Understanding the Art of Color...
First and foremost I view myself as an Artist. Target "0" came naturally, but my
in-depth understanding of Color and dimension was gained through study and application.

The knowledge I gained from studying and practicing the color wheel, color concept, painting, 2-dimensional design and 3-D clay and metal sculpting at a highly reputable Art School is what created the extremely strong foundation of my Hair Coloring Career.

As an Artist, I see life as an Art Form. I see all I do as Art. I try my best to always achieve the highest aesthetic sense in all I do. When it comes to coloring hair I view it as the same as creating a great painting!

Creating a safe, Artistic Salon environment...
Through trial and error - and yes, sometimes tears! I learned that as an Artist, I must make certain that I do my best to surround myself with others that are authentically, supportive of my creative and aesthetic sense.

This lesson was very hard won because it came from a real-life situation that was not so much fun to experience. I had erroneously surrounded myself with others that were threatened by my artistic individuality and aesthetic expression. It was this difficult lesson that formed my first Hair Coloring Career Target #1. I realized that I needed to create a very safe space for myself to freely express myself as a somewhat unconventional, very artistic, Hair Colorist.

With very little money, I leased a bungalow on Sunset Blvd. in Hollywood, CA in 1997. The space, former home of legendary screen-actor, Rudolph Valentino, was a renter's dream. It was in the best location and in urgent need of repair. The leasing price was perfect! With my goal in mind, I set out with hammer, nails, dry-wall, a lot of paint and eccentric decor items to create "Ciao Bella". My Salon that never read "Salon" on the front, exterior sign.

In the Sunset bungalow I created a very private, very safe environment where I could create great hair color - the way I wanted! I had created my own safe environment where I would not be told that my hair color foiling work was "wrong" or "didn't belong there" by anyone!

Learning to stand on my own two feet...
I learned, like the rest of us learn at Beauty School, how to foil hair. For the first 9 years of my Hair Coloring Career I had never, ever broken the traditional "rules of foiling".

As with most original ideas, they, at first, do not gain one "popularity" within the more "structured" group. I must admit that my creative foiling work did, at first, get me "snubbed" by another Salon Owner, Salon Manager and fellow Stylists who must have been threatened by my artistic individuality. Yet, my original foiling work was the primary reason for my rapidly growing Hair Color Clientele!

I originally broke out of the standard foiling weave "box" in 1994. From that day forward, I would forever alter foil weave selections and placements for each and every Hair Color Client to achieve a very higher quality end result.

Recognizing what I was doing right...
From this point forward my entire Hair Color Clientele continued to expand like wild-fire! There was no stopping me! Despite my Hair Salon not having the word "Salon" written on the exterior of the building, I was receiving, on the average 5 - 6 new Hair Color Clients per week!

I was doing something very right! And, fortunately, I was smart enough to NOT change anything! Instead, I examined what it was I was doing that was SO different, and I kept making it better and better and better!

It was not uncommon for me to apply over 1000 hair foils in less than one week. I had an assistant who I would pay to just fold foils for me weekly!

I continued to create gorgeous multiple color hair colors on every single Client and my Hair Color Clientele continued to expand very rapidly in a highly competitive area.

Word-of-Mouth Hair Color Client Referrals...
One thing we never know is WHO that person IS in our Hair Chair! We don't know at the time IF that Hair Color Client is going to play a very important role in our Hair Coloring Career! And this was the situation with my Client, "Mona".

She arrived to my Hair Chair from having seen a woman wearing one of my extremely contrasted multi-color hair color creations and "Mona" wanted the same. Now, the thing about "Mona" was that she had been all over town trying to get the Hair Color she wanted and she had yet to get it, and, her hair looked the part! It was a complete mess!

Yet, with extreme patience, I wove through her entire head of pre-existing, overly bleached hair - remapping the entire head of hair - with the utmost carefulness and thoroughness - and the results were spectacular! "Mona" was thrilled!

So thrilled that she ended up giving new meaning to Hair Color Career Expansion!

"Mona" was referring over 5 new people a week! All on her own! I had saved her hair and gave her what she wanted and she was telling everyone who saw her Hair Color and asked about it!

Achieving Recognition as a Master Hair Colorist...
"Mona's" word-of-mouth, spread far and wide and fast and furious! There was a buzz about my Hair Coloring foil work in highly competitive Hollywood, and it was piercing!

I couldn't help but feel it! I was working non-stop behind the Hair Chair coloring hair! Although I don't count my Hair Color foils, I must have hit over 2000 foils applied in less than a week at that time!

I should have been glowing because my reputation as a Master Hair Colorist was successfully preceding me... but, I still cleaned and mopped the "non-Salon" Hair Salon myself. I mention this because it's part of a very funny story.

When Elle Magazine contacted me, I was mopping! I thought the woman was trying to sell me a subscription, so I kindly began to get off of the phone. That was, until she announced that she was calling to ask me to be included amongst the "Top Ten Masters of Makeovers" in the "Best of the Best" section of ELLE Magazine!

I put the mop down! And that began our first phone interview.

When she asked, "Isn't it true that you are the Colorist in town (Hollywood) that does the Hair Color work that no one else in town can seem to do?", I knew that she had heard of me via "Mona"!

My hard work, creative hair color concepts, original foiling techniques and dedication to treating EVERY Hair Color Client extremely well - doing the best work I could possibly do on every single Hair Color Client - is what landed me in ELLE magazine!

There was no mistake that I received the ELLE magazine editorial. However, I didn't boast, or brag, I just kept on working hard. Harder actually.

The phones were ringing off the hook!

And, I was there with foils in hand to color them all!

Wanting the Same Success for other Colorists...
Although working in the highly competitive Los Angeles area, I believe I must be very humble in nature as I never thought I had achieved "fame", or "Celebrity" status after I received the "Top Ten Masters of Makeovers" editorial in ELLE.

It was a dear Client of mine who is friends with many Hollywood Celebrities, that attempted to put things into perspective for me when she advised, "You know, Sharon, famous people are the last to know they're famous!"

As I was digesting her comment, my wheels started turning. All I could do to reply was offer her a surprised, some-what baffled look, and a large smile.

Her comment continued to make it's way through my mind as I contemplated: Why didn't I feel "famous"? Shouldn't I be celebrating having received National Recognition as a Hair Colorist in highly competitive Los Angeles, CA... having begun in Wheeling, WV, then Fort Lauderdale, and now Hollywood?

The one thing that I knew, the one fact that was the common denominator, that I could hold on to that was true for me, was that I was doing something very right! And, very original! And, it was working very, very well!

I was combining original Hair Color foiling techniques and my extreme understanding of hair color formulating to create fantastic results and vast success and expansion was resulting in my Hair Coloring Career!

And, I KNEW I HAD TO SHARE IT with other HAIR COLORISTS! How could I keep this all to myself? I had to get it on video immediately! And, that is what I set out to do after the ELLE Magazine editorial!

I created the My Bella Color - "Panels & Chunks" DVD so that other Hair Stylists and Colorists could learn to do my original foiling technique that landed me National Recognition in ELLE Magazine!

I accomplished this goal and launched the original My Bella Color website to sell the "Panels & Chunks" video/DVD. From that point forward, continued expansion within my Hair Coloring and Educational Career continued to snowball very rapidly!

Continuing to Increase Hair Color Knowledge & Skills...
As an Artist, there are many different aspects of my Hair Coloring Career that I thoroughly enjoy creating!

While I love to color hair, I also learned through the filming, editing, and menu-authoring of the DVD that I love to learn computer software programs and create original graphics. I was the happiest I had ever been in my Hair Coloring Career when I began to create educational materials for other Licensed Professionals!

Not only was my Career expanding, but my knowledge - into other realms - was expanding too!

After creating the DVD, I set out to create additional educational materials. And, one of the major, life-changing events that occurred to me as I was writing on the subject of Hair Color, Coloring Hair, Color basics, Color Formulating, Color Mixing, Hair Color Career promotion and marketing, Salon Owning, and other aspects of Hair Color Career development, is that if I don't know it, I can't write it!

Instead of giving up, I decided to follow-through and continue to educate myself on areas of Coloring Hair in which I was uncertain or out-right, just did not know! Therefore, when I first began writing educational material pertaining to Hair Color, I first studied in depth the subject matter I was writing.

There is one thing about wanting to truly educate others, and that is that the Author can't "fudge" his way through educational content if he wants to sincerely offer a genuine education! If the writer doesn't know it - it can't be written. Not if it is educational content.

Every time I develop a new educational document, tool, promotion or marketing concept, I first study it, and understand it completely, in order to correctly relay the information to others.

The door that must open in order for someone to be "able to learn" is first recognizing that one does not already "know it all".

Prior to teaching others, I first ask myself what I do NOT know about the subject.

That is what is required of you, if you want to achieve greater success in your Hair Coloring Career! Open that door! And may you experience far greater success than you have ever imagined!

It's here for the asking!

Creating a larger Hair Coloring Studio to offer in-house Seminars...
After I placed the "Panels & Chunks" educational DVD onto the original My Bella Color website, I began receiving hundreds of emails from both Clients and Stylists from around the world.

Many Hair Stylists, Colorists and Salon Owners were asking for MORE Hair Color educational materials and in-house educational Hair Coloring Seminars!

I figured that the timing to expand was perfect. I had found out that the building that housed "Ciao Bella" was going to be torn down and I had to move out within 6 months. So, I lifted my roots and headed to the Burbank, Media District to locate a space that would be the new home for my new Hair Coloring Studio and also be large enough to for my in-house Hair Coloring Seminars!

After finding for the perfect location for the new Studio near NBC, Warner Bros., Disney and other leading film-industry Studios, I signed the lease in February, 2005.

Custom designing the Hair Color Studio...
Once again, I chose the best location, and the space in the worst condition! The space I leased had housed a film reel development company for the last 25 years! It was filled with over 8 office rooms, dropped acoustic-tile ceilings and the original plaster ceiling above that! However, high above was the original wooden beam ceiling and I was on a mission to tear down the office rooms, remove the two ceilings and expose those wooden beams!

To afford the project, I ran the entire Salon renovation and construction myself. I oversaw all demolition, construction, worked with City Planning, Licensing and Permit Departments, and conceptually designed the entire new Studio to custom fit all of my hair coloring and seminar-giving needs! I was determined to created a tailor-made work environment. (Once again, if I don't know it, I can't write about it. Consider this a tickler for future educational materials that are underway!)

As I was creating the new space, I realized that I had grown out of the old "Ciao Bella" name. At first, no one was using it, and then it had become all too trendy of a name. So, I decided to change it. I decide to carry through the My Bella Color name, and thus, create the new My Bella Color Studio!

I created the perfect work space for myself. I also created ample space to allow me to give the in-house hair coloring educational seminars. And, I was also able to expand into having other Colorists apprentice and work under me.

The Studio has been a wonderful stepping stone in my career as a Professional Hair Colorist. It was extremely hard work! But, all-in-all, every ounce of sweat was well worth it!

Achieving more National Recognition...
Good news travels very fast! Only 6 months after opening the new My Bella Color Studio I was asked by leading National Fashion Magazine- "W" to feature the My Bella Color as one of the "Top Trendsetting Salons" in the USA!

As I accepted "W's" offer, I again recognized that it was my continued hard work, dedication to making certain every single Hair Color Client looks great and loves her end results that enabled me to be included in both ELLE and "W" magazines.

My original foil work, hair color formulating knowledge, promotion and marketing campaigns, salon management aspects, and always doing the best possible work under any and all conditions - TOGETHER directly resulted in receiving National Recognition for my Hair Coloring work in two major high-fashion magazines!

It is this knowledge and experience that I am making available to you HERE on the My Bella Color website!

Training other Hair Stylists, Colorists and Salon Owners...
I have always viewed my Hair Coloring work as Art. Coloring Hair, to me, is no different than painting a painting. The only thing I am doing is using hair as the "medium". That is why I still have refrained from using the word Salon, and instead used the word Studio. The new Studio, is where I happen to perform the Fine Art of Beauty. It is where, I, as an Artist, do my Art.

Not so far below the surface of my passion for the Art of Coloring Hair is my passion for writing.

I have, throughout the years of my Hair Coloring Career continued to document my Hair Color knowledge. Over the years I have expanded my file folders to the point of bursting!

With the new My Bella Color website, I now have a home for all of my educational and promotional materials I have written and created. I have the online shopping cart where I have placed these very valuable documents for sale through digital download to help keep the price affordable and the availability fast and efficient!

There are documents available for almost all of your Hair Color Career needs. All of these documents contain only the information that I have found to be correct, useful and extremely successful.

Consider that I am handing over to you very valuable gems! The fact that I can help so many Licensed Professional Hair Colorists, Stylists and Salon Owners via the My Bella Color website has made my Career as a Hair Colorist more valuable to me than any other occupation I could have done.

I hope you accept the offer. The products are here for you!

Helping other Hair Stylists, Colorists and Salon Owners...
Educate you, I can do. Help you expand your Hair Coloring Clientele? I can DO that TOO!

I have created three websites. The My Bella Color website, the Hair Color Consultant website and the Hair Colorist Locator website.

Together, these three websites create a full circle.

The Hair Color Consultant site educates the Hair Color Client and gets them to the Hair Colorist Locator.

You, as a My Bella Color Member will receive your Hair Colorist web page listing on the Hair Colorist Locator after you activate your membership and create your Hair Colorist web page from the My Bella Color template.

NOTHING has gone missing. Education, promotional pieces, a Hair Colorist Search engine listing, and Clients who are educated and are looking for a Hair Colorist in their area! Extreme dedication to thoroughness has gone into creating this complete online Hair Colorist Marketing concept!

All for you - the fellow Hair Colorist who loves to Color Hair!

Continued Growth and Expansion...
As new educational material and promotional pieces are created they will be uploaded to the Product Section of the My Bella Color Site.

You can visit the BLOG to read about the new releases as they are added to the site.

Other leading Hair Color Industry Professionals, fashion and hair magazines, online marketing sources, sales representatives around the USA, editorials and other promotional campaigns also play their part in helping market YOU - the My Bella Color Hair Colorist Member through the My Bella Color site, the Hair Color Consultant site and the Hair Colorist Locator search engine!

On the Horizon...
Keep your eyes open! As the one thing you can count on is continued expansion!

When you become a My Bella Color Hair Colorist Member, please take full advantage of all there is available to you and your Hair Coloring Career!

Your success is my success!