ballard stylist Alexis has to say about it:

“Oh Moroccon oil! How I love thee! I have yet to find a hair type that doesn’t agree with this African treat. From the finest bleachy-est strands to the most unruly coarse angry nests, Moroccan oil will smoothe and soothe. The scent alone reminds me of a relaxing vacation.

Very little goes a long way. As a stylist with a ton of hair who’s a bit heavy-handed in the product dept., I’ve been using my own personal bottle for two months now. This is an amazing feat! Yippee for Moroccan oil.”

So there you go. Now that you’ve been introduced, we suggest that you + Moroccan oil get to know eachother a little better, fall in love, make a lifelong commitment, live happily ever after. After a few drops you’ll totally want to.

Moroccan oil is available in both small + large sizes at both VAIN salons. Feel free to ask your stylist to use it the next time you come in.

VAIN front desk superstar Eli Blü is celebrating 10 years with VAIN today! Since he started with VAIN way back in 1999, Eli has booked literally thousands of appointments, learned the specialties of every VAIN hairstylist, and remembered the preferences, faces, and voices of more clients than we can count. On top of all that, he’s been VAIN’s resident DJ, tech expert, and DIY champ the whole time, all while evolving his own look + hair to new, unmatched levels of blue. And who doesn’t love blue hair?

The newest addition to VAIN’s allstar front desk lineup celebrates Eli’s anniversary.

But above it all, Eli is a true representative of VAIN’s mission to help our clients express their inner style. When asked to describe Eli in a few words, VAIN founder + styledriver Victoria Thomas Gentry said:

“Fiercely unique. Genetically compassionate. Cyborg efficiency. Biggest heart ever!”

We couldn’t agree more. Eli wears his individuality, creativity, style, and heart on his sleeve, and we couldn’t be luckier to know him and work with him everyday.

We ♥ you, Eli Blü! Happy 10th!

xo,
VAIN

To celebrate Eli’s anniversary, our entire staff went blue for a day. Check out the full set of pictures on VAIN’s Flickr page.

It is my pleasure to introduce the newest addition to the VAIN blog we’re calling “Ballard Brag” - written always and forever by yours truly, Julie K., VAIN Ballard front woman/multi-tasker extraordinaire. Ballard Brag is about (you guessed it) all things VAIN Ballard as presented through quick snapshots of in-the-moment happenings and special events here at your beloved Ballard neighborhood beauty shop. Trust me, there will be some pictures taken with my ancient camera phone, the likes of which would even make Zach Morris blush.

First installment! I snapped this pic of Hoquiam performing at VAIN Ballard last Saturday during the Art-Walk:

Proof that VAIN Ballard rocks more then just hair.

Thanks to Damien Jurado and Drake Jurado for an amazing performance!

Yours Truly,
Julie K.

Visit VAIN Ballard for hair, art, music and more! 5401 Ballard Ave NW, Seattle.

The current “Best of the City 2009” issue of Seattle Metropolitan Magazine has named VAIN’s very own hairstylist Sharon as Seattle’s Best British Stylist. VAIN blogger Rebecca P. sat down with the lady herself over a spot of tea [RP: KIDDING! We totally split a bag of crisps] to talk about it.

Congratulations on your win. What did you do to claim victory over the competition?
I’m not sure how stiff the competition actually was, but I try to do my best every time I do hair, so maybe it’s my attitude and work ethic that helped me clinch it. I think that goes a long way.

What would you say is distinctly British about your approach to doing hair?
I’d have to say my accent.

Best royal family hair of all time?
Definitely Prince Charles. Best and worst! I would love to do his hair.

Yorkshire pudding: what’s up with that?
It’s the best…. you wanna come over? I’ll make it special for ya.

Have you heard of the American hair sensation known as “crimping,” or are you more into “crumpeting”?
Crumpeting for sure tastes better and never goes out of fashion!

Seriously though, congratulations. You deserve the recognition! Any final thoughts you’d like to share with VAIN clients + Blog readers?
Thank-you, it really was a nice surprise. I do love working with hair and I especially love the relationships that you build with people, it’s a team effort. Trust is an important part of the relationship and I work really hard to gain that. Once it’s there it can be a really fun journey.

Find out what all the fuss is about: call VAIN downtown at 206.441.3441 to book your appointment with Sharon, or learn more about her on vain.com.

As if you needed another reason to hit tonight’s Ballard art walk: Hoquiam, featuring Damien Jurado + Drake Jurado, plays at VAIN Ballard at 8pm. Tell your friend and get there early; this is definitely a show you won’t want to miss.

VAIN Ballard is located at 5401 Ballard Ave NW, in the heart of one of the best neighborhoods ever.

Are those vintage wares embraced by divine light?

Much to our giddy delight, lovely Anna, owner of Pretty Parlor, has brought in a delectable collection of vintage clothing from her beloved shop (located on Capitol Hill) to VAIN downtown. Affordable and unique style, anyone? We can barely keep our hands off these digs. Thank you, Anna Banana! We ♥ you!

Next time you come to VAIN for a fabulous style, why not drop into the gallery and pick out a fabulous frock to go with it? Visit us downtown @2018 1st Ave, Seattle.

Each month at VAIN Ballard we unveil new works of art by featured jewelers. This month we have one-of-a-kind recycled bling by Jackie Waits of Jacknife Jewelry, with an opening reception July 11th from 6-8:30 as part of the Ballard second Saturday art walk.

Jackie is self-taught and has been making her (as Julie K puts it) “conscientious ghetto fabulous jewelry” for 2 years now. The work is presented on this incredible display Jackie made (involving knives, cut up trees, and drywall screws) that you really should see in person.

What Jackie has to say about her work: “I love simple jewelry with a loud statement. Think jersey girl meets gangster. I love gaudy – but not cheesy. I find all of my jewelry at thrift stores. It isn’t just jewelry – sometimes I’ll use belts or take stuff off of clothes. Whatever catches my eye, I’ll find a way to make it into something.”

“I think the thing that inspires me most is knowing that I don’t have to make the same thing over and over. I love that all my designs are one-of-a-kind, and that someone can buy it knowing that there won’t be anyone else out there with the same jewelry on. I just love that.”