• News

    Louis Vuitton Men’s Spring/Summer ft. Scott Campbell (Part 1)

    by  • December 30, 2010 • Did You See This?, Lifestyle, News, Products

    HOW did a 32-year-old college dropout from the bayou of Louisiana, with no formal training in art — well, to be frank, no training at all — end up with a one-man show in a New York gallery and a client list that includes Robert Downey Jr. and Orlando Bloom?

    For Scott Campbell, it all started at a tattoo studio in the Lower Haight district of San Francisco. “I’m just the dirty kid who snuck in the back door,” said Mr. Campbell, who said that he got the bulk of his art education tattooing teenage gang members in San Francisco in the 1990s.

    Scott Campbell’s took off in 2005, four years after he moved to New York and opened his studio, Saved Tattoo, in the then-emerging neighborhood of Williamsburg, Brooklyn.

    One day an impatient Australian came in and commissioned a small bird in flight on his left forearm. The next day, Mr. Campbell said, “Entertainment Tonight” came with cameras, grilling him on what kind of tattoo he had just given Heath Ledger. The two became friends — “the sweetest guy, so open,” he said of Mr. Ledger. “The third time I hung out with him, I had keys to his house.”

    It became a pattern, as Mr. Campbell became something of a celebrity tattoo artist, charging as much as $300 an hour ($1,000 minimum) to ink customers like Courtney Love and Josh Hartnett. After Mr. Campbell tattooed three of Sting’s adult children, he said, the singer and his wife, Trudie Styler, put him up at their house in London when he was there for a gallery show in October (he said he paid Sting back by giving him a tattoo, a meditation labyrinth on his back). And he said he recently went gallery hopping with Marc Jacobs, who sports a tattoo of his two bull terriers on his shoulder, courtesy of Mr. Campbell. The nature of his craft, he said, helps to explain these friendships. “Tattooing is a very intimate exchange,” he said.

    “You have your hands on someone, you’re communicating with them, and they’re very yielding,” he continued. “There’s no cool-guy factor, no barriers.”

    Will Kate Middleton Bring the Fascinator Trend to America?

    by  • December 22, 2010 • Did You See This?, Lifestyle, News, Products

    Now that Kate Middleton is engaged to Prince William, everything from her wedding plans to fashion decisions have become top news. And believe it or not, she’s become somewhat of a UK trendsetter for her classic, semi-conservative style and has actually spawned a wave of royal-deficient wannabes on the prowl. But regardless of whether you think she’s worthy of the fashion attention, there’s no denying that the girl knows how to rock a traditional British hat—specifically, the Fascinator. Worn at society events, the Fascinator headpiece is an alternative to a traditional hat and normally includes feathers, flowers, and beads. It can also be worn instead of a bridal veil, which is not too far-fetched of an idea for Middleton. And although they were previously worn by an older set, brands with a younger demo like ASOS and John Lewis are starting to stock modern fascinators in their boutiques. In America, I’ve only see Lady Gaga and Anna Dello Russo work this accessory, but that’s sure to change once more high-street brands catch on and begin to mass produce their own versions.

    Photo via Sky News. story viaBlack Book

    Maurice’s Friend, Hair Legend Albie Mulcahy Stopped By Elysium West Ashley Yesterday & Inspired Us All.

    by  • December 17, 2010 • Did You See This?, News

    Scissors in hand, Albie gazes wistfully out the salon windows at the passing traffic on Fourth Street N.

    He’s a chain-smoking slip of a hairstylist, a cross between pop artist Andy Warhol and ’80s rocker Billy Idol.

    He doesn’t cut and tell, but he once toured with the Sex Pistols. He knows famed stylist Paul Mitchell. He is the former right-hand man of deceased rock star stylist John Sahag.

    His lifestyle is fast and furious. He flies to seven different cities every two months to tend to rich and famous clients. In the past 15 years he has lived in New York, London, Paris, Los Angeles and Tokyo.

    Three years ago, Mulcahy moved to St. Petersburg to put the brakes on the frequent-flier life.

    At 56, Mulcahy is teenage hip, with spiky bleached blond hair, black jeans, black hoodie and black ankle boots. Two chunky silver crucifixes hang from his plunging neckline.

    He has a close following among the city’s artsy crowd, aspiring models, young hipsters.

    He calls his salon, the Velvet Lounge.

    So far he’s relied on word of mouth, his MySpace page and local art events to bring in customers.

    Mulcahy was born in Boston, one of five children of Irish Catholic parents. He grew up poor and dreamed of being a famous rock star.

    After spending a year in Vietnam and overcoming a nasty drug habit, he watched the movie Shampoo and knew he wanted to become a hairstylist.

    “It sounds like a cliche,” he said, “but it’s true.”

    He opened a salon in Boston and met Paul Mitchell, becoming one of his educators. He later joined with Sahag in New York, who taught him the dry-cutting technique.

    It’s been 12 years since Mulcahy has cut hair wet.

    Mulcahy said he now is dedicated to teaching other stylists what he knows through his new educational training venture with business partner Dwight Miller called V L V T academies.

    *Albie travels to almost every major city non-stop to keep his vast clientele looking awesome. Charleston is blessed to be on his list.

    Albie Interview here @ The Real Hair Truth

    NEST Holiday Pop-Up Store Launch Event with Cynthia Rowley & Elysium Salon Friday, Dec 10 during the ‘King Street Shop Walk’

    by  • December 5, 2010 • Did You See This?, Events, Lifestyle, News, Products

    NEST TAKES MICROFINANCE TO A WHOLE NEW LEVEL

    Nest empowers women.  Nest preserves artistic traditions.  Nest offers exclusive and handcrafted merchandise.

    Washington, D.C. – NEST is a nonprofit organization founded by Rebecca Kousky when she was just 24 years old.  Nest is a unique combination of interest-free microfinance loans, mentoring from established designers and a place to buy exclusively designed and handcrafted merchandise from many of the world’s most sought-after artists and designers, as well as crafts produced by women around the globe.  The Nest website is www.buildanest.com.

    With a master’s degree in social work, an artistic sensibility and an entrepreneurial spirit, Rebecca founded Nest to draw together artists from across the globe.  Using an innovative method developed by Rebecca, one she has dubbed “microbarter,” Nest provides women, or cooperatives of women, with loans that allow them to purchase the supplies, training, bazaar space or raw materials needed to make their crafts.  Women then repay their loans in beautiful merchandise, available on the Nest website, www.buildanest.com, and at selected retail outlets.

    In addition to crafts from all over the world, Nest partners with domestic designers, who offer exclusively made and handcrafted items, also available on the website, with the proceeds going to support additional female artists in the developing world.  These designers also mentor loan recipients, giving them valuable business, marketing and design advice.

    Nest encourages women to develop businesses using the creative skills they already possess, many passed down through the generations.  And, through mentoring by Nest’s established designers, its financial and business curriculum, its access to a western marketplace and its wrap-around services, Nest fully supports women as they move from poverty to self-sufficiency.  Nest instills pride of ownership, preserves ancient artistic traditions and successfully moves women from poverty to self-sufficiency.

    In 2007, Rebecca won the Social Entrepreneurship and Innovation Competition of the Skandalarias Center of Entrepreneurial Studies at Washington University in St. Louis.  She was named one of the St. Louis Business Journal’s ‘30 under 30’, which recognizes the achievements of young entrepreneurs and executives.  Nest was invited to be the featured charity at the 2007 Sundance Film Festival and Rebecca was recognized as a ‘Young Person who Rocks’ by CNN, which included a televised feature.  In addition, Rebecca and Nest have been profiled in numerous publications, from magazines and newspapers, both regional and international, to local and national television and on many websites.  And Nest’s traditional crafts, in addition to being available on the website, are carried by major retailers, including Whole Foods.

    In three years of operation, Nest has assisted over 200 women in eight countries, including artists in India, Guatemala, Morocco, Tanzania and Turkey.  Every Nest designer and loan recipient is profiled on: www.buildanest.com.  Nest’s entire product line, including its own women’s t-shirts with the distinctive Nest logo, is sold to upscale boutiques in major cities, presented through trunk shows and trade shows, and is available via the Nest online marketplace.

    Nest has created a community of artists helping artists, and women helping women, the world over.VISIT WWW.BUILDANEST.COM