Shooting with Fotoula’s New Clothing Line

I was recently so fortunate to have some of Fotoula’s newest collection in the salon.  I am in the process of setting up a boutique area for clothing in the salon that will feature Fotoula Lambros Designs among other lines.

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At first glance, Fotoula’s clothes do not appear to be what they actually are.  What I loved most was to watch the models get to know Fotoula’s clothing.  These designs are so fabulous and functional!  Fotoula’s designs are unlike anything from this area.  They are more like clothing I see from NYC or Europe!

I love all of these photos!  There are four short sequences of photos that are all very different.  All of the clothing is from Fotoula’s newest collection, and all of the hair is by me!  The photos were all taken by me except the first one which was taken by my husband backstage at a Detroit fashion show.  What a crazy fun time we had!!  The outdoor sequence was in a small town West of Ann Arbor taken on one of the last beautiful Fall days this year.  The third sequence were taken inside the salon of a good friend and long-time client immediately following her hair appointment!  The indoor photos really inspired me to invest in photo lighting…  The last two photos on this page were taken outside the salon in between clients.  Look at this young woman’s beautiful dreadlocks and hair wraps!!  I especially love how this dress of Fotoula’s has a soft flowy hood!

Ling Ling in June

I’ve had the enormous pleasure of working with Ling Ling, a beautiful and friendly, extremely talented model.  These are the photos from of our first session in June:

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I took these photos myself using my new Nikon except for the last photo which was taken by Davide Anderson.  It’s a lot of fun to have a camera again!  Since I am building my photography equipment, I have really enjoyed using the natural light rather than having to buy a lot of lighting all at once.  This day was June 22 around 2pm, so the light couldn’t get any better!

The beautiful jewelry you see was made by Larissa Rubel for Ling Ling.  I enjoyed spending the day with Larissa because she is very very chic and fun to talk to!  The pink necklace you see is made from Mother of Pearl.  Larissa collects rare gems and beads and makes them into this beautiful jewelry!

Melissa Keryn did Ling Ling’s make up.  Melissa has really become a star!  I love working with you Melissa and look forward to our next session!  You are so talented!

I designed Ling Ling’s hair in the first style to look like one of my favorite fairies.  The second style was to simply show off her gorgeous hair!  I was very inspired by the wide part of the river in these shots which is why I chose this location.

The Tie dye shirt was made by Fotoula Lambros including the custom dye pattern.  You can find more of Fotoula’s work on her webpage fo2la.com

I hope you’ve enjoyed these photos!  We had a great time making them!

Ryan’s Beautiful Hair!

Ryan is a beautiful and classy young woman.  She recently decided to cut out her relaxer and wear her hair natural!  Congrats Ryan!  I’m so happy to be part of this change!  Ryan is really going to enjoy not having to chemically treat her hair anymore.  It’s been most of her life since she’s seen her natural texture.

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Relaxed hair BEFORE
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Fresh cut!
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Classy and luxurious!
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This smile says it all!

Thank you so much Ryan!

 

Dreads, Reds, and Super Thick Hair!

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Jen’s new color and temporary dreadlocks!
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Temporary dreads using only styling products. No backcombing or wax!
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Jordan is supercool!
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Hunter’s dreads are looking so nice! It’s been around 7 months since we put them in!
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HUNTER!!
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Esther Campbell is in Heaven on Earth with all of the red shades!
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Tomomi came to Grateful Dreads for a cut and style on her super thick and wavy hair.
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This is Tomomi after the cut and some easy styling tips!

Haircuts, Extensions, and Dreads!

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I love when Josh comes in. This is after his first maintenance appointment. He’s had his dreads just about a month!
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Ashlii’s first haircut at Grateful Dreads! She brought her friend as a model. Great job Ashlii!!!!
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Jay is the real deal!
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Carlee’s hair is looking nice! Her hair has been locked since April this year.
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The lovely women of Grateful Dreads!!! Left to right: Ashlii, Emma, and Laura
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Laura is loving her new cut. Her hair is dramatically angled in the front and blunt in the back.
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I love this straight edge!!
Sean is an authentic viking with his custom beard extensions by Grateful Dreads!
Sean is an authentic viking with his custom beard extensions! We created them at the salon just for him! This was a very fun project from start to finish:)
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Robinson is so happy to have his locks combed out!  It took him 6 months to find me, and it took me 7 1/2 hours to comb them out!!!

Happiness at Grateful Dreads!

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John!
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I started giving him a haircut around his dreadlocks, so it will look nice in his chef hat!
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Isabella with her purple and red hair!
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Garret is an amazing chef who co-owns and runs Torino in Ferndale. He’s had his dreads since he was a kid! I love this!
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Hanging out with Laura after their appointment.
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BEFORE
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A super cute pixie cut AFTER
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Marcel and I had a really nice appointment!
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I softened her layers and trimmed her ends, and we talked the whole time!

Thank you everyone!

One Week at Grateful Dreads!

Veronica had an appointment for her birthday! We did this beautiful updo with dreads and orchids! I love how her dreads mimic the branches of typical orchid plants!

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Happy birthday Veronica!  What a perfect summer day!

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Karina moved, and I’m still getting over this. I’ll miss you badly Karina!!
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Josh came in for some heady dreadlocks! BEFORE
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He’s wearing a glass bead from Grateful Dreads!
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Complete!  AFTER
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Katya and her mom drove about 8 hours to come to Grateful Dreads!
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Dreads during the process.
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Now that is a lot of hair!!!
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We left out the front, and I shaped her bangs to look cute naturally.
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Katya and her new dreadlocks!
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Cheryl and Katya.
Cheryl grew up in Ann Arbor and is a U of M grad, so it was really nice to host part of her visit to town!
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Amanda is amazing! She happened upon us while visiting A2 from southern CA. I love her blonde hair with darker full bangs!!
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Chad BEFORE
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AFTER. Happy hippy!
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Candyce’s fresh new dreadlocks. She also makes dread falls which will soon be available in Grateful Dreads!
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Teymour and Izzy. A fun summer session!

It’s been a fun and busy week!  Thank you to all of you who’ve stopped by!  Happy Summer!

Jordan

Jordan appeared around the corner with his bike! We talked and soon after set up an appointment to have his dreads fixed up. It had been a little while, so this was a nice treat! He likes the palm-roll method for tightening which created a nice smooth lock for hair that can hold it.

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Camellia moisturized his locks while I rolled, and tightened, his new growth.

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I pinned up his freshly-rolled locks, so I could trim up his hairline.
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Jordan is an artist and an entrepreneur in Ann Arbor. Love the velvet shorts!!
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Jordan is so talented!
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Freshly rolled new growth

Thank you Jordan.  Truly a pleasure working on your hair!

Jordan and I shared a lot of great ideas, so look for our collaborations soon!

Tyler’s New Dreads

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Tyler came in with a very nice afro.
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Abbie and I teamed up on his hair!
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New fresh dreads!
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Close up. I like to stagger the parts for a more even look.

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Tyler and Abbie with the new fish-eye camera lens!

Thank you Tyler!  Your beautiful afro made some thick and healthy dreadlocks!

Haircuts for Locals and Those Who Travel!

I’m so happy with all of the new people who’ve come to the salon! We have a good time! I don’t always get pictures of everyone because of the rhythm of things, but here are some great shots of recent haircuts!

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A detailed and stylized haircut for a clean look!
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I love men’s haircuts! He likes his a little bit longer all over.
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Her hair is almost all virgin curly hair! She used to straighten it which relaxed her curls. We did some deep conditioning, and I updated her shape while taking off some of the damaged ends. We agreed it looks very nice!
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A beautiful ombré. It’s very natural and we’ve taken out the old red tones.
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A healthy cut to go with some beautiful color!
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Karen looks great!
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Her hair is so healthy and curly! It’s a completely different texture than when we first met. So happy about this!
Veronica and Andrei with his stylish new cut!
Veronica and Andrei with his stylish new cut!
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Karen came to see me from 3 hours away! Christine drove here though in half that time. 🙂 So good to see you both!!

Mike’s Amazing Dreadlocks After One Week

Mike grew his hair out for the happiest dreads ever!  These pictures are after a touch-up one week after putting them in.

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Fresh, tight dreads

Mike has a lot of hair, and his color is very beautiful!

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Mike you look great!

Thank you so much for coming in.  I truly enjoyed it!

Lots of Dreads!

There are so many different people who come to the salon for dreads work! I love meeting everyone and helping people with their hair really makes me feel great! I believe getting mature dreads washed in a salon has got to be one of the better feelings in life!!

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He’s had these dreads since he was 2 years old!
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Look at those beautiful, long and big dreads!
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Freshly tightened new growth
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Family pics! They are a happy and close family. His sisters stayed by his side the entire time!
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Jacob has the most gorgeous hair! I can spot it a mile away! Also a very cool long board…
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This is his natural texture and color. Very rare and beautfiul!
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A hand-blown glass bead for one-year-old dreads
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Superman gets his hair done at Grateful Dreads! Don’t be fooled by the glasses. It’s really him!! I didn’t do his hair on the left but would really love to when he’s ready!!

Grateful Dreads!  What a fun summer in the salon!  I hope to see you here!

 

Adam and Courtney

Adam and Courtney are two totally cool people with very cool hair!

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Adam’s long but neat haircut

He’s really got the hair-flip mastered!

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A perfect mixture of sass and class!!!!

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Courtney may possibly have the coolest hair ever! Big fat dreads underneath red silky gorgeous hair!
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Courtney is an OG!

These pics do not express the intense red of her hair!

Thanks for coming in guys!!!!  It’s always my pleasure!

Recent Clients at Grateful Dreads!

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A stunning curly cut!
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Look at her bouncy curls!
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Carlee’s dreadlocks after almost 5 weeks. We blunted her ends this time!
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Heather is a mermaid with her pink wavy hair!
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AJ, it’s always a pleasure!
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AJ’s dreads after 3 weeks. His hair has made amazing progress!
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I love Victor!
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Sara stopped by!
Look at all that hair!  Knotty dread locks!!
Look at all that hair! Knotty dread locks!!
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We had a late night dreads session and fixed up her hair! She’d put in her dreads with some college friends, and came in for some maintenance. We had fun and are all happy with the results!
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Kai ‘el has new extensions on some of his mature naturally locked hair.
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Gabi is so beautiful. She’s on her way to a photoshoot!

Sara and Her Dreads Getting Some TLC

Sara came to Grateful Dreads for some dreads maintenance. She’s had her hair dreaded for seven years and had never been for any maintenance. She let them form naturally and grooms them with her special wool gloves. She loves her hair very much and so do all of her friends! Her hair is so long and healthy, and Sara is full of wonderful experience and happiness! I really enjoyed this day!

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Incredibly long, natural dreadlocks!
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The tightening process: I tightened her dreads at their roots and pulled in any loose hairs.
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Two new baby dreads!
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We’re having fun!
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Sara’s dreads are out!
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Fishtail Braided Dreads

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Sara really looks amazing!  Her dreads are loved by many!  They’re all freshly cleaned, separated, tucked in, reformed, and healthy.  Happy dreadlocks!

What a fun day filled with love and friendship!  We had many visitors which made it even more lovely!  Sara it was so nice to spend the day with you!  Thanks for coming in and thank you to her two scouts!!!  Chaeley and Allison!  We did it!  Sara I’m so happy I was a part of this rejuvenating experience!!!