The Leonardo's Hair Design Artistic Team
All Leonardo's design staff members have received advanced training from all over the world and specilaize in handling all hair types including long hair, permed, hair, colored treated and damaged hair. Let's meet the Leonardo's Artistic Team:
Richard has been a professional stylist for many years and has been part of the Leonardo's design team 28 years. Richard is a true professional and has received advanced training from Charles of the Ritz, Sebastian International, Redken and Clairol. When Richard isn't working, he enjoys listening to Abba and Rod Stewart, and dining out on Long Island where the 7th Street Cafe in Garden City is one of his favorite restaurants. Richard loves movies and one of his favorite films of all time is Moonstruck starring Cher.
Enrica is Leonardo's senior colorist and has more experience with organic color than almost any other colorist on Long Island. Enrica was born and raised in Genoa, Italy and grew up very close to the house of Christopher Columbus who is also a native of Genoa!
Enrica received her first professional training in Italy and since has also received advanced education from The Clairol Institute, and John Guenter. Enrica is one of a select group of colorists in the United States who is board certified with the National Association of Hair Colorists. Enrica specializes in corrective coloring, color make-overs and deep, sexy ruby reds. Enrica's specialties also include non-ammonia based color and highlights which are recommended as safe for pregnant mothers or those wishing to avoid chemical color processes. Enrica is available Thursday-Saturday for consultations and appointments.
Enrica loves music from the '70s including The Carpenters, The Platters, James Taylor, and Simon & Garfunkel. When Enrica is not working, she enjoys knitting, walking, and cooking, and most recently taking lessons at the Apple Store in Garden City. A very accomplished cook, Enrica also enjoys dining out when she has the opportunity and her favorite restaurant is Cool Fish of Syosset, Allison Ristorante in Sea Cliff, and Blue Moon in Rockville Center.
Sasha has 19 years experience as a hairdresser and colorist and has been with Leonardo's since 2002. Along with Enrica and Annmarie, Sasha is one of the very few board certified colorists in the United States. Over the years Sasha has completed advanced training from Wella, Redken and a full one week advanced course by TiGi.
Sasha loves the creative side of the hair and beauty business and her specialties certainly show it. Sasha is a creative color expert, and loves to push the edge while still maintaining style and class. Sasha also loves the formal appearance of time tested styles like up-do's, and matching a clients color and cut to best match their body type, personality and demeanor. When Sasha isn't working you can usually find her spending time with her family, learning more about computers and electronics and, of course, photography. 1995's The Usual Suspects is among her favorite films.
Annmarie has been a stylist and a colorist for almost 20 years and has been with Leonardo's 18 years. Annmarie (along with Sasha and Enrica) is one of the relatively few board certified colorists in America. While Annmarie received her initial education here on Long Island, she's received advanced training in Philadelphia, Las Vegas and Manhattan being trained by seasoned instructors from companies like Wella, Redken, Rusk, and Jingles. Annmarie is also an expert in organic hair coloring.
Aside from coloring, Annmarie's specialties include razor cuts and up-dos for weddings and other formal affairs. A child of the 80s Annmarie's favorite musical groups are U2, INXS, and most recently John Mayer. Annmarie loves to watch movies with both her husband and her kids and some of her favorite films are Arthur, Young Frankenstein and City of Angels. Annmarie loves to ski and you'd know it in a second by looking at her license plate and she takes great joy in teaching her two sons how to ski at nearby mountains of upstate NY and in the Poconos. After returning from a day of skiing, Annmarie's two favorite restaurants to visit are Kasey's American Grill here in Rockville Center and Minami Sushi of Massapequa.
Joanna has 14 years experience and has been with Leonardo's for over 11 years. She's extremely talented and has a great eye for "what works". She's an expert in razor cutting and up-do styles for weddings and proms and is also an experienced colorist. Joanna received her education here on Long Island and has also attended prestigious advanced training from Jingles, Wella, Paul Brown and has even traveled to Las Vegas to learn the latest in advanced coloring techniques. You would think that someone who works with their hands all day would enjoy leisurely activites in her spare time, but think again. When Joanna isn't working in the salon you can find her working on her garden, cycling around the South shore on her bicycle and spending time with her husband.
Joanna's favorite film is Forest Gump and when she listens to music it's usually something like classic rock to newer edgier bands like The Stone Temple Pilots. Joanna's favorite restaurant on Long Island is Pier 95 in Freeport.
Staci is Leonardo's Salon Coordinator and Receptionist. She's often the first and last one you see here at our salon and we are very proud to have her as part of our team. Staci is a graduate of New York City's prestigious Fashion Institude of Technology and her first job upon graduation was at Redbook magazine where she worked in Redbook's advertising and production departments. Then Staci started her career in management and consulting. She worked at upscale salons in Miami and Manhattan and also worked for one of the industry's most well-known salon software company, ST. When Staci is not working you can usually find her playing tennis or sketching. Staci enjoys all types of music and some of her favorite musical artists are Nicola Conte, Cafe del Mar, Sara Barielles, and Beth Orton. When it comes to movies Staci's favorite are the romantic comedies and dramas like Sophie's Choice, The Notebook, and Knotting Hill. While Staci enjoys eating out and trying new restaurants, her favorite Long Island restaurant is the Bayou in N. Bellmore. " I love Cajun/Creole cooking and the Bayou is superb, says Staci.
"Being a good salon coordinator means you have to master many, and often conflicting skills and personalty types, " says James, "you really need the skills of accountant, marketing whiz, den mother, staff supervisor, and gracious host all rolled into one. To find someone who possesses these skills is hard but Staci is honestly embodies all these personalities and more."
James is Leonardo's owner and founder and still full time operator and stylist. When you walk into Leonardo's Hair Design you are experiencing the result of over 125,000 hours of James' life. 125,000 hours equates to a straight figure of 14 years in making Leonardo's one of the most respected and well known salons of its type on Long Island. Since 1972 James has meticulously designed and executed everything from the Leonardo's decor, advanced staff training, marketing and advertising, landscaping and he even overseees choice of music and the type of coffee served.
And even with all those responsilbilities, James has found time to be one of the most highly trained and most accredited hair stylists in New York State. Here are some of James' more notable accomplishments and recognitions:
- Member of the National Cosmetology Association
- Awarded Artistic Center by Sebastian International
- Certified Expert in Long Hair by George Michael
- Member International Hair Color Specialists
- Advanced training in Las Vegas, Los Angeles, and Paris, France
- Accredited by Schools including Jingles, Paul Mitchell, Toni and Guy, and Sebastian.
- Featured in the book, "Who's Who in the World of Beauty" as well as in the global professional hair and fashion magazine Coiffure (Paris, NYC) .
- Salon of the Year award from well known industry magazine Modern Salon Magazine. (It was James' eye for design and structure that helped shape Leonardo's look for the award)
When James isn't working you can usually find him rollerblading, swimming or biking. An accomplished dancer, James once danced on American Bandstand and is a big fan of all types of music but really enjoys Sinatra and Sade . James and his wife enjoy great food and discovering unique restaurants and his favorite restaurants on Long Island are the Palm Court, Cool Fish Panama Hatties.