CJ Collins

Every once in a blue moon, you get the opportunity to do something truly special. Ever since I met Cj Collins, I was inspired! Inspired by her energy her ray of light and not to mention her body of works. I first cut Cj six months ago. She came in with long grown out but still beautiful hair. She wanted to cut it all off but I saw the opportunity to do something that I have been waiting 12 years to do. I suggested we do a full color gloss using a silver toner only. This just enhanced the grey and made it more silvery. Then we did a Brazilian straightening treatment to remove all the frizz and smooth out the course grey hairs. One this was done, I had the perfect canvas to paint on. I have been creating pieces like this for over a decade now but who better to do it on than Cj! Thanks Cj!!!!


Marconyc.com www.marcohairnyc.blogspot.com 611 B'Way Suite 740 917-612-1636

A lot of things happening as I prepare for my first full week in this new studio.

This week saw me running around, having to change the addresses on my cards---I'm now at Suite 740, 611 Broadway. I had to return to Ikea for the nth time, because apparently the rack from which my newly-bought shelf would hang from had to be purchased separately (of course nobody told me that). Then I went and got hair from the hair district for a client and then off to the flower district for some flowers.

This was on a Wednesday, and everything had to be done before 5 pm because I had a color client, and then I needed to try out an assistant who might be able to help me with do weddings.

(Oh, and then I had to photo document my sink and figure out what was wrong with the chair since it's so uncomfortable. I definitely need to get a new one).

And finally I had to prepare for a Good Housekeeping shoot the next morning. All in one day. I've never been more psyched. More to come.

 
 

And so we begin...

First thing on the agenda. The floor. The foundation. The base from which everything will rest upon.

All my life I've wanted to have dark floors. I love the dramatic earthiness of rich, dark wood, but never had a floor space big enough to get away with it. As soon as I saw this space, I knew I was going for it. This studio will definitely have dark floors.

After they sanded it out my best friend and I got down and did the staining and coloring ourselves. 

Three days of furious scrubbing, and I got my coffee stain floors--- a beautiful contrast to the white walls, as Erica, who's in the picture on the right commented. (She's the first ever client in this new studio).

THE BEFORE PICTURE

As with all great makeovers let's do the before picture first. This space came calling exactly three weeks ago.

I had long wanted to have my own studio. I really have a tendency to get bored when I'm surrounded by the same walls too long, but I honestly didn't want to leave this great neighborhood, much less this building. So then this empty, lonely space (27 x 15 ft. 550 sq.ft) came up and I thought it was absolutely perfect. I could already imagine the things I could do with a place like this. 

Seriously, it called to me. 

THE AMAZING SAGA OF MY STUDIO, a prologue

Everything is coming together. Three weeks of acting as handyman---painting, hammering, screwing, cleaning and churning out my manual skills---is paying off beautifully.

It seems each piece is determined by this cosmic destiny to be here. Everything is just coming together so perfectly, contributing to a fantastic sense of energy. 

Because the process has been so exhilarating, I want to share the entire story: the great coming-together of this studio from day one---- plants, sinks, buddha statues and power tools included. Stay tuned.