• The Long Bob

    by  • December 15, 2010

    Abbey Lee Kershaw

    Jessica Alba
    Kate Moss

    Celebrity Editorial Hair Stylist Ronnie Stam Visited Us & Shared Some Amazing New Styles & Techniques @ Elysium

    by  • December 8, 2010

    Bio for Ronnie Stam
    Ronnie Stam grew up in a creative atmosphere – being one of eight children in a small town outsideAmsterdam, Netherlands. The son of a hairdresser, as a child Ronnie spent a good deal of time in hisfather’s well respected hair salon.
    Early on, Ronnie was introduced to a fellow Dutchman – hair legend Christiaan. Christiaan took Ronnieunder his wing and soon became Ronnie’s mentor. Ronnie was fortunate to work with him, being hisfirst assistant in Tokyo, Paris, Milan and New York for more than 10 years.
    During this period, Ronnie and partners opened an Amsterdam salon that became very successful inthe Netherlands. Ronnie soon became in-demand and started splitting his time between the salon andParis, where he worked as a freelance hairdresser.
    While in Paris, he worked with top fashion photographers such as Arthur Elgort, Patrick Demarchelier,Gilles Bensimon, Oliviero Toscani, Paolo Roversi, Peter Arnell and Pamela Hanson. Ronnie then decidedto move to Paris. He lived in France for five years.
    From Paris, he moved to New York, and his success continued as he worked with countless top modelsand celebrities, including Cindy Crawford, Linda Evangelista, Christy Turlington, Helena Christensen,Paulina Porizkova, Naomi Campbell, Kate Moss, Claudia Schiffer, Lauren Hutton, Elle Macpherson, TyraBanks, Steven Tyler, Carlos Santana, Rob Thomas, Matchbox Twenty, Duran Duran, Keith Richards, MickJagger, Joe Perry, Uma Thurman, Linda Evans and Lauren Bacall, to name a few.
    Ronnie’s work has graced top global fashion publications, TV commercials, advertising campaigns,calendars, music videos and many special projects. He has worked with notable film directors such asMichael Bay and David Fincher.
    Through the years, Ronnie formed a special friendship with Cindy Crawford, working with her on manyspecial projects including – MTV’s House of Style, book tours, exercise videos and calendars.
    One of the personal highlights in Ronnie’s career has been to work exclusively and tour with world-known rock bands The Rolling Stones and Aerosmith.
    Ronnie’s work has taken him around the world – North and South America, Africa, Asia, Europe, andAustralia.
    He lives in NYC with his wife and daughter, Lola.
    Ronnie has continued success while demonstrating his passion – most recently by becoming aneducator for Oribe Hair Care. He is represented by the talent agency Kramer & Kramer.

    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

    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