The Texture Lounge

No.

Don’t dilute our rich, textured stories and the beauty behind our names.
You can’t call me Olu, Nina, or anything else, unless I offer it to you.
You cannot request to sub out my name for one familiar to you, just because it is easier for your tongue.

Sound familiar? Listen on….

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In the Lounge this episode is Stevona Elem-Rogers. Founder of the Black Women Are For Grown Ups movement, Writer and Activist.

Listed as one of Refinery29's 20 Black Women You Need To Know Right Now, Stevona's Black Women Are For Grown Ups mantra (lovingly shortened by the people to #BWAFGU) is an inspiring life campaign born to lift and power-up the stories of women of color to the front, forever. Period.

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St. Beauty joined me in the Lounge during New York Fashion Week where they were front row regulars at the Phillip Lim and Prabal Gurung shows amongst others.

Both ladies are paving the way and turning heads everywhere they go. Its' no wonder they caught the attention of Janelle Monae who snapped the pair up and signed them to her label The Wondaland Arts Society.
Sought after by the likes of Vogue magazine and high end fashion designers this is a duo you want to know.

If you are looking for new music, be sure to get a hold of St. Beauty's EP 'Running to the Sun'. It's hard to put this one in a box; it doesn't fit any one genre of music. A few words that spring to mind to describe their sound are: Fluid | Space | (he)Art. You just have to listen for yourself.

St. Beauty on their 'Running to the Sun' EP:

"This project is just the beginning for us," said St. Beauty.  "We have so much more to say, and we're so excited to continue to share our story with the world. Thank you to Janelle Monáe and Wondaland for being such an inspiration and believing in our vision" 

A big thank you to both Alex and Isis V from St. Beauty for being our first muses of 2018.

Check out the podcast interview to get the lowdown and follow them on instagram at @stbeauty for more.

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Tumi Soyinka of The Texture Lounge interviews Jamal Edmonds, of the Lamaj Salon Brands.

Jamal proudly owns one of DC's most finest, newly renovated 5 star boutique salons, Lamaj in the City.

Get cozy with us in the Lounge as we get to Jamal more intimately.

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— Ashley Lee

Visiting me in the lounge this week is NYC-based colourist and editorial Texture Expert, Ashley Lee.

In this episode, Ashley shares tips for professional stylists who are not catering to textured clients, her work with social media influencers, her motivations and more.

GIRL BOSS IN THE MAKING.

AS QUOTED IN ELLE MAGAZINE, FAST COMPANY AND AS FEATURED IN TXTURE MAGAZINE.

2016 NEXTGEN ARTIST IN BEAUTY CHANGES LIVES.

If you are looking for the future of the Texture hair industry, start with Ashley Lee (@alstyling) and be ready to be floored by her advanced colour techniques and transformations.

A true girl boss in the making currently meshing entrepreneurialism and education together with her Masters' Degree in Fashion Marketing and a die-hard advocate for elevating the level of professionalism within the Texture hair industry (yes!!!).

In episode 04, Ashley shares how she went from fired to enrolled into Cosmetology school the following week, discusses why it is important to your credibility as a stylist to consider saying "no" to clients (for the right reasons, obvs) and the necessity of mentorship.

Ashley Lee is officially #TLApproved. 

Press play and get to know Ashlee Lee more intimately and to experience her signature styles, you can find her at LW Salon, NYC (Midtown).

Don't forget to review, comment, like and share!

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— Vernon François

Getting cozy with me in the lounge this episode is celebrity texture hair stylist VERNON FRANÇOIS! The time I spent with him recording this podcast was pure unadulterated fun.

Vernon and I once worked together briefly back in my MIZANI UK days; where I brought him on to join the panel in judging our Afro Look Awards (circa 2012) and look at him now. He. Is. Everywhere.

FROM HUDDERSFIELD, UK TO THE HOLLYWOOD RANKS

INTRODUCING THE HAIR-WORLD'S BRIGHTEST FIREWORK, LIGHTING UP TODAY'S TEXTURE INDUSTRY AND CURLY COMMUNITIES ON BOTH SIDES OF THE ATLANTIC.

His insanely talented fingers regularly court the textured tresses of all my women-crush-wednesdays (Lupita Nyong'o, Solange, Serena Williams, Elaine Welteroth, Susan Kelechi Watson and Ava Duvernay). He is fast becoming the go-to hair genius to single-handedly reinvent the looks our most-loved idols; drawing up a storm of attention towards his recently launch own-name collection along the way.

Reconnecting with him and sharing his story simply had to happen. Period.

In this episode, Vernon talks Dyslexia, being Lupita's BFF, and obviously his obsession with textured hair. Interviewing this dude was like hanging out with an old friend. His vibrant spirit is sure to keep you thoroughly entertained throughout. 

After I hit the 'stop record' button on my digital recorder, I left feeling a little more enthusiastic about our industry. Me on MIZANI and Vernon with his own product line, we both truly believe there is enough space for our brands to live side-by-side. Coming together to inspire, elevate and educate is the end goal and if we can do that collectively, that's no bad thing.

Vernon François is officially #TLApproved.

Press play and if you like it, go ahead - comment and share with other like-minded individuals.

Stay close to Vernon's work through Instagram, where he will bamboozle you with tons of exhilarating content that will make you wish you were curly (if you aren't already: @vernonfrancois

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In the Lounge this week is NYC based 25 year young Texture Expert and savvy natural hair genius, Daryce Brown-Willis; fondly known as 'Reece. Sit back, relax and get to know her through as she recounts her journey, challenges and motivations in this podcast episode. 

MEET MANHATTAN'S MULTI-TALENTED TEXTURE POWERHOUSE:

REECE BROWN-WILLIS.

Catch Reece if you can, because this powerhouse is going places and if you want to get into her books, you are going to have to keep up!

Named this month in Modern Salon's 2017 100 List of game changing beauty pros, a MIZANI Artist est. 2014, this year's America's Beauty Show NextGEN Artist and rated a 5 star hairstylist on hassle-saving Texture stylist booking app, SWIVEL (anyone used this yet? Tell me your experience. I wanna know!). Talk about industry acknowledgements!

Reece shares what drives the growth in her clientele bookings, her Top 3 signature service requests and the reason that keeps her keepin' on.

Daryce 'Reece' Brown-Willis is officially #TLApproved.

As Diddy once said, Press play.

Ogle her stunning avant-garde work below; presented at the 2017 ABS Beauty Changes Lives event and her Instagram page for her infamous before and after Texture Transformation boomerangs: @styledbyreece.

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Get the lowdown on my favourite watercolor illustrator, New York based, Debra Cartwright; our very FIRST Texture Lounge Muse. Argh, so thrilled!

From purchasing three of her prints 2 years ago, to vibing with her one-on-one in this episode despite the technical challenges (the internet did not want us to be great! but never fear, although not the best quality, we powered through with the podcast regardless via phone).

Debra shares with The Texture Lounge how she got started, what motivates her, who inspires her (can you guess?) and so much more.

Thank you Debra for being our first #TLMuse! 

Scope out just some of her work below and her Instagram page for much more @debracartwright.

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Finally, The Texture Lounge podcast series is here. I have been procrastinating on this for so long! Take a seat in my lounge as I attempt to bring you some audio content filled with interviews from successful individuals who are killing the Texture hair industry game, women at the top of their career game rockin' their Textured manes and words from the ones to watch. 

But first, an introduction...episode 00.

Original music by Ryan Little.

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