Lots to share, it's been so long...

I know, really...A month! A month since I last wrote something. I should be ashamed and really it's the procrastinator in me that I can blame. So much going on, so little time...Yes, tomorrow I will blog..I promise...well, as we can see...THAT didn't happen much at all this month!

SO, here's a little recap!

St. Baldricks! We were fortunate enough to be involved in this first annual Saint James, St. Baldricks head shaving extravaganza! There were 4 of us Bijou girls and two other hairdressers from other local salons. It was a great feeling to be able to network with other salons, this should really be done more often! We shaved over 70 heads, men and women, boys and girls! It was really...amazing seems like such a small word, it was impressive seeing everyone come together to support childhood cancer. The kids involved, listening to the parents talk. Kids are always the bravest. We were so honored to be a part of it, and we loved it so much that another group of Bijou girls will be doing the same thing in Auburn at the fire department! Such warmhearted girls, love those Bijou girls! Here are some articles about it to read. Click here and here! FYI, they weren't messing around, for their first time participating in St. Baldricks, they raised over 27k! We were thrilled to be a part of it!

At the end of the month, Courtney and Kim traveled on an adventure to Bumble and bumble!! For 4 days of learning how to network educate within our salon, we now have been fully trained in teaching classes to the girls at the salon. This was the most challenging four days in quite a long time, classes began promptly at 8:30 am and lasted till 5:30 pm. The day was jam packed and we learned so much. I find Bb University to be such a nurturing learning environment. They realize that people all learn in different ways, listening, seeing and experiencing. So they have us learn all three ways. It's quite interesting and I truly think it's a wonderful experience!! We were challenged with live models and they watched our every move, which is great to get such hands on learning experience with so much feedback!

Our other fun thing we have to share is two of our very talented clients have just begun a CSA garden! What is a “CSA”?

It is Community Supported Agriculture. A CSA is a community of individuals who pledge to support a farming operation where the growers and consumers share the risks and benefits of food production. CSAs usually consist of a system of weekly delivery or pick-up of vegetables and fruit, in a vegetable box scheme, where what is grown is split up among the CSA members. Each member purchases a part of all of a “share”. We have half or full shares available, and, you can choose a “Veggie share” or a “Spicy share”.

I've already secured my half share for my family and this will ensure that my family will once a week get a little bounty of veggies that are grown on a farm by people that I know are not putting chemicals all over them! They are growing them with love and I cannot wait to get those veggies. You can see their webpage - about us page that tells you all about them here! But look here too!

SO the great thing is, Rob and Ashley are letting me raffle off a half share for our Bijou friends. It's easy, you can do a couple of different things to get entered that are pretty darn simple, there is no catch, it's just if you are interested in having fresh veggies for a whole summer weekly! Here is what you can do:

• Go to facebook and watch out for the random questions I post every couple of days, if you comment, I'll add your name! You can do this as many times as you like!
  
• Leave a comment on our blog, I'll add your name to the raffle jar!
• Email me at info@bijousalon.net
• Come into the salon and take a Marigold Farm business card and ask to enter your name!

So there you have it, an easy way to win a half share of the farm!!! (btw, it's valued at $275!!!)

My next project getting the newsletter done with our April Specials!!

So the

Anonymous...

Good business owners want to hear the good, the bad and the ugly...A very good business person is secure enough in his/her business practices to know that mistakes are made and it's a great way to be able to learn a valuable lesson.

While I would love to be able to say (as I'm sure every business person would) that we never make mistakes, this is simply unrealistic and untrue. The best places I have visited slips up ever so often, we are all human and can all sometimes use some constructive feedback. To a good business owner this is gold!

After owning my business for 5 years, I really believe that all of our clients know this, but it's worth repeating , I want the good, the bad and the ugly! I hope everyone knows how important this is to me and they know I want the chance always to fix the issue. The Bijou girls know this too and they too have adapted this approach, it's better to know what you are doing wrong than thinking you're doing it always right and nobody telling you! I never appreciated being "spared" the mistakes I made when I was a young stylist, how are you to grow? I always make it a point to go over it with the girls if this happens and evaluate what could be done instead, they have learned also to take constructive feedback without getting bothered. I would be doing them a disservice if I didn't tell them.

When I go to my favorite restaurant and I'm not happy, I used to shy away from telling the manager, but now owning my business...I know how useful and important this information is and that the owners appreciate getting a heads up, just as I do. It's really okay to be honest, helpful and truthful!

BUT what I don't like is "anonymous" reviews that don't feel exactly constructive, they feel more personal, more spiteful and just plain not playing nice on the playground! I remember being infuriated when reading comments on Syracuse.com about Tim Green and Adam Weitsman, two men that I admire greatly, I hate people who spew hate and post anonymous, really?! Don't they remember when our Mothers told us, if you can't say something nice, don't say anything at all?!

We've had two very similar reviews from "anonymous", both saying similar things that our staff is inexperienced and young. I hate to be so blunt, but anonymous in at least one of these cases could be renamed "obvious"! (click here and scroll all the way to the bottom) Notice who "anonymous" insists on going to instead of us, hmm, coincidence?

I would like to address a couple things in this review, it says that the reviews on the web were made by friends and staff of Bijou. I can assure you none were made by staff at all, and they were all made by clients (who in fact are friends of Bijou)! It said we have a high turnover rate, hmm, yes, over the last 5 years 4 were let go for irreconcilable differences you could say, 4 moved to different areas, (and all have said they miss Bijou terribly) 1 decided to stay home with her kids and 1 went on disability full time. We have almost all our original staff and they claim they are lifers. But guess what, in this industry, there is a lot of change and ultimately I will always do what is good for our business. Sometimes it's better for everyone! And years of experience? Well let's just say there are 10 of us and total years combined experience is 92 years, we are a true team so we all mentor the young girls and help each other!

This same review also said the number of bad reviews from locals are infinite, I find this also amusing as I hear so often that the Bijou name comes up at football banquets, wrestling matches, events and clients are always so proud to say that they go there and report back to me what nice things are said. If there is one thing I know, it's our reputation is very solid. I guess this is what eats anonymous up!

So normally I would not jump on my soap box and use this as a platform to vent, but sometimes you just get fed up. All of my friends know, that I am always the one to see the good in everyone, I tend to be very naive when it comes to people not doing nice things and genuinely make excuses for most people's behaviors. While I'm super patient, I also have a breaking point like most people! It's silly, there is plenty of business for everyone, nobody needs to get nasty and make anonymous comments. Work hard at improving your own station in life instead of using immature tactics such as posing as "anonymous", try to build yourself up instead of only trying to sabatoge others. This is always more effective!

I'm a true believer in karma. You get what you give, whether it's bad or good.

This is the first time and only time I will post about such an issue:) It's all hair, hair products, stories at Bijou, doing good and all general happiness from here on out! Amen!

Matching a stylist and a guest...

From time to time, I will get emails from new guests asking me what stylist would be good for them. I LOVE when this happens and if every new guest that came to Bijou would tell us a little about their hair, their past salon experiences and their likes and dislikes...Matching stylists to guests would be so easy.

This is my theory on finding a hairstylist that is right for you. Personalities play a big part in the success of this, a wild child who would go to a conservative stylist, may not always work. The same if it's vice versa. Some people like to play it safe with their hair, some people like to just be a wild card and some people really need a stylist to tell them what would be best. Stylists that are good for one person, doesn't always mean they'll be good for that persons friend. But it doesn't make them bad, it just makes them not right for them.

At Bijou, we strongly encourage...and every one of our stylists will tell you this. We won't take it personally if you don't return to us, it's nothing personal and we just want you to be happy and comfortable with who you go to. If your style is to go to someone different each time, just to see what's out there. WE encourage it! We have lots of clients who float freely within Bijou Salon. (it's how I was, when I was a client:)

So please, if you are new and coming to Bijou, and the team profiles are not helping you enough to figure out who to choose for a stylist. Email me and tell me your hair hang ups, your wants and your do NOT wants. Send me some pictures if you wish and I will give you at least 2 stylist recommendations and why. Then you can choose!

Bijou Salon in the tiny village of Skaneateles wins Salon Today magazines top 200 growing salons in the country!

Remember when I wrote this? I had just found out we WON!

Okay, if you don't feel like backflashing to that post last month, here is the gist:

Salon today 200 magazine chooses the top 200 fastest growing salons in north America every year.

This year Bijou qualified to enter the competition. With thousands of applications by salon businesses across the country, this honor is bestowed upon the salons that showcase the best management/business practices that contribute to overall success. We didn't know if we had a chance, but nothing ventured, nothing gained was going to be our motto!

Thank God we tried, because luck and hard work bestowed us the honor to be ranked with 199 other salons who put their best foot forward too!

Until just last week, we didn't know what categories we had won or placed in. NOW we do! We won in overall growth of our salon business. AND we also placed in philanthropy and technology!

Please click here to see our picture in the magazine and read our mention! We also got lucky and they mentioned us on the last page where they wrap up the whole issue:) Such an honor!

Next week, Thomas and I, will head to New Orleans to accept the award and attend the Serious Business conference. I believe attending this conference will teach us more, give us more serious ideas and take our little gem of a salon to a whole new level!

Feeling so blessed!

How do you do Gizelle curls?

Last year at one of the many hair shows we attended, we learned from the stylist of Meg Ryan, Sally Hershberger, just how to make those Gizelle waves...She called them "Genius", about 13 times! We love them and teach them all the time in the salon.

Here is our first attempt at making a video, which is actually a long process, very confusing, but not for our 13 year old future Bijou front desk girl! A special thanks to the awesome teenager Chloe for helping me! And thanks to Shelly, Lisa and Jen for letting us demonstrate on their beautiful heads of hair!

Google Bijou Salon Stories

Found another fun thing, check it out and make your own! Send me 6 searches on Google representing a story for you and I'll make you one:) Or for real, it's too too simple, try it here! But then you must send it to me to see;)

Bijou's first annual Cut a thon and helping hands!

(scan this code with your QR code reader on your smart phone, or click here to read our newsletter in detail!)







What I love generally about people, is their willingness to help! This village especially, I'm telling you, just ask and people are so happy to help! I guess people help, because I ask, I'm a firm believer that the answer will always be NO! Unless you ask! So I ask, because I never mind when people say no and I never mind when people ask me for help..I LOVE to help!

So the idea came a while ago about a cut a thon. We've had so many clients who have said to us jokingly...Come on, it's beautiful, can't you just cut my hair outside this time! I always have said, just wait, maybe one day we will! In the back of my mind, I filed the idea...a cut a thon, we cut for specified hours and donate the money to whatever cause we decide! The problem was, we needed a passionate cause....

THEN I read something in the letter to the editor a little while ago, that next day we had a scheduled staff meeting...I let the girls read the newspaper cut out and asked if they wanted to do the cut a thon for that particular cause. Unanimously they said YES! It was perfect! We would donate the cut a thon earnings to the PARCS fund, we will make a collective donation to honor a sweet angel.
BUT we hope to make a huge donation, knowing they have about 40k and the goal for the budget of the playground is 125k, we know we won't be able to pull in that much, but we can give a good start!

So we started planning, coming up with ideas every day...and of course, clients jump in..."What can I do?".....

Then we came up with a plan, with the help of friends.. to add to our donation of cuts...snow cones, bake sale, hair accessories, hair wraps, raffle baskets (most of them valued well over $100)..so much more...everyone started jumping in! Echo on the lake will stay open and donate a portion of their nights sales, Mark from Doug's will give us Ice for the snow cone machines, Bill from Johnny Angel's donated meal tickets! Patience Brewster offered a basket! (She herself came down:) Deb from Mottville Emporium, always jumps in!! Cindy Petters offered her services to make snow cones and hopefull she will blog about it, that will be fun:) And the list continues and is growing!!

Then I started looking online..(because for a moment, I worried about rain..but then I realized..no rain can come on such a day!)..... for tents on Auburn party rental, then I saw it...A DUNK TANK! How fun, I had remembered once in Marcellus, they had one and it was lots of fun to do! Then I had Marty Hubbard, the mayor of Skaneateles down for his monthly haircut. I asked him if he would let us dunk him, out of context, I think I scared him...when I explained...(actually I said this..."Come on, do it for your grandkids, they need a new playground at Austin park!) he said I just needed to clear it with the boss (aka: his wife, Debbie) She was so excited and I think would have cleared the entire day for him to get dunked...I have a feeling, she may even buy lots of balls to throw! Then I talked to one of the teachers at the school, she called the middle school principal Tim Chiavara, and he said he'd be glad to do it...then I called Mr. Williams, a favorite middle school teacher, he jumped right in....Tim Green would have gladly done it, but was out of town for the first football game! (darn!)...Then when I was being interviewed by the Skaneateles Press, the editor Jason Emmerson and he OFFERED to be dunked too! Then I jokingly asked my good friend Erin, the go to girl Erin, if she thought Thom Filicia would be willing to get dunked, she said she would ask...and GUESS WHAT, he said yes!


He's going to dress in a suit and tie and let whoever wants to meet him and dunk him!!

So please, come join the fun, we promise it will be fun, lots of people helping, lots of laughing and lots of haircuts!

And one day, we can all sit up at the new park and know that we had a little to do to make it what it is!

P.S. Bring lots of money!...LOTS OF MONEY;) and please pass this on!

Why I love our village...

This village is special, no doubt about it. It's mainly the people, they exude kindness and support. We are all there for eachother, no doubts. Simple things make us happy, it's a great place to live!

Let me share this "around town" scavenger hunt that the sweetest soul ever did for her daughter..A few of her favorite things around town, including our very own Bijou.

THIS IS LOVE~

New and familiar faces...

Okay, I do solemnly swear to give an update on each girl. BUT since it's summer and we can hardly breath..(Thankful for that btw:) I will start with names first, hopefully this will suffice until we can get proper introductions in case you have not met these lovely girls yet!

Starting in the back row from left to right: Kara, Miranda, Amanda, Christina, Kim (Moi) and Courtney
Front row, left to right: Taylor, Lori, Samantha and Jolene (yes I want to sing Dolly Parton's hit too;)

Great crew, along with our new full time front desk coordinator Andrea (Grandinetti) Brzostek, and part time Ellen and Tammy!

Shiney new faces, some old familiar faces..All happy and striving for one common thing, to be the best at what we do!

Acupuncture at Bijou?

I love how the world is constantly revolving. People you meet years ago, that you think are neat and interesting individuals, the ones that stick in your minds and after losing track of what they are up to, years pass by and suddenly they re-enter, and you think, ah ha, there they are!

I always find that the ones that stick in my head somehow, always re-enter. And sometimes I feel myself knowing that they would.

Which brings me to tell you about the latest service we can offer you. Have you ever wondered about acupuncture. Yes, I KNOW...the thought of it is a little scary! BUT trust me, it's only because you don't "know" about it. The fear or apprehension of the unknown. I once threw my back out terribly, this was suggested to me and willing to try anything, but a teeny bit afraid, I threw caution to the wind and tried it! The needles are not really needles per say, they were so small and thin that you couldn't feel a thing. I enjoyed the whole process and had I not been in so much pain, would have enjoyed the relaxation even more. Read more about it here, here and here.

My nephew, probably about 7ish years ago, lived with me and was dating a really sweet girl, she had a brother who was going to college in Montana that came back for occasional visits. Since my nephew was living with me at the time, I met him too and I remember he was so interesting because I gathered that he was studying Eastern type medicine and that he had been in college for a long time and would be in college for an even longer time. Well that brother of the girl (that I wish was not the ex of my nephew:) just finished at the NY chiropractic college, finishing his Masters degree in Acupuncture and before he returns out west, he wants to spend the summer in his hometown! Lucky us (I really am lucky when it comes to things like this, I would have never sought out an acupuncturist, but since everything happens for a reason, someone that is affiliated must "need" one:) , he came to Bijou to ask if we would like to offer this service for the summer.

So we had a chat and I suggested some ideas for letting you experience it. We have a couple of events coming up. The baremineral event on May 20th and an Aveda event on June 1st that he will be hopefully attending. We will also set up a whole Sunday where we will be having a contest of some sort to let a certain amount of friends of Bijou to try it. I will have a jar to enter names and you can also enter your name on facebook, watch out for that!

So please, read on and learn about Michael Peluso and ask any questions you'd like about acupuncture!

What is Acupuncture and How Can it Help You?

Acupuncture is one of the oldest medical practices in the world. It involves the painless insertion of tiny, pre-sterilized, single-use-only needles into key points of the body for the purpose of correcting energetic and hormonal imbalances which can lead to illness. Acupuncture has been continuously practiced and refined for over 2,500 years. Because acupuncture is holistic in nature, treatment focuses on the entire person and consequently, ailments or conditions which may not be the main focus of the treatment are often alleviated or corrected as well.

The World Health Organization as well as the National Institutes of Health concluded that acupuncture is effective for the treatment of: back pain, knee pain, neck pain, shoulder pain, elbow pain, wrist pain, headaches, nausea due to chemotherapy, menstrual disorders, allergies, stress, anxiety, depression, even high blood pressure as well as a wide variety of other ailments, so don’t be afraid to ask!

Many patients find the experience of acupuncture so relaxing that they fall asleep during treatment and wake feeling rested and renewed!

About the Practitioner

Michael J. Peluso, M.S., L.Ac., Dipl.Ac is a graduate of the Fingerlakes School of Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine of New York Chiropractic College. He is a licensed and board-certified acupuncturist. Acupuncturists must complete a rigorous 4 year graduate level medical education which includes the study of anatomy, physiology, chemistry, pathology, and diagnostics as well as intensive study of eastern medical theory and application. Michael also completed 5 clinical internships including one at the Veteran’s Hospital in Canandaigua, NY where he treated a variety of patients with emotional and physical traumas from armed conflict, as well as 4 internships in two integrative medicine centers alongside chiropractors and other health care providers.

Empowering the team using kind affirmations...

This post was actually supposed to be finished right after I did this little creative exercise at our first Team meeting of the year. I took the photos, had what I wanted to share in my head, started it in my new posts, only to let it sit in editing stages for quite some time. However, with the spirit of, everything happens for a reason and timing is everything, here it is. (It must be the right time for someone:)

We have always had team meetings, but they were not as regular as they should have been and they always revolved around dinner. While this is a very nice touch, it's also distracting. At the end of 2010 we decided one goal we would strive for was, monthly meetings. Jen got me right on task to plan them ahead of time, so we were not playing (or shall I say..she was not playing..) 'find a night we are all free, game'...a tricky task, as we are all incredibly busy.

We did it, posted the dates for one year. Perfect! Set guidelines and promised to post agenda's the week before the meeting, keeping them to one hour and taking minutes. Boy, can I say...We should have done this ages ago! The first one is always the hardest, going over the guidelines, philosophy of Bijou, tackling issues, also discussing some new and exciting benefits we were offering to the girls. It went off without a hitch, but I also knew that I wanted to also give them something special too. Somehow I came up with the idea of having each of the girls write something nice about each of their team members. Not knowing the value of this when I came up with the idea, or that my fingers would get glued together. But seeing them all take the time to write something about each person was quite lovely, I was surprised as I read such nice things...and thought, they would have never known their team members thought these wonderful things. I also could tell, it came from their hearts. This set the tone for a great year.

Thinking of my past working experiences and events that happened in those environments, I felt lucky and blessed that each girl had the other girls backs. They genuinely are fond of each other and this I know, as clients tell me this all the time. This is most importantly, what makes Bijou.

We work as a team.

Wear red on February 4th!

Here is an email I received from one of our clients who thought about us, since they know we are big supporters of worthy causes.
*She then dropped off this lovely little bag with personalized note, we felt like we had gotten early Valentine present's!*

The clients at Bijou really are very special wonderful people!

Not only will we be wearing our pins on February 4th and dressing in RED, we will also donate 10% of that whole day's services and retail to whichever organization Kathy Palmieri likes the best! (in honor of her, 42..Wow, I'm 38, so scary!)

HI Kim, Friday, February 4th has been designated as, "Go Red for Women" by numerous organizations supporting heart health awareness. I have been an active participator of these programs since 1994 when I, at 42, had a heart attack. Not a good thing for anyone, but as a cardiovascular nurse, I was by far the worst patient ever to hit Crouse ICU.

So, with that said, I have red dress pins for you and the staff at Bijou. I will be in the salon today and will drop them off. I would greatly appreciate your support in promoting this cause. Kathy

Friday, February 4, 2011, is National Wear Red Day—a day when Americans nationwide will take women's health to heart by wearing red to show their support for women's heart disease awareness. Join The Heart Truth on National Wear Red Day to help spread the critical message that, "Heart Disease Doesn't Care What You Wear—It's the #1 Killer of Women."

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Everyone can participate in the national movement by wearing their favorite red dress, shirt, tie, or Red Dress Pin on Friday, February 4, 2011. The Heart Truth launched the Red Dress as the national symbol for women and heart disease awareness in 2002 to deliver an urgent wakeup call to American women. For more information on how to get involved, visit the National Wear Red Day toolkit which provides useful information and resources that you can use to help celebrate National Wear Red Day in your community.

Photo shoot at Bijou

We love working with photographers...I think professional photos make all the difference in the world for websites, press material, etc. I have also heard from our professional photographers that our services, (makeup and style) makes all the difference in their world for senior portraits and weddings! (LOVED hearing that!) Don't worry, we'll be having a senior style and make-up special when that time comes around!!

We have a few favorite Photographers that we are partial to at Bijou. (we've met many wonderful photographers, these are the ones we know extra special good:) Click on their names to check out their work. They always impress us and have us dreaming to be inside of their camera's! Both of them do the most amazing children photographs too! The last guy on my list is the great Jim Scherzi (he photographs food, architectural stuff and more food..all the Wegman's frozen food..his studio is cool!), he helped me win the 2010 salon of the year - salon of distinction. He did me a huge favor and for that I'm grateful..didn't even know the guy before he did it:)

Carol DiSalvo
Laure Lillie
Jim Scherzi

We'll be taking another group photo at our next team meeting in February, in this picture some girls are missing and one girl no longer works with us at Bijou (Michele). We are missing Summer, Sommayeh, Amanda and our new girl coming in a few weeks Andrea. That is going to be a lot of girls:)

Francis House event: No place like home.

The Bijou girls, almost all of us, are heading out into Syracuse to do some good and to have a little outside salon bonding time! Killing to two birds with one stone, love to do that! We are heading to volunteer at the Francis House event held at the Fairgrounds in the horticulture building! We are super excited, the event is called - No place like home.

Here is Amanda, Sam and Christina listening to our instructions of what our jobs might be. We will be Key sellers, house watchers and maybe some of will work in the "bank". The budget for the Francis house each year is..1.2 million, this fundraiser, raises 1/3 of it!! The object of the night is for people to buy keys for $5.00 each and there are houses that the keys might fit into, in that house if your key is a lucky one, you get a ticket that tells you what you won. There are different color keys for different levels of gifts. All the gifts are donated by people, Bijou donated a Moroccan oil gift box and a $100 dollar service certificate, (a $200 value). There are also golden keys, selling for $25, you could win a trip to the Bahama's.

The entrance into the event is $50, this includes so many food stations (the inside scoop is, that there will be a baked potatoe bar!!), beer and wine. I've heard for years that this event is the best, so now that you know about it and know we Bijou girls will be there....What's stopping you?? Mark it on your calendar, October 13th, Wednesday from 5-8!

Here are what the keys look like...

Not enough money with you? No problem, debit or credit card will get you event money, works the same as cash!

Here is one of the houses, my friend Beth (the big kahuna in fundraising) brought us one of the houses and showed us how it all works! We're all ready to volunteer!

Sierra in Germany!!!

Some of you may remember our front desk girl, Sierra, she was one of our two scholars from Skaneateles who worked the front desk. Sierra was the Salutatorian and Victoria was the Valedictorian! We all miss both girls, but know how exciting their next year will be!

Of course, I encouraged them to take up blogging...(purely a selfish reason for myself..to live vicariously through their posts:) Well you can too! If you are wondering how Sierra's first German experiences are and how much she is learning...Click here, to follow her! You can view her blog along with me:) And once Victoria makes it off to college, we can follow her too!

We miss you girls already!

Getting your haircut at Bijou and Face Shapes!

Stop experimenting with haircuts that look good on others and wear a style that looks good on you!!

To find out the shape of your face, measure it with a tape measure or ruler. You will take the following measurements.

1. Measure your face across the top of your cheekbones. Write down the measurement on a piece of paper.

2. Measure across your jaw line from the widest point to the widest point. Write down the measurement.

3. Measure across your forehead at the widest point. Generally the widest point will be somewhere about halfway between your eyebrows and your hairline. Write down the measurement.

4. Measure from the tip of your hairline to the bottom of your chin.

Oval Face - Length equal to one and a half times width.

Round Face - Your face is as wide as it is long. This may vary a little but generally the measurement is close.

Oblong - Longer than it is wide.

Heart - Narrow at jaw line, wide at cheekbones/and or forehead.

Square - your face is about as wide as it is long.

Diamond - Widest at cheekbones, narrow forehead and jaw line of approximately equal widths.

Your haircut should be as unique as you . Your face shape is a natural guideline for finding the perfect style. Our stylists don't just cut your hair ; we design a customized haircut specifically for you based on face shape,texture,and thickness!

It's our passion and attention to detail that that makes Bijou Salon sparkle above the rest! Plus we listen to what you really want and advise you on what will work best with your hair!

Bijou is a salon of distinction and Stacey is a Betty!

Tonight was surreal...First we had a very successful party for Baremineral, educated lots and lots of people about mineral make up, we did lots of "make-unders" and had so many laughs, actually side splitting laughs!

So in the middle of it, I get a phone call, it was someone with very bad laryngitis, I had a hard time understanding the person, I heard..."Stacey..in the salon....pictures"...so I said, "Oh yeah..." because I take pictures of people in the salon all the time for the blog. So in my head I'm running over all the Stacey's over the past couple of days..Then I hear...."Magazine....Salon of Distinction.....contest you entered"...At that point I stopped my brain and focused on the words she was trying to say...I think I must have had her repeat it quite a few times, I mean before I started screaming, I wanted to be sure..(I'm sure I've embarrassed myself at least once or twice in life, celebrating prematurely) So finally I realized...Bijou placed in the Salon of the year contest!

Like I said...surreal! The editor in Chief herself was calling to tell me. This is when I know, things are still right in the world! And not everyone in the world is a Willemena Slater or a Miranda Priestly (Devil wear's Prada)...let me explain:)


I love to watch Ugly Betty, the tv show, I always wondered if editor in chiefs were more like Willemena or like Betty? I have mostly assumed them to be like Willy, but not Salon Today's Editor in Chief, here I am little tiny salon in Skaneateles, I write her once and she writes me back, not just once, but several times. Then when our salon placed, she calls...me..at the salon...yep, I already pinched myself, it really did happen!

Stacey is a Betty...There should be more people like her! Thank you again Stacey!

I will share with you the email I received when I got home:


I wanted to call you personally to tell you about your SALONS OF THE YEAR win since we corresponded so much earlier this year, but as you can tell I have complete laryngitis today. I'll have to call you again soon so you can hear my real voice!

BTW, we did end up having quite a healthy number of entries, well over 100 of whom met qualifications. The magazine will feature the SOTY, the three runners up and 16 Salons of Distinction, one of which is Bijou. All the judges were impressed with the inspiring boutique you've created -- as you state it's a gem of a salon.

Although I let my associate editor make most of the calls today, I wanted to call you personally. Sorry again it was so hard to hear me!!!

Talk soon,
Stacey Soble Editor in Chief
SALON TODAY

Things just got EVEN easier at Bijou!

At Bijou we are always thinking of new ways to make life easier for everyone! I base a lot of my decisions on what is difficult for me when I do things outside of Bijou. Like for instance, I really hate that I never remember to book an appointment during the day when I am working...which happens to be the hours of the places I am trying to book an appointment. I will think about it early in the morning, before they open, then I go to work, work all day..Get out of work, worry about dinner and all that other stuff. THEN at 10pm...I'm slapping my forehead because, once again..I FORGOT to call to make an appointment. Seriously if I could book an online appointment for my automobile service garage, I would never have to be late again on an oil change. AS a matter of fact, the first garage that implements that...they have my business!

SO of course, I digress...Where was I..okay yes, we are all about making life easier on everyone:) So we have some really fun and exciting for everyone options, especially if you are computer savvy...CROSS that, you don't have to be savvy..just own a computer, it's easy, I promise you. You just have to go to HERE our new and beautifully improved website, click Booking and that is it, follow the easy instructions. Now YOU can book an appointment any time of the day, early or late, at BIJOU! If you have any troubles, please give us a call, we'll walk you through it!

THE other goodies we have are convenience related! I don't know about you, but I rely a lot on reminder calls from Dr.'s appointments and so on. We try to do reminder calls, but sometimes we can't get a hold of the person, or a kid takes a message, whatever it is. We have added a new feature to our program, but NEED a little bit more info from you. (ONLY if you'd like to participate and use this option:) So please do the following if you would like to:

Get a text message the morning of your appointment? - Call the front desk, give them your name and ask them to enter your cell phone in the appropriate box, with your cell phone carrier (verizon, A t&t, cricket..etc) and voila, you will get a txt the day of to remind you:)

Would you like an email confirmation, instead of a phone call? or BOTH? (just to be extra sure to remember) - again, call front desk and have one of them add your email address to your name, ALSO and this is a big one:

DO you want a BIRTHDAY email from us? With a big birthday surprise, something really worth your while...once again, you know what to do, I bet...call front desk and add your birthday (only the month and day is necessary) AND your email of course:)

Thanks, I hope you like these great new options as much as we do. When you come in though, be sure to take Asher up on his offer for Coffee, tea, water or hot cocoa, he's a bit worried his job will become obsolete;) NEVER, we will always need the front desk staff, NOW they just have more time to welcome and play "cruise director"!

Are we a salon of distinction?

So I have a couple of things in the works here, plus plenty on my mind...and since I never seem to get good quality sleep, I will let them out here. Beware, I may ramble, although this is a business blog per se, it is most certainly me behind the business and the gift of gab runs through my veins heartily!

So Thursday we have a big photo shoot. So (I may have mentioned this already here) there is a really special contest held every year in one of our trade magazines, it's my favorite one (and always has been, even when I was not an owner) because it's mostly about the business side of the salon. They have a wealth of knowledge and I scour the pages and check the internet site often their sister magazine is Modern Salon, the first trade magazine I picked up before becoming a stylist, I remember reading it at my hairdressers, thinking I was let in on some huge secret world, it's a really great magazine. (I warned you I would babble) Okay so back to the point..

On Wednesday night, I will go to the Laura's list event, (wouldn't miss it!) and then I will tuck my kids in and head back to the shop. What on earth would I be doing after 10pm at the shop? Well, you know how in Magazines, whether it be architectural magazines, decor magazines..anything like that, and you look at the pictures, you see nothing? If you're like me, you are jealous at the uncluttered look. The last time I entered this contest (I entered the first year I opened) I never knew...all the crap...yep, it's in the hallway, basement or outside the door..or what may be in our case, all three of those! On Thursday before noon strikes, we will be "staging" the salon to take 10 pictures. (check out here, here, here and here to see how other winners photos looked) I'm stressing over these pictures, because I have no idea what to shoot, but luckily I have friends to help me. Thanks God for my friends!

So have I mentioned the part about this contest that is the real stressful part? Not only stressful for me, but for the guy taking the shots? The deadline when everything needs to be postmarked, is February 1st. We are taking the pictures on January 28th, that leaves him 3 days to do his "magic" on them. When I took the leap to do this contest again, it was because I didn't want to have regrets, I wanted to right away jump head first, like last time. BUT I was hesitant, because last time I just got a letter saying, thank you for entering.

Last time I thought I could have a chance, but actually after looking over who won, I realized, I was so silly to think that. (This time, I have my game face one;)

Still though, I look over and over the previous winners, AND the salons of distinction, I focus alot on how much investment they put into their salon and I freeze...maybe I should not do this. Look closely, the minimum investment I think is still over 100k. Trust me, I am no where near that investment amount, I mean really, not that I wouldn't love to have shopped even more, but it wasn't going to happen! I (think) am intelligent enough to know that I do have some things the competition doesn't seem to have..such as, maybe it's a good thing that my budget (especially in these times) was conservative, maybe not everyone else had the luck of wonderful friends to join in and help, maybe nobody else will have our whimsical look....maybe, just maybe, we'll stand out, just a little bit.


So that is it, that is why I am up at 5am, tossing and turning..I'm nervous, of what, I'm not quite sure, it's not that I worry I won't win, I don't really expect to win the top titles, but maybe a salon of distinction award.. I worry about what the judges will say..I worry about making so much work for everyone...taking apart the salon and putting it back together, inconveniencing some clients, and taking time away from my friend who is once again helping me direct this shoot. (Thanks Shelly) (OOH Kay, click on that link and then sign up for her blog, you will love hers too! Hi Kay:) I worry, I worry, I worry. So I guess, maybe I could get some sleep, IF everyone who reads this, will say a little tiny wish for me. (save actual prayers for more important things:) And hopefully now my brain will have that much less worry, (ha!) so that I can actually fall back asleep, and last night I was actually so proud of myself because I got to bed before 11pm. Sheesh!

So just one more little thing, I'm also really excited because in the next couple of weeks, we will have some "guest" bloggers, I had the idea that rather than always just hearing my "voice" you should, could and would hear other Bijou team members voices. The first ones coming up are Stacy O'neal, her post will be about her three day hair (intriguing I know..that's the point;) and Sierra is working on her Moroccan oil masterpiece!

Great news!

2010 so far has been terrific. After a whole ten days, I can say that so far, so good!

Salon today is a trade magazine that I read religiously every month. The first year after I opened, all proud of the design of Bijou, (the original first phase of Bijou) after being open for 3 months, I entered the glorious and prestigious salon of the year! Shelly and I came in to the salon on a Sunday and did a real photo shoot. By real I mean, man I never realized when these salons do photo shoots and the salon looks pristine and perfect...All the stuff was in the hallway hiding. I thought I had blogged about it, but I guess not. (must have blogged in my head, like so many things) We took some great photos, I filled out the application and then received a letter saying although it was very nice, we didn't make the cut. I was sad, but only for a moment, because even without it being in a magazine, I knew Bijou was special! So I thought that was it, my only chance!

So right now, I need to get my pen moving, stop clicking on the keyboard and start answering all these questions for both competitions. Wish me luck!

BUT THEN...

When my new Salon today magazine came, I read 'Hey good lookin' show us your style', I read the first sentence...'Did you give your salon or spa a makeover this year?'...I almost forgot...YES I DID GIVE BIJOU A MAKEOVER! I mean an expansion is a makeover right...I remember the dust, the construction...the dust...did I mention the dust? I quickly scanned down and read to see if I actually did qualify...I DO I DO I DO!! The deadline is February 1st, 2010 and I'm on it.

The other exciting news is that Salon Today (what a great magazine for our trade) also has another competition..and OMG, I just went into my other tab to make sure I have the info right and I screeched...IT'S THE 13TH ANNUAL SALON TODAY 200 FASTEST GROWING SALONS!!!...(I'm a bit supersticious, so bear with me) 13 is my lucky number! From birth it was chosen for me, I have a charm bracelet that has the number 13 on me, when I was choosing my Bijou email, plain Bijou was not available for my yahoo account, so the first alternative they offered me was Bijousalon1300...I took it, seeing it as a sign, that same day when I called the phone company for my phone number, they offered me 685-1300...let's see what else, Oh I used to say that we were actually 6 and a half Jordan Road, because Bella Blue was also 6 Jordan and yet were only half of the retail space , so when I took over their space, the first thing I thought was...cool, I wish I could rename the address, to 13 Jordan:) (I'm probably boring you with this nonsense, so I will move on:) BUT seriously, 13 is my lucky number, our numbers for growth in the year 2009 are impressive and I am eligible to enter! How amazing is that?!

Plus not to mention, Bijou was already in Nails magazine, and I'm hoping for another feature in another great magazine, or two!