What a weekend! Part 1

We had such a busy/fantastic weekend here at lab its going to take 2 posts to show you all the fun and debauchery. Part 1 is dedicated to the Johnson St Block Party.

Holy crow what a success! Thanks to a Herculean effort by dozens of volunteers from businesses up and down the 2 block of "LoJo" the event went off without a hitch. Dozen of family friendly events up and down the block brought the street to life and made this event a sidewalk sale second to none. Here at lab we had an extremely popular table with a contest entry form to win a $500 back to school product and service package (which you can still enter by dropping by the salon) and our own DJ TOUCH BASS (aka receptionist extraordinaire) rocked the crowd on the mainstage. Check out some glorious pictures from the event. And here's to next year!

The color ginger has been brought to you by Lab

One of the Darlings of the fringe festival this year is a delightful little piece called "Ginger Ninja's" The play revolves around the adventures of two hyperactive foster kids who are looking for their long lost brother. Lots of fun and if you stay for the credits you will find out that The color ginger has been provided by Lab salon.

Lab is taking you to school

Lab is giving you an opportunity to go back to school in style. Starting saturday you can enter your favorite academic to win Lab's ultimate student style package which includes:

- A cut & color or a Brazillian Blowout

- A backpack full of haircare from Schwarzkopf Professional

- A professional flatiron

Enter in person at Lab salon 541 Johnson St.

Johnson Fest

You may not have heard, but your favorite group of stylish boutiques are throwing a little shindig on Saturday. The city has graciously consented to close the street for the festivities which prove to be more than just your run of the mill sidewalk sales. Look for all kinds of family fun including a dunk tank, a boot camp, a skate competition, and a whole bunch of interactive kids activities.

FYI Lab will be selling all OSIS products at 40% off and will be starting to take entries for it's Ultimate Student Style Package giveaway.

See you there

Upstanding Citizen

If you have been paying attention then you already know that there are a few new faces breathing some much needed life into a few of the villages around town. Cook St. Village has always had a certain curb appeal to the young and trendy and, in the last year, Fernwood Village has been amping up it's cool factor with some amazing cuisine and culture. Hot on their heels is the soon to be stylish Estevan Village... I know what you're thinking... where??

Estevan Village has long been home to Paprika Restaurant (a local favourite) and very little else. But that is all starting to change thanks to a few new local innovators like Patrick Tier ( formerly of Outlooks for Men). Patrick's newest incarnation is called Citizen and it's been getting quite a buzz.

The store is as well designed as the clothing they sell and it's evident that the owner has spectacular taste in haberdashery. Armed with a "bring the mountain to Mohammed" attitude towards it's unusual location, Citizen is leading the way in what we hope to see as a growing trend in well executed community based businesses.

So, if you are on the search for something to give the style savvy the man in your life... we highly recommend this place.

Sooooo cute!

Need something unnecessarily cute to smile about?

MARCEL THE SHELL WITH SHOES ON from Dean Fleischer-Camp on Vimeo.

Lab loves....Mumford & Sons

If you took the time to watch our Sasquatch 2010 video then you already know that this is one of our favorite bands this year. Mix them with one of our favorite things, Take Away Shows, and you've got a recipe for fine spun gold.

enjoy

Mumford & Sons - The Banjolin Song / Awake my soul - A Take Away Show #105 from La Blogotheque on Vimeo.

More lab love.

Hi,

I wish to pass on my appreciative thanks for my hair cut last week. It was my first Lab experience, and a top notch one to boot.

I'm loving my new do and will back to see you guys.

Thanks again!

Rifflandia is fast approaching!

RIFFLANDIA 3 is just over a month away from starting and the website just got a new coat of paint with some tasty new info. Lab is a very proud sponsor of Rifflandia because we are dedicated to bringing art and culture to Victoria and keeping it here! Check out the site and drool over the glorious line-up.

Side note: friends of lab, Seattle-based "Monarch", just got added to the Friday Line-up 8:30 at Upstairs so if you want to find us, thats where we'll be.

Lindsay love.

Hello Matt and Lab Staff

I am a close friend of Lindsay and was unable to attend your amazing fundraiser. I watched the video today and was blown away by everyone involved. I just wanted to say how much you have raised her spirits.

To Matt and everyone at Lab and Lucky, many thanks and you rock!

Stylist training update.

A couple weeks ago, we blogged about the ongoing education we provide for our stylists and this is a little update about Dave Arter's recent training in Vancouver.

Dave recently attended a 2-day Vidal Sasoon course at Zinc salon in Vancouver. The course was taught by Tricia McQuillan , recent creative director of Vidal Sasoon's London academy (super impressive). Dave picked a course called "foundations" thinking it would be a fairly stock standard fundamentals course to trot out some new styles and improve his (already impressive) repertoire but Dave was in for a surprise. Vidal Sasoon trains heavily with shaping, cutting technique and theory (think 5 point cut ala Mary Quant). Creativity was stressed heavily, something that is extremely important to foster when working in an environment where a stylists can see 8 cuts in a shift. A mountain of technical skills are useless if you can't execute them in the right way.

Bristling with new skill and training, Dave is super excited to be back at work so he can try out his new looks and techniques. Matty Conrad, our fearless leader, invites educators to our salon and sends stylists to courses like this on a regular basis often at no cost to the stylist. He feels it is important for our staff to have the best tools possible in order to create the hairstyle of your dreams. Our desire is to grow solid creative artists that know exactly how to make you look your very best. That's why you love us! After all, without education, we would be just another salon.

Want to see what Dave learned while he was away? Book an appointment!

Rock of the... Hood?

A couple weeks ago we told you about a cool local music festival taking place in Bamberton called "Rock of the Woods". Weeks have passed since then, major artists were announced (Junior Boys, OMG!) and everything was coming together nicely... was coming together nicely. Dave Bain, the festival organizer and owner of Surge Ahead, ran into a little road block a mere 2 weeks from the festival's date. The Cowichan Valley Regional District denied Rock of the Woods its liquor license! After numerous phone calls and verbal agreements the CVRD pulled the rug out from this spectacular event.

But wait! All is not lost! Rock of the Woods is born anew, yanked from the proverbial fire and is now shaping up to be even more spectacular than before. Sweet serendipity!

Rock of the Woods is now Rock of the Hood and is taking over Victoria (no road trip required) Aug 20th, 21st, and 22nd. Wristbands are $45 for all three days and tickets for the individual shows will be available at the door if you only want to go to one show.

The lineup:

Friday, August 20th, Sugar Nightclub

Doors at 9:00pm:

Brasstronaut

The British Columbians

Sunday Buckets

Acres of Lions

Smith &Lyseng

Saturday, August 21st at Sugar Nightclub

Doors at 8:00pm:

JUNIOR BOYS

Mat the Alien

Humans

Celebrity Traffic

The Mowhawk Lodge.

Sunday, August 22nd LUCKY BAR

Doors at 8:00pm:

Run Chico Run

Espionage

Bloody Wilma

JP Maurice

Tickets are limited!

Lets all have a blast before the summer is over shall we.

Great feedback from Sunday's cut-a-thon!

I wanted to pass on another thank you for the wonderful style I received Sunday. It was a real pleasure meeting the staff of Lab. Thanks Alisa - I’m in love with my hair! I have not had one bad hair day in 2 days! Thanks

Hairstyles of the animal kingdom

Lab loves lindsay

Check out this decidedly tear-jerking video wrap-up of our "Lab loves Lindsay" fundraiser on Sunday. It was a fantastic success. We had our expectations blown away by our clients, some donating 3 or 4 times the suggested $20 for their haircuts. Throughout this fundraiser we have been careful to protect Lindsay's privacy and although she remained a complete stranger to a large part of our donors, they gave to her with their whole hearts. This was our most successful fundraiser yet, and in total we raised $4000 for Lindsay. We are speechless. Thank you all so much.

Everyone involved in the event donated their time and fees for this cause. Special thanks are due to:

The lab staff - your scissors were quick, your hearts were large and your donated day of work will mean the world to someone.

Katie Schaan in particular for her organization and her compassionate initiative behind this whole event.

Vince Vaccarro, Mike Edel, Katie Schaan and Ian Hoar (TOUCH BASS) (and all supporting musicians) - Thanks for donating your time and talent to make our evening a complete blast!

Surge Ahead and Lucky Bar - Thanks for the venue and the organization, you guys and girls are pros and it shows.

Local merchants including: Brun Body bar, Outlooks, Rook and Rose, Sitka, Hemmingway, Suasion, Addiction, Bliss, Still life, Flavour, Cusp that donated products and gift certificates for our door prizes and to many others that supported us by displaying posters.

Lindsay - We love you.

This Sunday, don't forget!

This Sunday is lab loves Lindsay. If you are in need of a haircut (or even if you aren't!) come down to lab between 12-7 on Sunday for a cut-a-thon in support of one of our clients. $20 (or more if you like) will get you a haircut from one of our super talented stylists. Come early, spots will fill up fast. Then, from 8-12, we are having a get together at Lucky with some fantastic musical acts. Tickets are $10 for the evening portion, proceeds again going to Lindsay.

For more info, locations, etc... read more here: Facebook