I am thrilled to introduce Warm Spring, Andrea Bonawitz, an innovative colleague in Hair Coloring and Image Coaching. Andrea and I first met several years ago when she asked me to co-teach a class at Rochester Brainery on Creating a Colorful Capsule Wardrobe.
ACapsule Wardrobeis a truncated wardrobe of 50 items or less based on a simple color scheme and essential, foundational, interchangeable pieces.
Our philosophies on image, color, wardrobe and simplifying were so aligned that we seamlessly put together our class and we continue to find new ways to collaborate and expand our knowledge together. We offer a Colorful Capsule Wardrobe package that combines our services to help clients completely streamline their closets.
Andrea specializes in natural curly hair (she is Deva Curl certified) and gray color enhancement at her business, Parlour Hair Salon in the heart of the cultural district in Rochester, NY. But she also offers a holistic approach to helping her clients complete their look and wardrobe with Andrea Bonawitz Styling.
Andrea's warmth and enthusiasm for teaching and helping her clients radiates and is infectious. She has inspired me over and over again to continue to share my knowledge of color harmony with a larger audience and try new technology.
As a Hair Colorist and Personal Image Coach, I initially connected to Kerry in order to collaborate. Naturally, I became a client as well! Working with Kerry is a fascinating experience. First of all, she’s a very gifted communicator. She teaches in a simple, direct manner. When I wear my colors, it brings out the life in my skin, hair, and eyes. I refer clients to Indigo Tones frequently and tell them that "I would love to be a fly on the wall" at every single on of their appointments!
What prompted you to have a personal color analysis?
I am a hair colorist with a fashion background. I wanted to understand how the process worked, apply it on myself first, and then share this knowledge with my salon guests.
How has it changed your life?
Applying color theory to my capsule has refined my wardrobe into pieces that make feel good AND help my skin to appear glowing. I have been teaching for years about “creating a capsule wardrobe,” (a mini version of your wardrobe for day to day wear) and color theory fits right in with it! I can minimize the daily stress of choosing an outfit, make every day a “favorite outfit day,” and truly radiate by wearing my colors.
In what ways has it changed the way you approach your business?
So often, Hair Colorists rely on their gut instincts, or preferences when guiding clients. I am fortunate that I have a good instinct and a lot of experience working with a variety of clients. This has been useful, but understanding Color Harmony Theory from Kerry has helped me to approach each client with a fresh eye and reinforces that one size does not fit all.
(I am encouraging Kerry to share this knowledge with fellow hair colorists in a way that we can apply practically when working with clients).
What has been the biggest challenge?
It is not always possible to find my best neutrals in stores. I need warmer neutrals. Usually mostly black and gray are available. I often wear black as my work uniform. I do my best to create harmony by intentionally wearing my hair color and my accessories in my color family.
Any interesting things happen when you are were wearing your colors?
Generally speaking, I get more compliments on my features. I will take it!
Tell me about your favorite color in your palette.
Haha, anyone who knows me knows I really love variations on aquamarine (see my head shot lol). I love a silky soft, gunmetal, greige (warm light) green as a neutral when I can find it!
Tell me about your closet.
I work off 2 Capsule Wardrobes. The first is a colorful capsule of 40-50 items that feel most authentic. The second is a Black Capsule (for salon work) of about 30-40 items. I have been working slowly on acquiring more Warm Spring Colors since having another baby last year! Finally, the colors in the wardrobe are starting to take over the black pieces!
I tend to have MORE FUN shopping and an easier time “letting go” when I know exactly what colors I am looking to acquire!
If you would like to continue reading about the Warm Spring journey, please check out the 2020 featured Warm Spring, KC Rossi.
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It is my pleasure to introduce you to this month’s Dark Winter feature, eyebrow, skincare and permanent hair removal expert, Gia Pauldine. Gia was one of my first clients when I started my color analysis business nearly 20 years ago. It was around that time that she also founded her business, Restoration Electrolysis, LLC.
Gia was easy to analyze. Her deep brown hair worked well with black and dark brown neutrals that were then and still are so easy to shop for. A few pops of rich reds, deep greens and purples and she was good to go for many years. When she decided to go gray more recently and wondered how to incorporate it with her clothing choices, we had the pleasure of reconnecting and working on her wardrobe and closet. I was amazed at how gorgeous her skin looked and she introduced me to some of the skin revitalization services she offers now including light therapy. Learn more about her unique, wholistic eyebrow makeovers and skincare maintenance to the process she went through in letting her hair go naturally from a dark brown to a multi-hued gray and how it impacted her clothing choices.
It’s a treat to introduce you to this month's colorful lives feature, Soft Autumn Tim Stich who is also my son!! Tim’s experience with shopping for clothing and wearing color is unique as I become a color analyst when he was quite young. When he and his sister Clare were little, I tried dressing them in bright colors with strong patterns as was the style then.....but even before learning about personal color harmony, I started to sense that the clothes overwhelmed them and began dressing them in softer colors and solids. I was even shocked the other day to discover when I pulled out his school photos that every single photo (even before I learned of his color palette) was taken in a Soft Autumn color. You can see how his life has evolved wearing the soft, earthy colors that suit his ruddy hair, freckles and soft blue/green eyes.
Over the years, he has mostly been very eager to wear what suits him and looked to me to help him distinguish soft autumn colors from the two seasons nearby - warm autumn and soft summer. We enjoy shopping together, especially now that he lives in Manhattan and the shopping is abundant. It can be a challenge to find his colors in sizes and style that fit but when its perfect, it feels great and he knows it. Read on to learn more about what it’s like to be a guy whose mom is a color consultant!
I am so excited to introduce you the “entertainingly irreverent” (Associated Press) Soft Summer, Valerie Peterson. Valerie is an extraordinary storyteller in a variety of media including scriptwriting, screenplays, fiction, non-fiction and book publishing/consulting. I analyzed her colors years ago in Rhode Island at a girls weekend hosted by a mutual friend (color analysis and girls weekends make a great combo!). In the years since, Valerie has embraced her Soft Summer colors in spite of living and working in New York City where black is a standard and practical.
It was a thrill when her publisher chose a photo of my family for her wonderfully spirited book, Peterson’s Happy Hour. On page 46, you can find me with my family - brothers, Mike and Tim and my parents Marcia and J. Michael Jones circa 1970. The book features many more photographic gems and recipes for a fabulous social gathering!
In this month’s colorful lives blog, Valerie shares her journey with her color palette. As with all her writing projects, she is humorous, colorful and entertaining! She has kept in great condition and still uses the Sci Art swatch book that I provided back in those days!! Be sure to check out her large body of work on valeriepeterson.net and read more in the blog:
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