Featured San Francisco Artist Gregory Dugan
Jessica Russo
Jessica began her career in 2004, working as an assistant at a bustling Bumble and Bumble salon in downtown San Jose and eventually moving on to work 3 years at a beautiful Aveda concept salon taking classes every few weeks in San Francisco and the greater Bay Area. Within that time she moved quickly up the food chain, blossoming from an assistant to a senior stylist position by the end of year 3-specializing in creative cuts and coloring techniques, color correction, bridal and special event do’s.
She participated as both a stylist and a model in many avant-garde productions and fashion shows throughout the years (and continues to do so to this day). She has worked on an extensive clientele with a wide range of hair type and texture.
Creative longing and the desire to expand her knowledge led her to Southern California where she worked closely with extremely talented Vidal Sassoon-trained stylists. There, she delved into new experience with training from Davines, freelanced as a hair and makeup artist and even styled hair for the 2007 Academy Awards (Exciting!)
Upon returning to the Bay Area, she accepted a position as a Regional Educator of sales for Phyto Haircare (right in the vein of the botanical and natural products she had always loved.)
Over the last year and a half she traveled several times to New York to train under world renowned colorists such as Beth Minardi, as well as some of France’s top colorists and stylists. She has taken and taught classes for Subtil- one of France’s most coveted hair color lines. She has traveled all the Pacific Northwest, teaching stylists not only how to use Phyto’s incredible botanical formulas, but also how to create the ultimate relaxing experience for their client. She demonstrated and conducted deep treatments with the use of Phyto’s masques and essential oils to provide ultimate health to hair and scalp (“I am a healthy hair junkie!”- Jessica Russo) She has presented as a speaker at trend shows across the country from Honolulu, Hawaii to Portland, Oregon, all the while, continuing to maintain a clientele (many of them the very first she worked on as a junior stylist at Aveda!)
Her commitment to continued education has covered Bumble and Bumble, Aveda, Redken, Goldwell, Davines, Subtil and, of course, Phyto!
She prides herself on her ability to tune in to clients needs and create the look that not only meets their desires but suits their features. Her down-to-earth nature allows clients to open up and truly express themselves.
“I love this industry! I love creating! I love learning and teaching! I absolutely love my clients! I couldn’t be happier to be making more time to dedicate to my craft and I’m thrilled to join your team!” – Jessica Russo
Comments or questions are welcome.
Etiquette Class
Visit Azita Mujica’s Etiquette Class in Marin County online at:
AzitaMujica.com
Featured Artist: Amanda Holt
The artist Amanda Holt has been living in the bay for nearly a decade. She graduated from The Art Institute of California, San Francisco, with a B.S. in Media Arts and Animation. She has coined her style ‘Urban Cartoon’ although she has the ability to truly mix up and blend a diverse medium, subject and technique-shaking up the overall composition to create a brilliance of color and imagination.
The artist will recall learning how to hold the pencil at 3, to create a world to escape into even early on in childhood. By the age 7 she had began to declare that she wanted to be an ‘animator’ when she grew up. She always pursued the arts and theatre realizing that animation would be the perfect opportunity to ‘act through her pencil’ so she figured may as well adapt to the concepts early on. She pursued a career in animation at age 18 when moving to San Francisco to study her passion. She has worked all over the bay for Independant Non-Profit companies providing services in graphic design, illustration and animation. Currently, she is working on an animation collaboration with local artist Alp Ozberker. Alongside multiple independent projects.
To view more examples of illustrations see:
imagineartistone.carbonmade.com
Should You Dye Your Hair Gray?
Many women who have been dying their hair for years wonder if the battle is worth it. Some clients even wonder if they are already completely gray, but because they have been dying their hair for so long, they have no idea what their real hair color looks like.
Usually by this time, women are getting their roots touched up every 2-1/2 to 3 weeks. Their question is whether or not we can simply dye your hair gray and be done with it.
Unfortunately, it’s not as simple as all that. The simple answer is, no. You cannot dye your hair gray. Gray hair is due to loss of pigment in your hair.
Hair that has lost pigment is technically translucent hair, meaning it has no color in the shaft. That is why as your hair continues to gray, it goes from looking somewhat silver (due to the fact that you still have a number of hairs that have pigment in them) to white, which is when all shafts of hair have lost pigment.
For those of you who may want to consider “going gray” naturally, you could consider slowly lightening your hair to a pale blonde color. This way you could go a little bit longer between colorings, and gradually grow into your new hair color.
What you’re trying to do is to transition from the permanent tint that has been applied to your hair so far, and using a temporary or semi-permanent formulation to continue covering the gray as the original permanent color grows out.
Temporary color washes out after a single shampoo. The nice thing about the semi-permanent color is that it only adheres to the outside of the shaft of hair with a little bit of the dye penetrating the hair shaft and then washes out after a certain number of shampoos. This technique works best for women who have adopted a shorter hair style. This will give you more time between applications.
Most women will either gently adapt to their natural gray color in this way, or they will decide that they would prefer to continue to show a younger look to the world, and return to coloring their hair. Most women find that going a little bit lighter matches the look of their skin complexion better. As we age, we do need to adjust the colors we wear in our make-up, our clothing, and our hair.
Client Spotlight: Sonja Krenek, Soprano
Held in the Recital Hall at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music on 50 Oak St in San Francisco on Saturday, March 6 at 5:00pm.
Sonja Krenek, Soprano, Master of Music Recital with Mai-Linh Pham on Piano.
Free Admission.
Featuring music by Handel, Schubert, Ravel, Rachmaninoff, Britten and Barber.
About Sonja Krenek:
Growing up in Eureka, California, Sonja Krenek was very involved in music, even at a young age. She studied several instruments, including piano, flute, oboe, and the alto, tenor, and baritone saxophones. Ms. Krenek also performed in many classical and jazz bands, and orchestras, including the All-State Honor Band and Orchestra and those at Eureka Senior High School.
Ms. Krenek attended the University of California, Irvine, where she earned her Bachelor of Music Degree in 2008. During her time there she performed such roles as Musetta in a performance of the third act of La Bohème, La Ciesca in Gianni Schicchi and Monica in The Medium. She also performed as Christine in an excerpted version of The Phantom of the Opera for the Orange County Philharmonic Society.
After graduating, Sonja moved to San Francisco to pursue her Master of Music Degree at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music. In 2009, during her first year of study, she won second place in the Vocal Concerto Competition. She then went on to win the competition in 2010 and was cast as Anne Trulove in the school’s 2010 production of The Rake’s Progress.
Sonja has spent several summers participating in performance programs. In 2005 she was involved with the Opera festival di Roma where she sang La Prima Conversa in Suor Angelica as well as in the chorus for Le Nozze di Figaro. Ms. Krenek also attended SongFest in 2006 and 2009, where she had the opportunity to be involved in scene performances, singing such characters as Fiordiligi in Così fan tutte and Pamina in Die Zauberflöte. She has performed in many Master Classes with such great artists as Stephanie Blythe, Luana De Vol, Martin Katz, Margo Garrett, Elizabeth Futral, Amy Burton, Mark Morash, Frans Boerlager, Victoria Litherland and Angela Brown. Sonja has also been a finalist in competitions such as Tomorrow’s Stars and the Holt Memorial Scholarship.
Featured Artist: Greg Wilkie
About the Artist:
Greg Wilkie was born in Albany, NY in 1948. He spent a great deal of his youth in self-isolation, working on his drawings and water-color paintings or practicing magic. He studied mechanical drawing and art all through school and was frequently advanced to the next level. Looking back, he realized he missed out on some basic techniques since his works gave the appearance of a trained artist. Thus he worked harder outside of class to catch up. His mother recognized his talent early on and encouraged him to become a commercial artist. He could not envision such a career since there were many times he just didn’t feel like painting! And, he liked to create his own work, not what someone else told him to produce.
His mother entered many of his works in the County Fairs where he frequently received first place awards.
Unfortunately, his early works and awards were destroyed when his parents home burned to the ground. For years afterwards he shied away from painting and focused instead on the art of magic.
Reality of Life
Mr. Wilkie enlisted in the Navy at 17 and served two tours of duty in Vietnam where the idyllic life of youth suddenly evaporated. It was during that time that he became aware of the fleeting nature of life. When he returned to civilian life, nothing was the same. His older brother died suddenly in 1972 followed by his father in 1975. The compound trauma sent him into the throes of depression. He spent two decades searching for purpose in his life. While on his quest, he obtained a Bachelor of Science degree in Administration of Justice, a Masters in Public Administration, worked as a laborer, ambulance driver, police officer, window washer, long-haul truck driver, a BART train operator and magician. None of these activities fulfilled his soul.
Rebirth of the Painter
Mr. Wilkie regained his passion for painting while watching water-color artists in Thailand while he and his family were touring Southeast Asia performing magic. He was intrigued by the simplicity of the palm tree and ocean scenes and the artists’ ability to produce them quickly and with ease. Nothing ever came that easily to him.
He immediately got to work, sitting for hours on the floor, with brushes, paints and paper. So ended his magic interlude and the four year tour of Southeast Asia. He and his family returned to United States and made their home in California.
Finding Acrylics
Mr. Wilkie discovered acrylic paints and realized he had found his medium of choice. He could blend the techniques of both water-color and oil painting. He has painted on a variety of supports including glass, wood, canvas, paper and most recently mat board. He is on a quest to find durable supports that will last long into the future…
Mr. Wilkie is ever-concerned about preserving his works. His goal is to leave pieces of himself behind so that his descendants will be able to see the life he lived through his eyes. For him, there is only the reality of what was and what is in the moment. In his view, life is real—and that’s the way he paints it.
Now Hiring – Hairstylists, Hairdressers, Barbers, Hair Colorists
Red Union Salon is seeking talented stylists for an awesome upscale Union Street location. We are looking for highly skilled, motivated and reliable individuals. You need to “rock” at color and cutting techniques. Have at least two years of experience, some clientele and be a motivated self starter.
We provide you with:
– full time reception
– 24/7 booking service
– back bar
– towel service
– beverages for your clients….
Your work station is very large with lots of natural sun light great for color. We are located on the second floor overlooking Union Street.
We share all walk-ins.
This is a very fun environment! We joke, play great music and are passionate about doing “amazing hair for our clients”. If you are passionate about hair and life check us out. Please call Erika at 415-332-5450 for interview.
Directions
Red Union Hair Salon
1996 Union Street
San Francisco, CA 94123
(415) 567-5656
Red Union Hair Salon is located near these zip codes:
94133, 94109, 94111, 94108, 94105, 94115, 94102, 94103, 94114, 94110, 94107, 94131, 94129, 94118, 94121, 94122, 94116, 94965, 94920, 94941, 94925, 94939
Elena Goodson
Elena started her 15-year career as hairstylist in Los Angeles. Being a “wide eyed” young hairdresser she tried to get involved with all the creative outlets this profession has to offer.
Her work includes, hair and make up on a number of Movie projects for students at AFI, LA Women’s Theater Shakespeare Company. Appearances on “Fashion Emergency” for E!, as well as hair and make up for runway shows, Advertising Adds for “Sky Vodka”, and a “Bel Aire Bridal Veils” Catalogs. Her work was featured in Hispanic Magazine, Modern Bride and Modern Salon.
Her Advance training with Vidal Sassoon, Sebastian, TIGI inspired her to become a artistic team member for “Fashion formulas by Ecoly”, which took her to hair show platforms all over USA as well as Japan. Originally from Russia she brings different look on fashion, hair, relationships and life in general.
“I always try to strive for balance. I still very much enjoy doing freelance, creative, and at times outrageous projects… Still, some of the most inspirational Subjects are my clients! I love seeing people feel confident and sassy and it brings me great pleasure to be responsible in some way… Very excited to become part of the team at the Red Union Salon, can’t wait to see you here soon!” –Elena
Comments or questions are welcome.