By Jodi Murphy
Photos by Allure West Studios

Leave it to Lea to find an extraordinary stylist to share her tips for getting the most from your hairstylist. Lea discovered Vanessa Rockey when she couldn’t find anyone who could tame her tresses. “Now Vanessa is the only one I trust to touch my hair,” she says. Vanessa joined the production team for Nesting Newbies™ and The Lea Show serving as the shows’ on set stylist. She’s a Regional Educator for Eufora International so she has a wealth of knowledge to share and Lea seized the opportunity and asked her to step in front of the camera for The Lea Show. A bit out of her comfort zone, Vanessa agreed to do it and we’re glad she did as the segment filmed in virtually one take! James Burkart couldn’t have been happier : )

Diane Phillips of DK Designs stopped by once again to fill the set with character and color. Check out the whimsical arrangement. How did she know that it would complement the Eufora International packaging? An intuitive genius…

I too was pushed out of my comfort zone to act as a hair model so Vanessa could demonstrate how to get rid of “puppy dog” ears. Jessica Hernandez, make-up artist, did my make-up.

Check out Vanessa’s secret weapon!

Lacee Naik, our “newbie” from Episode 1 of Nesting Newbies ™ was happy to come to the set so Vanessa could demonstrate on camera a bang cutting technique. Lacee finally got the wispy bangs she’s always wanted and more layers in the front to better frame her face.

Natalie Wi of Allure West Studios asks for one final pose after the show. Time to break down the set and get ready for another Lea Show segment - JM

In this episode stylist Vanessa Rockey, Regional Educator for Eufora International, shares her tips for how to determine your best hairstyle and how to effectively communicate with your stylist:

Determine your face shape: “There are two easy ways to figure out your shape,” says Vanessa. “You can look in the mirror and place your hand flat under your chin to make the shape easier to see. You can also take a white board marker and trace your face on the mirror.” Here are the best styles to fit your shape:

Oval = most haircuts work great with this shape.
Long = side wept bangs and volume or layering on the side.
Round = A-lines with very little face framing layers, or straighter styles slim the face.
Angular = round shaped haircuts
Soft faces with little to no angles = sharp precision cuts.

The next step is to find a picture that has the same hair color as yours - Dark hair and light hair have different textures and thickness. Once you’ve found a photo that works with your shape, hair texture AND you love it…then bring it in to show your stylist. If the stylist participates in on-going education and you’ve been realistic in your choice – you should be able to get the haircut of your dreams.

Proper “Bob –menology” - If you want a bob, make sure you use the proper terminology to get the results you are expecting:
A bob with layers = More thickness and length in the back.
A graduated bob = A sharper angle that tapers into the neck creating volume and less length.

Vanessa Rockey
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Email Diane to inquire about a custom creation or information about upcoming classes.

Photos By Allure West Studios

It’s time to tweet about two exciting project in the works – Nesting Newbies and The Lea Show. A team of very talented people have been working to produce two internet shows. Nesting Newbies is a cooking, entertaining and decorating show featuring Lea McIntosh who is using her culinary training to teach newlyweds and those newly out on their own how to cook great food and entertain in style…and on a budget.

We always say “Leave it to Lea” when we need to find great resources for, well, anything and we’re showcasing her discoveries in The Lea Show. Experts and interesting talents show Lea how to do what they do on each episode. Lea asks the questions and the audience learns great insights, tips and “how tos” right along with her.

On Sunday April 19^th the team – James Burkart of Burkart Video, Lea McIntosh, Natalie Wi of Allure West Studios, David Braddy of Vine-agra, Vanessa Rockey, Pat Campbell and Betsy Rose (best crew ever!) and I – took over the Rutt of Los Altos showroom to re-film the first episode of Nesting Newbies and the second episode of The Lea Show.

Lea and Vanessa arrived bright and early to begin hair and make-up while Pat and Betsy started food prepping and setting up. Natalie Wi was there to photograph the day’s events, including all the behind the scenes pandemonium.

I arrived with the items on loan from Bloomingdale’s Stanford so that we could create our featured “Bella Notte Bistro Chic” tabletop. I had challenged David Braddy, a florist extraordinaire, to come up with something magical. I was doing the “happy dance” when he arrived because he had woven curly willow together anchored by two urns to create an arch over the table with a lantern attached in the center. It was beautiful, easy to make, and inexpensive! Perfect, since the goal is to show “newbies” how to stylishly entertain without breaking their budgets.

Diane Phillips of DK Designs dropped by to deliver two of her floral creations for the set of The Lea Show. Diane was the first guest artisan featured on The Lea Show (soon to be aired) and it was great to have her beautiful work decorate this episode’s set.

We learned so much from the first taping of Nesting Newbies that we decided to redo it and asked our first newbies, Lacee and Tejas Naik to come back again. The energy was high and when it was time for “Quiet on the Set” we were all in awe of what we were seeing. The chemistry between Chef Lea and the newbies was fantastic and the interaction, inspirational. Lea invited the Newbies into the cooking process and I think we all learned something new.

Personally, I discovered how to properly cut an onion and hold a knife properly…and I’m not a newbie!

Jonathan Murphy dropped by to meet everyone in person as he will be doing the voiceover opening for the shows.

Soon Jung Wi, Natalie’s husband arrived with their three adorable kids who were quickly called into “crew” duties while Jung prepared for his segment on The Lea Show. Jung and Natalie own Allure West Studios and Jung, a master photographer, also teaches people how to get the most out of their digital cameras. He busted so many “megapixel myths” and taught Lea (and us) what to look for when buying a digital camera.With so much valuable information, Lea invited him back for a future episode to teach her (and the audience) how to take better digital shots.

By the time we wrapped it was a long day but one that was fulfilling and fun! James is editing the shows, the opening illustrations are being created and soon we will launch the first episodes of Nesting Newbies and The Lea Show. Sweet! - JM

Photos By Allure West Studios