Thursday, December 15, 2011

So much to see!!

As you may have seen in my last blog post we have been a very busy at the new boutique, getting the place decorated, open and stocked... Getting the new sulfate free/ Curly Specialty salon set up and opened. We have a fantastic new stylist on staff who has been fully trained in the DevaCurl method and is ready for new clients( both curly and straight!)  plus she's training to work in the boutique to take care of all of our customers needs. My assistant John has had a heartbreaking few weeks with a death in his family so has been away. I have been wearing the hats of owner, assistant, head cashier, salon assistant and on Tuesdays I turn into a student! Truly, in the world of ellenoire there is never a dull moment.

Holiday shopping has finally starting in the little town of Dundas, people have perhaps accepted that despite the weather the holidays will arrive nonetheless. I wanted to make sure you knew about all the new and fun things we have in store to help make your shopping easier.
  There are so many new products in the boutique they haven't even hit the website yet!
Ready?

 12 ideas for your last 10 days of Holiday shopping

1) Natural, ready to wear fragrances from two stunning Natural Perfume Companies: Anya's Garden  an artisan perfumery in Miami Florida and 1000 Flowers made by a Canadian Perfumer living & creating in Grasse, France

2) A huge selection of Pashmina scarves, Silk & wool scarves, Sparkly evening scarves .... all of them $25 or less.

3) The cutest little brightly coloured accent scarves for indoor wear, the best teachers gift of the season priced at $5!!

4) Soap, soap, soap and more soap! Handmade (by us)  Glycerine soap in tons of cool colours and natural fragrances, Handmade (by us) super fatted soap (the best way to wash in a dry climate!) Fun loofah scrubby soap from Virginia's soap of Manitoba, French Soap from Mistral back in stock on Monday Dec 19th, Black soap from Magno of Spain racing it's way to us due to popular demand.

5) The list of products handmade by the ellenoire elves is never ending! Extra Rich Lotion, Emollient Body oil, Exfoliating Sugar Scrub,  Acne Serum, Facial Mist & Toner, 100% pure Shea Butter, Bath Bombs, Tub Fizz, Bath Salts, Men's all purpose lotion, AfterShave, PreShave oil, Organic Shaving Foam... all unscented unless you request otherwise.

6) Our new line: ellenoire everyday.... Organic Body Wash, Organic Body Lotion, and Organic Foamee Soap available in unscented (ready for custom scenting, or not) Lavender-Lemongrass, Vanilla-Bergamot all scented with essential oils.

7) Victoria Trading stunning Victorian style cards, stationery, robes, hot water bottles, wrapping paper, gift bags, hand mirrors...

8) Yala (formerly Dreamsacks) silk pillowcases( for perfect curly hair the morning after), silk travel sleeping bags, Bamboo bedding, bamboo clothing, bamboo nightwear

9) Aquis Microfibre: Super Absorbent Towels, Robes, for everyday, travel, sports and dogs... ya dogs.

10) Muscle Mist: our 10 year bestselling Natural spray form painkiller for everyday muscle pain, fibromyalgia and arthritis.

 11) Cool new mens' gear: Fedora's and Silk Bowties and super soft winter scarves

12) And last but totally not least... the largest local selection of
 Badger Balm: balms , creams and oils.
 DevaCurl: cleansers, conditioners and styling products for naturally curly hair.
Sports Suds:  get the stink out of clothes and sports gear wash.
 Marjoram Stop Snoring diffusers
 Eshave luxury shaving tools and creams
 Betty: haircare for the "hair down there"
Face Atelier cosmetics: Canadian made, professional makeup for a grown woman.



Phew! Given how crazy, bananas, nuts we were today if I were you I would get in touch or drop by ASAP! We are open 7 days a week in the Old Post Office at 104 King street west, Dundas, by phone 905 627 9379 and email: ellenoire@ellenoire.com  We ship daily and as long as your order arrives by December 20th or so we should be able to get it to you on time, for the holidays.... in North America anyway. Get in touch for shipping info or to book a hair appointment, or pop by to say hi, or to bring the staff much needed sugary, caffeinated treats to keep them going for another few days! ;)

Monday, December 12, 2011

Grand Opening Fun!


I’m sorry, what did you say? It’s December 12th? Already? It only got cold here two days ago, how can that be?! Here we all are racing around getting ready for the holiday craziness and in Ontario for most of the fall we’ve had weather that was more like April. I really do believe that at this time of year weather affects our behavior more than any other. We “Don’t feel like its Christmas” until its cold out… (Then in typical Ontario nature we complain that it’s cold out)

I hope this finds you warm and cozy wherever you are.

This past 6 weeks has been a whirlwind for us at ellënoire! November 5th we opened the new boutique in the Old Dundas Post Office, and on November 18th we opened our new curly hair specialty salon within the boutique. Soon after, we went headlong into decorating for the Holiday Season and our Grand Opening events. There were many, many late nights making product, arguing over how to hang the ornaments from the ceiling and how high the tree should be and fighting with 12 foot long sheets of copper to create the overall effect in our gorgeous new spot. The ellënoire team seems tiny on any regular retail day but when needed we have magical ellënoire elves that appear out of the woodwork to go above and beyond to get things done.

Without the help of Doug, Steve and Heather the place would not have been decorated much at all. Skylar always managed to show up with the right tools, the time to make late night bath bombs and some stunning photographs to adorn our walls. John, my assistant always had his car full of just what we needed, soap made wherever we could find a clean surface and food ready just on time for the big party. The biggest help will always be Tim, my ever present jack-of-all-trades. On top of his hugely busy schedule Tim painted the whole store, hung the lights and the shelves then waved his magic wand to the copper sheets to make them look just like I had hoped.   A huge thank you to all who helped, I couldn’t have done it without you!

 Our Grand Opening party was a great success with lots of local business owners, friends and family out to celebrate with us. The food was plentiful, including meatballs from Phyllis at the Keeping Room, Cheese from Micky McGuire's Cheese and Magical Cheese & Hummus from Tammuz, my across the street neighbour. The bar kept everyone refreshed including a little of the bubbly stuff to cap off the evening! We had a plethora of awesome donations for our swag bags and draw gifts from both local businesses and our suppliers from around the world. Lucky, Lucky me! It was a fantastic night.

Check out who else came by to say hello!

Out in little old Dundas for our Grand Opening party! Colin & Justin sitting in our lovely new salon.


If you haven't been by to see our new boutique and salon we really hope you will! The response to our relocation to the Old Dundas Post Office has been nothing short of amazing. With the new Momentum Fitness Club upstairs, and some other businesses moving in soon the newly renovated building will be a great addition to our gorgeous little town.





Sunday, September 18, 2011

Hiring Stylists for the new salon!

Please! Tell your friends and stylists! We get closer everyday to opening our full time salon in Dundas and need someone to start training ASAP!
Here are the details:
Licensed Stylist 2yrs+exp wanted for new location. Busy Natural Salon specializing in Curly Hair. Training provided for right person, Terms of Employment: Permanent, Full time, day, weekend, evenings.


 Extra detailed details below! ;)  
Title: Hairstylist


Terms of Employment: Permanent, Full Time, Weekend, Day, Evening


Salary: Hourly Wage $11-$30 per hour minimum + Commissions+ Bonuses


Anticipated Start Date: As soon as possible


Location: Busy Salon in Dundas, specializing in Curly Hair & Natural Hair Care


Credentials: Hairstylist License


Experience: 2 years or more of recent experience in the Haircutting/ Hairstyling Field, DevaCurl training a bonus


Languages: Speak English, Read English, Write English
Work Setting: Natural Hair Care Salon (no chemical straightening, or sulfates used) with Natural Beauty Boutique attached
Hair Cutting Techniques: Scissor cutting, Hair washing, conditioning and setting, Men, Women & Children’s cuts, Dry cutting experience a bonus
Hair Colouring Techniques: Bleach, Dyes/tints, Streaking/highlights
Additional Skills: Customer Service, Retail sales, Ringing in Sales, attention to detail, ability to follow instructions, Strong Communication skills, Comfortable teaching clients, Comfortable learning new skills quickly, creative thinking, Maintenance and clean up, presentation skills, ability to organize and schedule, Willing to embrace new thinking, Must be willing to travel for special training

Work Conditions and Physical Capabilities: Fast-paced environment, Repetitive tasks, Manual dexterity, Attention to detail, Hand-eye co-ordination, Combination of standing, walking, Standing for extended periods
Work Site Environment: Noisy, Odours, Fragrances, Non-smoking


Transportation/Travel Information: Own transportation, Public transportation is available


Work Location Information: Small town setting, On-site customer service

Essential Skills: Personable, Good Manners, Reading text, Basic computer use, Document use, Numeracy, Writing, Oral communication, Working with others, Problem solving, Decision making, Critical thinking, Job task planning and organizing, Significant use of memory, Finding information, Continuous learning
Other Information: Excited, Hardworking people will make the most money and have the most fun with the ellënoire team.

Employer: Ellënoire, Body, Bath Fragrance and Curly Hair Salon

How to Apply: Please apply for this job only in the manner specified. Failure to do so may result in your application not being properly considered for the position.
Send resume with cover letter to: ellenoire@ellenoire.com or call 905 902 6647 to ask job related questions before emailing resume

Monday, August 15, 2011

Hair it is!

Our fave Celebrity hair stylist is coming back to town this week (Aug16-20) ! Don't miss out on another fabulous week of haircutting and colouring! We have about 10 spots left to fill on Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday.
Will you be getting an awesome new do from the man who cuts hair for the cast of GLEE?
Will you be getting your curls unfrizzified by the best team of curly experts in Canada?
We are curly experts, but our sulfate free salon is open to all hair types... we try not to discriminate against straight haired people... ;)
 Our private salon is ready to rock and roll this week to get your hair ready for the next season.
Our new full time salon will be ready by fall and once we open, hair appointments will book fast so this is your chance!
Get in touch with me by email ellenoire@ellenoire.com or call the shop at 905 627 9379 to book an appointment. This is an opportunity not to be missed!

Don't miss us at the Dundas Cactus Festival August 19-21 where our curl experts will be on site chatting about curls....if you're lucky, you may even be able to get a quick trim in while you're at the festival... Just ask! You'll find us in front of the Dundas Post Office 104 King st west, and in front of our current temp store at the corner of Cross and King St!

Wednesday, June 1, 2011

Uncorked! Celebrating the Voices of the Natural Perfumers Guild



I’m sitting here trying to write this piece and I feel a little torn. A big part of being a member of the Natural Perfumers Guild is that we don’t talk much about artificial fragrances, that’s not what we are in the Guild to do. When Anya, the head of guild asked the members to talk about how they came to love natural aromatics *or* why they love natural perfumery to celebrate the Guild’s 5th anniversary I knew exactly how to tell my story, but then I realized that I would have no choice but to mention artificial fragrances if I was going to tell the story properly. So, Anya & other guild members I hope I am forgiven… but here’s my story.

N.B. If you know me at all you know that when I tell a story I adore the details so my stories tend to be long. In case you didn’t realize I adore the details only when telling stories of things I am greatly passionate about. So, in advance I request your indulgence in this story and I promise not to meander too deeply into the garden of these details.



   Throughout childhood in my little Canadian town my Mother had a variety of hobbies, which at the time to me was normal. She sewed out of necessity and for fun. She cooked & baked all our food from scratch. She gardened like few people I’ve ever met. To my Mum using good quality materials to make things was simply how she did things Again, it didn’t occur to me this was anything but normal. Every Christmas, for as long as I can remember at our church “Holly Fair” my Mum had a table filled with scented candles and potpourri for sale. Each year as she made tiny Christmas tree candles with Bayberry fragrance (her favourite Christmas scent) and Pot Pourri from Roses she grew in her own garden I was there helping. I knew what Orris Root was for and not to eat it. I remember that she had Bergamot, Rose and Lavender oils and a few others mostly from the health food store or a craft store somewhere.

When I was a teenager my mother was working in a career, rather than staying at home with us kids selling candles and such for extra money. One day I came home from school and mom had a work friend over. Her name was Marguerite. Marguerite was divorced, wore acid washed designer jeans, her hair was perfect and she smelled like heaven to me. I asked my mother to find out what her perfume was. Marguerite called it Patchouli oil.

I had always liked fragrance. Mum rarely wore her favourite Diorissimo so I snuck a drop here and there. I used up the Jean Naté Body Splash that someone had given her for Christmas. When Marks and Spencer came to Canada I saved my babysitting money to buy the whole line of Peach bath products. There was the Giorgio phase (my parents ordered a bottle by phone directly from Beverly Hills for a late teen birthday before you could buy it here) the Anne Klein phase, the Lauren phase, and the days I stole some of my Dad’s Old Spice. There was a bar of soap someone gave me when I was nine that I never used because I loved the scent so much. I still have that bar of soap. I trolled the Body Shop as often as I could, buying tiny bottles of shower gel and slivers of glycerine soap. But nothing, NOTHING compared to that Patchouli scent when Marguerite was around my house.

Marguerite was amazing. Her clothes, her scent, her everything… The first Christmas gift she gave me was a body oil she had made herself. It was in an old Clinique bottle with some patchouli and some bergamot I think. I used it a little at a time; it was as amazing to me as Marguerite was. Over the years Marguerite took me on shopping trips and out for fancy lunches and we went to stores smelling perfumes and soaps talking about these oils she used to make those special Christmas gifts I had come to love so much.

When I went away to College in a tiny town in Vermont a bunch of girls from the dorm wandered around the local shops during a break from freshman week events. There was an office supply store with typewriters in the window and a steep set of stairs up the right hand side. There was a little sign above the stairs that said “Perfect Scents” I wandered up those stairs and encountered a scent that reminded me of my mother’s candles and Marguerite’s patchouli and MORE! When I entered that store I was the happiest person on earth! I had found a place brimming with soap and bath beads and a whole wall of bottles. Glass Bottles with ground glass stoppers and little brass tags with names like Tuberose, and Cassis and Patchouli! I had found Marguerite’s oils! Over the 18 months I was at that school I went back to Perfect Scents many, many times. George, the owner would pour oils into tiny bottles for me and one day I asked if we could mix them for me and it turned out George was a perfumer! I was wide eyed with curiousity. Most of the blends I made with George had Patchouli in them of course. Sometimes he would make me a lotion, or body oil with my scents… Just like Marguerite! At every visit I asked hundreds of questions. He was gracious and taught me a lot. I used to go back to visit friends for years after leaving school. On every trip I went to my little shop. It was sold, closed, reopened under 3 different names and those bottles went with every version of the shop. There is nothing left of the store now, but I credit George for kindling the fragranced fire that Mum and Marguerite had started.

Sometime in the late 80’s Mum and I talked about opening a little shop here in Ontario that was just like Perfect Scents. Sadly, I knew nothing about business and my mother told me it would be very expensive to open a shop like that and I believed her and gave up on the idea, or so I thought. At dinner with my friend Julie in the 90’s I was complaining about how miserable I was waiting tables. I had dropped out of college (majoring in film) I had taken courses in fashion design, cake decorating, and was looking into jewelry design programs. Julie looked at me and said: “Well why don’t you do this perfume, soap store you keep talking about” I just looked at her and wondered how she knew about the old idea with my mom. She said “Well, every time we go anywhere that’s all you talk about! You drag us from store to store smelling stuff, talking about some store in Vermont and how that scent isn’t as good as that one and on and on!”

So, about 6 months later in 1994 I had a shelf in my living room with 11 scents (a mix of fragrance and essential oils, but I didn’t know the difference), some cosmetic bases and a company name and logo. Clearly Julie’s kick in the pants was a fan to that almost doused fire! I blended little perfumes for friends and clients from the bar I was working in. My goal was to make custom perfumes and also blend the scents into bath products. I wanted everything to be “Natural”. Marguerite had retired and had decided to study aromatherapy. I learned more about that art from her and made a specific decision that using fragrance to help people’s ailments: headaches, cramps etc just was not my thing. I understand now that Aromatherapy is far more than that, but at the time, that’s how I chose my path. I wanted to use fragrance to make people really happy, the way it always made me when I found a new scent or soap to love. I had to import all my oils from the US because the oils I found in Canada were insanely expensive. 2 or 3 times the prices I was offered by the American companies that I had learned about from George.

Fast Forward a few years to 2003 and I had just opened my first storefront. I had run the business at home part time and had blended many custom fragrances for people and had brought in other odd and obscure brand names of bath and body care products to the store. I had closer to 80 fragrances from a few different companies. I had learned the difference between fragrance and essential oils and that fragrance oils were considered artificial but I loved so many of them. My US suppliers had assured me all those inexpensive fragrance oils were natural. I had read about some perfumers using only essential oils which was neat, but I knew what kind of budget that would take. PLUS all my favourite fragrance oils… I couldn’t get rid of them… I LOVED them. Aromatherapists would come into my store and look down their nose at me and tell me I knew nothing but I was proud of what I was doing. My collection had grown to 100 oils, and over half of them were essential oils. I had clearly decided that I would be using both types of oils to blend perfumes and bath products and my newest customer base in Chicago ADORED the fragrances I used to make the Bath Bombs I was shipping to them. My store was tiny, so I made the Bath Bombs in my mother’s basement apartment where my son and I lived at the time.

Over the next while I started to get terrible headaches while working with some things in the store. The most marked time was on a road trip to see my Chicago clients with my car full of soap and bath bombs made with mostly fragrance oils. I chomped on Sinus medication like it was candy for the 9 hour drive, my head splitting. It took some time for me to work out that almost all the fragrance oils in my collection gave me a sinus headache. I am so sensitive/allergic now that I can barely walk down the laundry aisle in the grocery store without the headache. My Doctor believes that it’s that years of working with the oils, especially near to where I slept has over exposed me to the chemicals in all those “natural” fragrance oils.

For many years I was often inspired by a magazine called Victoria. Sitting in my new store one day I opened an issue to find that the magazine had been cancelled and this was to be one of my last issues. I was saddened. But, inside was an article about the Natural Perfumer, Mandy Aftel. Her story was inspiring and I was curious so I bought her book Essence and Alchemy, was instantly intrigued by her writings on natural perfume ingredients. I has the strangest feeling reading that book. it felt like I had been handed a bottle of magical paste. Every word in that book took the tiny bits I had learned from Mom and Marguerite and George and countless other places and stuck them all together.

In all the fragrances I had made I knew I had to have a base note, a middle and a top note. I knew what civet and ambergris were. I had driven hours for and passed the Fragrance Sales Specialist exam, and read as much as I could. I knew a lot but there was something in the way Mandy described natural perfumes that made me think I should try it. So, in my next blend I did!  Something was missing….. but it was a good thing…. And I was stunned! I had got to the point in my blending where everything I did seemed kind of muddy and I was adding more and more fragrances to fix what wasn’t working. I have some old recipes from my fragrance oil days that had 15 or 20 things in it! When I started working with only essential oils the blends were simpler, but somehow they smelled like they were fresher, clearer. You know how fresh air has a feeling… but not a scent? It felt like my perfumes finally had fresh air in them. As silly as this may sound, I felt like I was the luckiest person on earth because I had discovered a world that was within my realm of understanding, but not so much foreign that I couldn’t jump in and have fun there.

I looked at my collection of natural ingredients and was ecstatic I could finally use it! That gooey vetiver stuff that everyone hated, I could use it! The expensive rose oil that I bought as a treat, the benzoin that was stuck in the bottle, the endless citrus collection and my Patchouli.  In Mandy’s book I realized that I could use it and stop listening to people tell me it smelled like Hippies, or Dead-Heads, or my mother’s favourite: A Gypsy Brothel! My collection grew and grew and the selection of fragrance oils dwindled. My bottles got tinier, since the natural ingredients were sooo much more expensive. I covet Lilliputian bottles of Tuberose from New York & Anya’s velvety Boronia from Australia. I have bizarre things like burnt seashell oil, and salty hunks of ambergris all of which I’ve grown to love. I have an almost inexplicable dream state experience whenever I smell the really exotic things like civet.

I still hesitate to call myself a perfumer, despite 17 years of working with Fragrance and almost 10 dedicated to creating Natural perfume .When people ask if I’m a “nose” or a perfumer I tell them I consider myself a self apprenticed perfumer, that has never had any schooling or teaching in the subject but somehow have 100’s of perfume blends under my belt. One day when I get the courage I will send a blend into the Guild for evaluation and join the rank of the Natural Perfumers in this amazing group.

Now, when I blend a perfume I exclusively use essential oils & other natural materials. I realized at some point that how I make perfume is a little strange as compared to others I’ve encountered. Before the internet, finding books on making perfume in small town libraries was next to impossible. I certainly didn’t have the budget to buy many books on the subject. I met a perfumer in a company in Toronto, but his lab was full of weird stuff that made no sense to me…. So I made up my own way. I custom blend all of my perfumes with my clients present for every step. I call it “Blending Fresh” and our joke is that the customer doesn’t get to leave the session until they love it. Although I have learned that sometimes that takes more than one session and imprisoning a client for hours on end doesn’t always work. ;)

Every client visit becomes a social time, I listen to them, I share Mum and Marguerite and George with them, we talk back and forth over coffee as I sniff and sample and count drops. The perfume is done when the client takes a sniff of what I’ve just put on them and their eyes light up and only then do I know they love it. To me, that look means they’ve just experienced all that natural fragrance means to me. That look says to me that I haven’t just made them a perfume, but that I’ve brought them out to the Fresh Air.
 I told you it was a Long Story! Thanks for reading!  


Happy Anniversary to the Natural Perfumers Guild ! Please check out the list below of other guild bloggers involved in this fun project!  
Lord's Jester Inc            


Tuesday, May 31, 2011

Is shipping included?

Hi! This past week you may have read in the local newspaper that we have some great news!
After almost 9 months of waiting & hoping ellënoire is finally ready to birth its new permanent location! We’ve secured a spot at the Dundas Post Office which is under construction to become a new shopping destination in a stunning old stone building. When it was announced that Canada Post had sold the building and it was to be coverted into a commercial building we were intrigued as to whether it would be a good fit for us as a location. The huge arched windows and the high ceilings made it hard to resist. As you may know we have been running the ellënoire boutique out of tiny, temporary locations since Autumn of 2010 & running a part time Curly Hair Salon offsite since Spring of 2010. We are crazy excited that we have finally found a home for ellënoire in Dundas. The bulk of my company history has been here in Dundas yet in some ways it would have been so much easier to just move the business rather than wait for a suitable location here in my hometown. We looked in other parts of the Hamilton area but although lovely none of them felt like home. Dundas people have remained so loyal to me & the store over the years staying just made sense. So, I think it’s appropriate that we will end up in one of the oldest landmarks in this town. The new, meets the old to become new again.
The two big arched windows on the left will be mine!

You will have to wait until late summer to see our new baby because she needs to be dressed up perfectly for your first visit. Our plans for decorating the inside of the Post Office location will remind you a little of our stores’ past, but with some fun new twists. We’ve enlisted the help of some of our favourite creative minds to help us makeover and transform the space into something magical. I’m really excited about the new Fragrance area we’ve been working on. Our Natural Fragrance Blending & Custom Perfume services will have a special new section to allow for even more scent creativity, the world of Natural Fragrance is ever changing and will remain my passion for life. It is, after all why I started the company. The new boutique will include everything we do currently: Handmade Bath Products & Custom Scenting plus your favourite Face, Bath & Body Brands like Badger Balm, Vermont Soap, Face Atelier Cosmetics & of course the DevaCurl products along with a really exciting addition…a baby sister if you will.

Our baby sister will be the inclusion of a Curly Hair Salon in the same place as the boutique. Some of you may find this confusing because you’ve either never noticed that we sell curly hair products and teach curly hair techniques or you don’t have curly hair (in another blog I’ll explain why you don’t have to be curly to be an ellënoire hair client) The funny thing is there are days when I think my curly clients have no clue we make fragrances and soap and stuff. I joke that there is an invisible line down the middle of the store: Curly clients on one side, Bath & Fragrance clients on the other. I’m not complaining. I just think it’s odd.

Creating the Curly Hair salon was a decision we came to after years of discussing the idea. It took the recession to help us decide. In the last year or so since the recession we realised a few key things: a) Going the extra mile to keep customers happy will separate you from the competition and b) having a product or service that people would climb mountains for is worth its weight in gold. c) Having the flexibilty to deal with messy situations to make a) and b) happen will make you appreciate the simple things. Let me explain. Despite a variety of location issues ranging from landlords choosing to rent to other people or landlords with buildings not to code or the construction delays with the Post Office we have managed to keep the business alive and kicking. The temporary stores have confused our customers a little which we regret and of course we have lost some business along the way but the loyal clients have been fiercely loyal!
You may not have realised but the Private Curly Hair Salon we refer to is located in my dining room. There have been days that between clients getting hair washed at the sink in my kitchen, waiting for colour to process, waiting for their appointments we have had 6-8 people in my living and dining room, not including the staff! Add to the mix my son yelling “Mom! What’s for Dinner!” and my cats trying to escape the basement to climb all over clients and you can imagine the chaos. 
There was a point that made us realise our clients simply wouldn't tolerate a part time salon anymore.

There was also a point where I realised I was going to go crazy if we didn't get the store and salon all in one place! We’ve made bath bombs and soap in my backyard until we had a more weather friendly place to make products. Most of our store fixtures are in storage somewhere. I have some customers that think I am never at the store anymore; some people have even suggested I must be on vacation or off doing something fun. The truth is I was likely in the home salon washing hair, or the home office (which is mostly in boxes between the piano and a bookshelf) or at the storage locker climbing over boxes to get decorations for that season or in the new Bath Bomb shed etc etc.
Somehow, despite this we have managed to keep the doors at the store open 6-7 days a week and hair cutting clients begging for more appointments.

In a few months once we move into the Post Office with everything in one place I won’t know what to with myself!

So, while we wait for the Post Office to be ready check us out at 2 Cross St, or get in touch to book a Curly Hair appointment.

In the Late Summer you and me... we’ve got a date!

You’ll find me waiting for you in the new boutique making new fragrances, teaching hair info and cutting hair (a new skill I’m working on) and chatting about products I have deep in my head waiting to be created. It’s all pretty exciting and I can’t wait to show you what I have planned!

Tuesday, May 17, 2011

It's a Girl! ;) Exciting ellënoire news!

After almost 9 months of waiting & hoping ellënoire is finally ready to birth its new permanent location! We’ve secured a spot at the Dundas Post Office which is under construction to become a new shopping destination in a stunning old stone building. You will have to wait until late summer to see our new baby because she needs to be dressed up perfectly for your first visit. The new Boutique will include everything we do currently: Handmade Bath Products & Custom Scenting plus your favourite Bath & Body Brands like Badger Balm, Vermont Soap & of course the DevaCurl products along with an exciting addition…a baby sister if you will.




We will continue to offer Curly Hair Services: cutting & colouring but in a full service salon right inside our boutique. The Sulfate Free Curly Hair services we have offered for the last year in our private salon are so popular we cannot keep up, some of our non-curly clients are getting in on the sulfate free action too! We will be cutting right up to the day of the move, & selling products at 2 Cross St, Dundas so don’t worry, you can still get your ellënoire fix of the fun & functional things you love & enjoy a frizz free summer.

Our website, email & phone number will remain the same as always http://www.ellenoire.com/, ellenoire@ellenoire.com, 905 627 9379

Come & see us at 2 Cross St soon & look for the news of our opening dates at the Post Office!

Monday, April 25, 2011

Some store news!!

Dear Customers, Friends and DevaCurl Enthusiasts,
I’m writing to fill you in on news.
Do not worry, WE ARE NOT CLOSING!
This is news about our upcoming location which will house the Ellënoire Boutique along with a brand new Natural & Curly Hair Salon. Our current location at 53a King Street west was only a temporary location as many of you know. We will be closing this location on Saturday April 30. 5 more shopping days!

We are currently negotiating with a new landlord to move to another location in downtown Dundas.  Unfortunately due to some timing issues it appears we will be without a street front location for a few weeks. Do not worry, WE ARE NOT CLOSING!
Over the next little while you will be able to get your favourite products in several different ways.  Our website http://www.ellenoire.com will remain active, and we will make arrangements for local customers to have their products available for pick up at a central location or in some cases delivered. Do not worry, you will not be charged the shipping fees you see on the website.

Our part time private Deva inspired curly hair salon will also remain open with cutting dates in May & June in both our St Catharines and Dundas based locations. 
Please feel free to ask questions, and we wish this situation was a little different, but the details are beyond our control.
In the meantime everything in the store is on SALE. I’d rather sell it than move it!
Getting in touch with me by email will be ellenoire@ellenoire.com.
 We’ll see you soon!

Sincerely, Noëlle & the ellënoire staff

Wednesday, April 6, 2011

ellenoire news

Hi everyone!
I'm a  Bad Blogger/ Company Newsletter writer I know!!
Go ahead, scold me! I'll warn you, I have a lot to share today. I'm on a new eating plan and have TONS of energy and since it's cold and quiet in town I have time to chat with you!

I have some news for you, some questions I want you to answer and just some general info for you.

You've likely noticed but we are still hanging about in our temporary location at 53a King Street west in Dundas. We are hoping, praying, smoke signalling, dancing the real estate dance to be out of here soon and into a new location  with both the store and hair salon in the same space by sometime in the early summer. The fun part is trying to make sure we can stay here until our new (mystery) location is ready. We'll keep you posted.

Meanwhile we continue to create our fabulous handmade products, and expand the new ellenoire everyday line. Have you tried ellenoire everyday yet? We call it the EE line here in the shop. Simple lotions, Simple Body wash, and Simple Foam wash for hands or face. We should have a shampoo and conditioner in the line in time for summer. Our product testers have been asking for more of the prototypes we launched to them in December! Which means it's great.
Ellenoire Everyday is Good Stuff You'll Like!

I'm working on the new face care line and some teenage face care products too. Our Acne oil is flying off the shelves, it doesn't have a proper label yet- heck we only started making it for a client as a special request.  We shot the photo's for the new women's face care line, but I can't decide what to do for the teen line.  The inspired idea should come to me soon. Let me know if you have any ideas!

We have a great selection of stunning pashmina type shawls and scarves in stock for spring. Some are patterned wool and silk, some are pashmina cashmere and silk. Perfect spring colours and prints to dress up your outfits and keep you just warm enough no matter what the weather decides to do to us. I'm hoping to take some photos of the colours for you this week.

A little curly news.
I know many of you do not have curly hair don't understand why we specialise in curly hair and why we seem to talk about it all of the time. Please, accept out apologies if you feel left out. For the first time ever in many of our lives many "curly girls" have a safe place to come and chat about our curly woes and live frizz free. As an alumnus of the dreaded School of Frizz I can tell you it feels nice to know curls can be perfect if you want them to be. You straight haired people may often covet our curls, but I think that's only because you've never had to walk a mile in our frizz! :)
Until we have our salon open with our full staff of DevaCurl trained stylists awaiting your visit we continue to cut hair in our private salon location 2-3 days per month. Please let us know if you need an appointment. They fill up very fast and we are having trouble keeping up. We are planning to add another curly cutting session at another salon in the Niagara area in a few weeks. Would you like to join us for a haircut that day? Do you live in that area? or would you consider driving there for a haircut? Send me a little email and let me know if you would like to join us. If there is enough interest then we will consider doing Niagara Curly days on a regular basis. BUT. You have to let me know if you or a friend in that area would be interested!

Hmm, ok what else do you want to know about? I'm thinking about launching a ready to wear organic perfume line. What do you think? I could do some that are all certified organic, and some that are natural but not specifically organic. Are there any fragrances that you would like to see? Since I only use plant based imgredients there are a lot of scents I can't/ won't work with but there are hundreds many people either do not know, or had never thought of! I still create custom blended natural fragrances for those lucky customers that are willing to take the time to hang out with me for a few hours so they can leave with a special scent made just for their fragrance tastes and own something that smells fantastic on their skin. Custom blended fragrances will remain my favourite way to create scent, but I'm finally willing to start putting some ready to wear blends together. Funny huh? It only took 15 years of blending for me to get here. Are you ready for a new spring scent?

OK I think that is enough for today. Look out. I've been told by my business mentor that I should start shooting video for the blog soon too!
Ha! and you think I talk a lot on the blog when I get going? Wait until you hear me on video.

Cheers.... we will talk again soon!
 Noëlle



Thursday, March 3, 2011

Ready for Spring(y) Curls? Curly Cutting event coming soon!

Get your curly calls in NOW! The next Curly event is public! http://archive.constantcontact.com/fs027/1102261797238/archive/1104703091915.html


Monday, January 24, 2011

Are you addicted to lip balm?

I am away on a rare thing for me this week.... a Vacation! I'm not somewhere warm like most people would choose to be in the winter because weather doesn't really bother me, so when I travel I go where I want when I want, when I can. So, I am in Britain where its damp and chilly.... but not dry and frigid like I understand it is back in much of N.A right now. My skin, my hair and my cuticles are stunningly moisturized!

    So, if you are smart back home in the tundra (it's -16C in my hometown today I understand) you are using lip balm like crazy to keep your lips from drying out. But, have you ever felt like you are addicted to it? I was, for years!!! I had a thing for a Dr Pepper scented one. I had one in all my pockets, purses and next to my bed!
 Well, here's your ingredient tip for the day...  Most people that use petroleum based lip balm are addicted because it feels good to put on but an hour later it feels like your lips are dry again . It's like the chinese food of cosmetics... great at the time.... kinda useless a little later. Many brands/ products with names ending in things like----line, ----tex, ---mex, ---syl etc. i.e. most lip stuff from the drug store is petroleum based... it won't do a damn thing for your lips but protect them from the elements... petroleum will never actually moisturize anything and it just rubs off on coffee cups and forks and then you swallow some because the molecule in petroleum cannot penetrate human skin. You may as well just kiss the end of the nozzle at the gas/ petrol pump after filling your car and rub that all over your lips.... Don't be fooled by the "with Aloe, "With Shea Butter" type lines either because if the main ingredient is petroleum it still won't let those good ingredients penetrate well anyway. Look for Balms with no petroleum, petrolatum, or paraffin in them unless you are planning to race the Iditarod next week, you really don't need the protection of petroleum on your skin.
 Yes, I sell stuff like this.. pop by the store or the website... you'll find petroleum free lip balm there...


 P.S. This rule goes for hair and your head to toe skin too! Petroleum goo sucks for human anything really...