We're nearing our first anniversary! On November 8th, crown turns one! Celebrate with us on Saturday November 11th in the atrium of 500 Seneca. Our event is free, but bring some dollars for raffle tickets- a chance to win a gift package full of awesome stuff from our neighbors and brands. All profits from the raffle will benefit the Gord Downie Fund for Brain Cancer Research. We also will be launching our new tee-shirt, as well as having some other small items available. Purchasing any crown merch directly benefits our team education fund. Show up with your biggest smile and celebrate with us, cause without you, we'd be nothing!
crown X surface
After almost a year of trial, error on brands' part, and missing our old faves, we have decided to say goodbye to Unite + Hello to Surface Haircare. This may have come out of left field, and we were surprised too, but our professional ethics made this an easy decision.
Surface is a Canadian-born company which focuses on care, whole health, sustainable quality ingredients + earth-consciousness. Erin had worked with this company for quite a while in the past, going to seminars with their founder as well as bringing it in to a past salon. The OG crown ladies who worked together in the past all agreed how much we missed it. Surface will be a perfect addition to our mostly vegan products used + retailed at crown.
Say farewell to parabens, sulfates, heavy metals, coating plastics + unnecessary ingredients. Surface ingredients are organically derived, have natural preservatives, are gluten-free, vegan + based on your biology. This line is all about health, hair + art.
We'll still, of course, have everyone's faves Bona Fide, Pravana, Olaplex, B3, and Gemlights... but our main take-home + in-salon care will primarily switch over to Surface this week!
crown X Music is Art
Saturday, September 9th, the 15th annual Music is Art festival took over Buffalo Riverworks. The Music is Art Festival has always been a free event highlighting the artistic talents of individuals + groups from within our Western New York community. The Festival has become Buffalo’s most extensive exhibition of local art, dance, and music, drawing over 20,000 throughout the day. This multi-sensory event is part concert, part bazaar, street fair + art gallery. MIA is an amazing organization which mentors artists young + old, holds instrument drives, and exposes people from every walk of life to the freedom of art. Check them out!
This year, when founder Robby Takac told us we could do whatever type of performance we wanted, we brought some crown flair to MIA. Almost anyone who's been in crown has seen our "wall of inspiration" in the restroom- a rotating collection showcasing some of the hair that has shaped our craft the most. Chelsey had a genius idea that we should recreate some of the looks, and MIA was the perfect setting for this! We cast models which are our salon guests + friends. Photographer Kelsey Jelowski captured our final looks, styled and posed similar to our original inspirations. It was awesome having so many models (and crown team) volunteer, come bare-faced in plain clothes, then get transformed live as Festival-goers looked on.
Here's what happened...
David Bowie, Cher, Cyndi Lauper, Janis Joplin, June Carter + Johnny Cash, Kid Rock, Lemmy, Marilyn Manson, Rob Zombie, Shirley Manson, the Spice Girls, and Willie Nelson.
(The inspiration shots are included below to compare to our reproductions.)
wardrobe - models' own
hair - Erin, Grace, Chelsey, Julia
makeup - Katie, Courtney
photography - Kelsey Jelowski
reference images - Google
...til next year, MIA!
boss babes
Buffalo Boss Babes blog interviewed Erin last week. Check out the full article here. They're just getting started, so keep an eye out for all the badass babes they'll continue to introduce us all to!
crown X the Left Brain Group
The team at crown + extended hair fam enjoyed a cutting collective hosted by Dante Pronio. A Philly native residing in NYC, Dante joined the Left Brain Group in order to share his passion for detail. He's worked with hair legends Howard McLaren of R+Co and Bumble+bumble, the V76 men's grooming team, and Christiaan to name a few.
At crown, we had the idea to save all the profits from our "merch" sales in order to supplement our team's education. Every time you pick up a shirt, hat, enamel pin, koozie- You're directly supporting the learning that benefits your own hair! Stay up-to-date with what we create, as most items are limited runs.
(video by Chris Ferguson)
Stylists new + seasoned all took something away from this class. Though laid-back + cool, Dante's brain is always mapping out the next step of each cut. Learning some of his sectioning techniques as well as variations on tool use made a huge difference. We concentrated on letting the cut speak for itself, styling with our hands + very minimal product. Bona Fide Texture Spray proved again to be a favorite, but this time as a cutting lotion.
...always looking forward to hosting our next educational event. Thank you from all of us at crown, for supporting us!