Arame Salon donates over 40 lbs of hair for Gulf Oil spill clean up

We have been involved with the environmental group Matter of Trust for close to two years. Since then, we have been storing hair clippings in plastic bags, inside boxes in our garage  (it was getting hairy in their!) We were recently contacted by Matter of Trust requesting all available hair, and off it went.  They have been coordinating efforts to assist with making hair mats as well as hair booms with nylons, assisting with oil clean up efforts in the Gulf. To watch videos and get more information around these efforts, please visit www.matteroftrust.org.

Thanks to all of our guests (and their hair) for helping us contribute to these efforts!

Arame Salon raises $500 during Earth Month!

Thanks to the generosity of our guests, we were able to raise $500 during Earth Month for Clean Ocean Action. This was accomplished through the sale of $5 raffle tickets in exchange for a chance to win a $100 Gift Certificate for salon services.

Congratulations to our  winner, Noreen Bauser, and to all that were involved!

Thanks to all of our guests for your contributions and continued support. We appreciate your business!

Arame Salon & Spa participates in EARTHSTOCK at Stony Brook University

On Friday, April 23rd, we  joined in for Earthstock at SUNY Stony Brook for the second year, celebrating Earth Month 2010. All of us enjoyed a beautiful spring day with a great crowd of visitors. The bands, drum circle, stilt performers and many other activities during the day made for a great outing. We offered samples of our Aveda hand care product as well as valuable coupons and literature of our Earth friendly products and services. I was fortunate to have the support of two of our Aveda friends from NYC (Jen & Brenda), that helped me throughout the day. A great help (thanks again Jen & Brenda)!    

Once again, an excellent event that brings attention to the earth and environment around us, and ways that we can do our part to help preserve it.

Arame Salon & Spa makes a splash at Port Jefferson’s 1st Annual Health & Wellness Expo

We had a great day interacting with all the guests and participants on Saturday April 10th. One of our talented staff members, Chris, was busy offering complimentary stress relieving hand massages with Aveda’s Hand Relief  lotion. This created many happy visitors! We also offered guests valuable coupons for their upcoming visits with us. Our table was located on the third floor of the Village Center, giving us some of the nicest views of Port Jefferson Harbor on this clear and windy day.

Certainly a worthwhile event that helped to raise awareness for the many Health & Wellness offerings throughout the community.

Arame Salon hosts workshop on Prosperity and Feng Shui

We had an enthusiastic audience for our workshop this past Tuesday. Maureen K Calamia from Luminous Spaces conducted the workshop for our guests (she also assisted us in transforming our space). The discussions were focused around 9 tips for generating more prosperity in our lives. All of which can be used at our home or place of business. Some of these helpful practices were as easy as, recognizing and removing clutter and creating appeal at your front entry with water features and plants.

Our guests were very engaged with questions and Maureen provided answers for all, along with materials to take home and assist in applying these practices.

We will be hosting another workshop on Wednesday, March 31st titled, “How Clutter Impacts your Feng Shui – and what you can do about it”. Seating is limited, so call today @ 631.331.6633. $15 per person.

Arame Salon & Spa raises over $1000 to support breast cancer awareness during “Cut for a Cure” event

On Sunday, October 4th, Phyllis and our staff donated their time on this beautiful afternoon to “Cut for a Cure”. Proceeds from all haircuts this day were donated to this worthy cause. Our guests and staff had a fun afternoon and Stony Brook University’s own mascot “Wolfie” was there to join in with everyone. In addition, many local merchants provided gift baskets to raffle off and our valued guests provided donations throughout the month of October.

Thanks to all for making this such a successful day!

Arame Salon & Spa Embraces Green Feng Shui Design

Local salon owners Phyllis and Ron Schlumpf are among those that have truly made a commitment to reinvent their business to become more “green” in every way they could. In May of 2008, they made a decision to renovate and re-name their salon and shift the paradigm they had been accustomed to working within during the last eleven years.

“Phyllis and I have lived green for years and it just seemed to be a perfect time to introduce green practices into our business”, says Ron. “Incorporating Feng Shui seemed like the perfect complement to our sustainability mission – to make our staff and clients feel the best they possibly can.”

Understanding that to establish a true earth-friendly environment also meant to create a healthy, harmonious space, Phyllis & Ron desired to incorporate ancient Feng Shui principles into the new design.

To help with the transformation, Phyllis and Ron brought in Maureen K. Calamia, a consultant that does Green Feng Shui ™. Founder of Luminous Spaces (www.luminous-spaces.com), Maureen helped to guide the entire renovation process – from color, texture, placement, graphics, green and sustainable renovation products, and the use of the 5 Chinese elements to create a balanced space that promotes a feeling of relaxation and peace.

“Green Feng Shui design incorporates the ancient principles of balance and harmony through Feng Shui and the earth-supporting elements of modern green and sustainable design”, says Maureen. “And using eco-friendly materials greatly enhances the serenity and experience of the salon and works so well in this space.”

Feng Shui, being the original Green Movement according to the International Feng Shui Guild (www.ifsguild.org), is about harnessing the energy of the heavens and earth to create built environments that closely mimic the harmonious, balanced, life-giving force experienced in nature. Green Feng Shui design principles strive to minimize the buildings impact on the earth through the use of products that have a combination of green factors.

Contrary to what many think about green products, there are wide variations of what is considered green. Products can fit any one or a combination of the following factors:
•   Made out of recycled content, therefore reducing landfill waste.
•   Of a sustainable resource therefore will not deplete what will take hundreds to millions of years to re-create.
•   Throughout its lifecycle (“cradle to grave”) the product has a low impact on the earth and/or is non-toxic, therefore is a healthier alternative. Some products are only low impact or non-toxic in one or two stages of its cycle.
•   A natural material which restores the electrostatic balance (increases negative ions that have positive health effects) in a room. Wood flooring and organic rugs are two examples that would fit this definition.
•   A local resource that cuts down on greenhouse gas created by transportation.

Determining the best products to fit the aesthetic, budgetary and green needs are some of the challenges the team had to balance in creating this environment. In addition to considering what materials to incorporate, the team had to consider what materials would remain. With any green renovation project there is a balance between getting the most life out of the current material and replacing it with more earth-friendly products.

“It isn’t very “green’ to tear everything out and dump it in a landfill,” says Maureen. So green renovation has many educated decisions that must be considered carefully, including budget and product availability.

Going green wasn’t an easy decision, but owners, like Phyllis & Ron have several reasons to move to a more earth-friendly business:

1. Concern about the environment – Recognition that traditional salons dump many toxic chemicals into the local water system and contribute to landfills
2. Concern about the health and wellness of their clients. The average American spends 90% or more of their time indoors.  Levels of indoor pollutants may be two to five times higher, and occasionally more than 100 times higher, than outdoor levels. ( source: go-green.com) . The World Health Organization cites stress as a global epidemic: “Chronic . . . (stress) is potentially very destructive and can deprive people of physical and mental health, and at times, even of life itself” (source: Stress Management in Disasters)
3. Concern about doing their part

How Arame has transformed their business into a Green Feng Shui environment:

Building Products – From sustainable natural cork flooring and bamboo wall covering to “low VOC” paint and natural light fluorescent lighting (what is this called?), Arame has created a new interior space that minimizes its impact on the earth. Repainting the exterior vinyl siding has increased the longevity of the current siding and has minimized the waste had they decided to re-side the building. Stamped concrete on the exterior entryway was an efficient option due to it’s durability and cost.

Hair & Body Care Products – Botanically-based Aveda product line.

Business Practices – Arame Salon & Spa uses only recycled paper for their marketing materials and have instituted their own recycling program. Even the disposal of hair, typically dumped into landfills as garbage, is being recycled in composts as an organic substance. They use an organic cleaning service to keep their salon pristine.

Community Support – Ron and Phyllis are proud corporate sponsors of Sweetbriar Nature Center in Smithtown a private not-for-profit organization dedicated to nature education and wildlife rehabilitation services. They are also members of the Port Jefferson & Three Village Chambers of Commerce.

Luminous Spaces helps clients create physically and psychologically healthy environments in business and home. Using the techniques of Feng Shui and Sustainable consulting, and harnessing the wisdom of nature in achieving balance and harmony.

Arame Salon & Spa Raises Over $1,600 and Awareness for Local Clean Water Efforts

This April, Arame Salon & Spa in Port Jefferson, NY, hosted a local Clean Water fund raiser campaign for Earth Month. They raised nearly $1,700 to support the effort.

The funds were raised through two avenues: First, Arame donated $5 for every haircut during the month of April. Second, Arame enlisted the help of  Port Jefferson High School students with the aid of Ms. Dawn DeLeonardis.  Ms. DeLeonardis and her students created water-themed art projects, in various mediums, to celebrate Port Jefferson’s heritage and connection with the local Long Island water habitat. These art pieces were displayed at Arame at an Art Sale held on Thursday, April 30 at 7:00 pm, with refreshments and live folk music, provided by the students. All proceeds have been donated to Clean Ocean Action.

Among those present offering their support at the event was former Port Jefferson Village mayor, Jean Garant and her daughter, current mayoral candidate, Margot Garant, Attorney-at-law.

An Aveda salon, Arame Salon & Spa participated in Aveda’s Earth Day 2009 campaign “Clean Water: It Only Takes Baby Steps”. Aveda representatives, Jennifer Manganillo and Christine Lee were also on hand to help with the successful event. Aveda’s fund raising efforts have a goal of $3 million for global and local clean water projects. What began as a day of awareness became $11 million raised for the Earth.