Fearless Magazine Cover Shoot

June 22, 2010

This was a monumental moment for a lot of reasons, I was not only the part of the birth of a new peice of literary art by another Black Person, that i'm sure is a dream come true for the editor and chief Arianne Simome www.Fearlessmag.com

whom i have had the pleasure of knowing for a few years, that I can see once a week getting her "butta" whipped! by none other than Celebrity Stylist Maisha Oliver, http://www.facebook.com/maisha.oliver whom I have also had the pleasure of knowing for the past 7years... Miasha and I not only worked at the Elgin Charles Salon of Beverly Hills with, but have worked on several makeover shows with as well, and for the past year I have worked as an independant contractor in her salon M. Studio,

Located at 9005 Melrose, in west hollywood, ca, where on any given day we might see the hollywoods "whos who". which leads me back to my original thought "monumental moment" A shoot with Some of Hollywood finest and an opportunity to collaborate with my friend, colleague and coworker Maisha.

I'd say it was quite an outstanding day with all those things on my mind! I was pumped with adrinalin, and nothing on my mind but the address of where I am going and that my calll time is 8:am.

At 7:am, I grab a yogurt, and a Banana, and head out the door. I arrive at the Hollywood hills, address in Sunset Plaza for what i thought was a little early, when much to my suprise, the rest of the crew was arriving as well and i knew it was going to be a wonderful day. I looked around and didn"t see Maishas Car, so i immediately decided to go in and find out where to set up, so we'd be ready to go just incase she was running late.

On my way up the driveway of this fabulous Mansion, i run into none other than Celebrity Photographer, Steve Kay, http://www.stevekayphoto.com/ who i met years ago on a shoot with World renowned Photographer and Author of About Face, John Russo http://www.johnrussophoto.com/ .

Arianne greeted me at the door and directed me to the back, where whos sitting quiietly, all set up and ready to go, is none-other-than Makeup artist Extrodinaire Mathais Alan http://mathias4makeup.carbonmade.com/, who i'd previouly worked with as well! Needless to say there was enough talent already, to pull off something wonderful!

Mathais was set up by a window in the hall way and I set up in the bathroom where there was a vanity space with mirrors big enough, for both Miasha and I to work with room to spare... it was Perfect! Now I need some coffee! off to catering... Nothing but the best of course! freshly brewed Starbucks, pastrys, freshly cut fruit, and a variety of other things to start the day right. So just in front of the kitchen was the Pool and deck Area where the shoot would actually take place, and coming through the front door was DeeDee Kelly, http://deedeekelly.net/ Lead Make up Artist

and I must say "She's Amazing"! she and I have worked on Tasha Smith, Vanessa Williams, and several others..."I'm sure" and Just this Past spring we worked together on a PSA for Greater Than .Org,and have become quite fond of each others Art.... So she is ready to do her thing with a broken foot and all! "thats true dedication"!! LOL! Right in the door behind her is her "Right Hand Man" and Partner in Crime Mr. Chris Gees http://www.facebook.com/people/Chris-Gees/45002651 , and I thought "this is too good to be true"... It was Like a Family Reuion!!! It was the dream team! Now wonder the shoot was so wonderful! Maisha Arrived! and the Talent rolled in...

Lauren London arrived first, and all the others shortly after,

I had the pleasure of working my magic on Monique Coleman

,Kyla Pratt,

Chyna Layne

, Naturi Naughton,and Tia Mowry whom i have had the pleasure of working with for a BET showcase in New York, earlier in the year, the PSA for greater than and years ago i cut her hair into a bob, for a Monarch Magazine shoot with John Russo

Tia Mowry, for Monarch Magazine

I was so honored to be apart of such a wonderful project! the day was amazing! the experience was incredible it ran smoothly and we were outta there by 1:00pm! "That doesn't happen!" The Highlight of my day was listening to the Girls chatter and laugh about the wonderful things happening in there lives, and watching the future of hollywood unfold, while at the same time being apart of the process! OH! and By the way! KYlA Pratt is absolutely Hilarious! she had us all in stiches all morning long!!!!

enjoy the moments!

TANDEM

June 4^{th 2010}

www.andcut.com/darico&evie/promo.wmv

Have you ever had that moment, when you thought you could do something, but had no idea where to start? Well that’s exactly what happened when I decided to put together my very own DVD project… It’s something different when all you have to do is show up, but to be the talent the producer and the crew… “Well I’mma tell you! IT’S MORE THAN A NOTION“. I found out the hard way… So I needed to find a videographer, a studio, makeup artist, models, stylist, and photographer.

The next order of business is coming up with a collection of haircuts….. Design, formulate, articulate, and produce…

THIS collection of trend setting looks, is an artistic collaboration of STANDARD GEOMETRIC SHAPES with THE

FUTURISTIC EDGE OF THE MILLENIUM… The name implies it all! It’s powerful strong and progressive, Which is what best describes the looks in tHIS COLLECTION. THE COLLECTION IS ARTICULATED IN 4 DETAILED LOOKS; THE WARRIOR, THE ARISTOCRAT, THE CONFIDANT, and THE GEISHA…

this proves to be very hard work, so I decided to invite Evie Johnson to help me with the process. Just to give you a back ground on Evie http://www.eviejohnsondesigns.com/ … She is a Hair guru/business owner and Good Friend and Colleague w/ me on the Mizani International Design Team… Together Evie and I Are in charge of creating design and curriculum for Mizani, so I thought it only made since to work on this collection together, and without hesitation she was on board.

With days of work ahead of us and a deadline to meet, the pressure was outstanding! It was a rush I’d never had before. Nervous and excited all clustered up into one, as if that wasn’t enough, we decided to add mizani and the international design team to help us with marketing and sales of the finished product…. And so they did.

Mizani Development Team

Textured hair with its unique properties and characteristics require special needs, instruction and ability to achieve the best results. Mizani, the salon professional authority for multi-textured and sensitized hair, has developed an elite team of eight multi-talented professional stylists with expertise to deliver advanced education programs and dedicated curriculum to transform the way texture is identified, managed, educated and learned.

Led by Veronique Morrison, Director of Education for Mizani, the team will focus on creating the vision, planning and execution for 2010 Education and beyond. “Exceptional technical training, trade show platform experience and cutting expertise is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the wealth of talent that these members bring to this exclusive team,” notes Howard Lewis, Vice President of Sales and Education. Each stylist has received numerous individual accolades for their expertise in natural hair, cutting, coloring, styling and chemical relaxing and whose collective talents are unsurpassed.

Geno Evans - Memphis, TN

Rod Horton- New York, NY

Darico Jackson – Los Angeles, CA

Toni Jackson – Wilmington, DE

Evie Johnson – Washington, DC

Elan McDowell – Greenwich, CT

Virgil McDaniel- Atlanta, GA

Michelle O’Connor – Miami, FL

With Education at the pinnacle of the Mizani mantra, the team is charged with exceeding the expectations of the professional by developing platforms to revolutionize the technical, creative and business aspect of the salon industry as it relates to textured hair. As the innovators of progressive education for multi-textured hair types, Mizani is dedicated to creating an educational platform to enrich and empower the professional stylist to ensure relevancy not only to the professional but to be relatable to the consumer as well.

Collectively we were able to add tandem to the BRONNER BROTHERS SHOW presentation… I thought that was quite an accomplishment! Not only are Evie and I Business Partners, but Tandem has now formed a Partnership with Mizani! “That’s major!”

Tandem is the Name of Our Duo

Mrs Evie Johnson Mr. DaRico Jackson

OUR MISSION:

TO ENHANCE AND EMPOWER OUR PEERS WITH ADVANCED EDUCATION, THROUGH PARTICIPATION, PROCEDURE , AND PRACTICE,FOR THE PURPOSE OF CREATIVE EXPANSION, AND POSITIVE THINKING.

TOGETHER we are: TANDEM ONE OF THE BEST EDUCATIONAL TEAMS ON THIS SIDE OF THE PLANET! LOL!

The set was a blast! The shoot was held at Rrivre Works Studio http://rrivreworks.com/

Joining us on set was Celebrity Makeup Artist Renny Vasquez http://rennyvasquezbeauty.com/#/?g=1 who not only painted our models, but was gracious enough to share his wonderful photography talents as well… And I must say we produced some of the most fabulous images you’d ever want to see.

Ken Saltzman http://andcut.com/ was the videographer and he did a fabulous job! Not only did he direct portions of the video but he shot and did the edit on the piece as well…. Evie’s husband Joe Joined us on set, He also created the DVD Cover design!!!! He is amazing, and a joy to work with… and thanks to Tracy Green’s assistance, the transitions ran smoothly.

The day was long and hot but we made it through….

And the DVD is a success… for those of you interested in purchasing…The DVD has four different haircuts with step by step instructions, detail for detail, for even the freshmen in the business!

Please feel free to reach out! Thanks y’all!

ENJOY THE MOMENTS! http://www.eviedarico.com/

DARICO DIARIES

Feb, 2010

ABS

ABS stands for Americas Beauty Show…. It’s the largest show in the mid west and the start of the Beauty and Hair season….. It’s one of the largest shows in the US and is the host of the Behind the Chair Awards... the Behind the chair awards being like the Grammys for hair…. All of the leading product manufactures from around the world along with the Artist that represent them.

Well this is the first year that Mizani is recognized so largely, and I am proud to be a part of the noise… Not only will the Mizani Development team be introduced, and for the first time, our team will also share a stage with our sister brands in the L’oreal family. This can prove to be quite interesting, since we never have the budget that our larger brands have, like Redken and Matrix, but Considering we are never given as much money as they are, I can honestly say that our ability to be resourceful and come together as a team, supersede most brands in our food chain…. With that being said, it makes MIZANI (us) one of the fastest growing Brands in the L’Oreal family.

The Show was held in Americas Convention center in Chicago Ill, and brings out the largest Manufactures’ and Biggest Names in the beauty world. The Floor of the convention center is overwhelming and although the mizani Booth is small, I must say it’s one of the best looking ones there and even though its small it has its advantages, such as ‘THE STAGE IS RIGHT I THE FRONT OF OUR BOOTH!”, so in essence it looks like a Mizani exclusive and I can’t wait to get up on it to do my thing!

Day, 1 I arrive in Chicago, around noon on Friday afternoon, make it to my hotel, and check in, Throw my things in the room, and read the agenda with my name all over it! Model call is at 3pm, model prep and rehearsal is at 6pm. We had great model choices, the team arrived with no problems… this proves to be a great show….

We were in model prep all day and night, but as we all know hard work pays off, and it certainly showed that weekend…. I must say, everyone gave 100percent and then some….

Day 2 call time is at 6am, as usual, and the adrenalin is pumped! Our show begins at 10 am and I am nervous as hell, because MY FACE is everywhere! So you know what that means!!!! I have to “BRING IT!” I am all over the flyers posters and Programs…

I am going to be featured as a celebrity stylist amongst my peers, and in addition I have to present in front of 2,000 students about advanced careers in Cosmetology, and “I Am STOKED! LOL! So we all met up in front of the auditorium and walked over together, where we were escorted to our prep area/dressing room, which was of course too small for the amount of people that we had to work with, but “we made do.”

true textures is what our show was all about, and it couldn’t be more fitting since we are the only multicultural brand designed specifically for textured hair… this line in our Dolce of products is designed specifically for curly hair and indigenous textures, the collection of hair cuts to compliment.

Our Presentation proves to be Fierce! We have live drummers and African dancers and we even brought in My Girl! MS BETH PAYNE a multilingual expert, to bring life to the word INDEGINY! “And SHE was everything!! Beautiful, Smart, fun and engaging! She spoke seven different languages and that I thought was Fabulous!!

The day was running smoothly, the stylist brought there “A” game, the models looked amazing!

10min till ShowTime!

We say a pray, head back stage and LET THE SHOW BEGIN!!!

The drums were pumping, the dancers were doing their thing and Beth Payne came out with a bang!!! She introduces the international design team! Virgil, Myself, Evie and Our “rookie invested” Malinda, who was so fierce, that even I had to step up my game a couple of notches… The crowd was overwhelming!!! I think the noise from the drums must have grabbed the attention of the whole event, because there was no more room in front of the stage.

I love a large crowd! This way I don’t have to focus, I just get lost in the faces and the voices as they bombard the stage with anticipation of the show!

Let the show begin!

The show was bomb! It ran like a dream! With the exception of a few bloopers! “Every show has them” and an Amazing Finale’!!!

The huge 5 foot afro that I begged Evie to reconsider, however I am glad we didn’t because it was OUTSTANDING!!! And the Model worked it every time…. The show ran 2 times daily for 3 days, in addition we offered instant education and product knowledge, in the both along with product knowledge and full class room education.

The Press Rooms were hot and it was all about Mizani…

Evie and Veronique did there thing in the Natural hair conference, while I was holding it down with sophisticates and Harpo Publishing, in addition to a few of the local news station right in Chicago! It was a great experience…

On Monday My day was a little different because after the stage performance I had to present for 2000 students about careers beyond the chair and I must say, aside from all the stress involved… “I enjoyed every minute of being an inspiration and breathing hope for the next celebrity hair stylist.”

Oh! And of course the night life is always good at ABS! The Behind the Chair awards were all that and more… with great artists such as Ted Gibson, DaRico Jackson, and Tabita, just to name a few! Mizani Received best Multicultural Brand, Me and Veronique received the award… and we presented the Award for best book store brand. The night was wonderful….

enjoy the Moments…

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WR604vqa31g&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DdB7koFz7Nc&feature=related

"LOVE THAT GIRL"

IS THERE ANYBODY OUT THERE THAT REMEMBERS “THAT GIRL”? THE TV SERIES, WHICH FEATURED MARLO THOMAS AS THE “IT” GIRL OF THE 1970’S?? WELL I CERTAIINLY DO! EVERY DAY AFTER SCHOOL I WOULD RUSH HOME TO SEE HER SPIN THAT UNBRELLA AND FLEUR US WITH LOADS OF COMEDY AND HIGH FASHION. I WAS FASINATED WITH HER BANGS AND SHOULDER LENGTH FLIP, ACCOMPANIED BY A HEAD BAND THAT MATCHED EVERY OUT FIT!! LOL!

WELL AS HISTORY REPEATS EVERYTHING ELSE; IT SHOULD COME AS NO SURPRISE THAT THIS SHOW LIKE MANY OTHERS HAS A MILLINIEUM REMAKE. “LOVE THAT GIRL “WITH TATIANNA ALI AS THE AS THE SHOWS TREND SETTING REALISTATE AGENT THAT WAS RAISED BY A SINGLE FATHER PLAYED BY NONE OTHER THAN ACTOR , GREG MORRIS JR, WITH A CRAZY FUNNY COSTAR ALFONZO, WHO PLAYS THE BROTHER OF Ali.

This series is full of fun filled moments that kept me in stitches the whole time I worked on this wonderful sitcom, that I must say had the most comfortable work environment that I have worked on in a long time… The show is a Bent-outta-shape production that promises to keep you laughing seen after seen, just like any Bently and Martin Lawrence production would be. The days of the reality shows are fading away and the 30min TV series are back, and I love it!

So I got the call to do the show AT THE LAST MINUTE AND WAS GLAD ABOUT IT FOR A FEW REASONS …. IT WAS ANOTHER OPPORTUNITY TO WORK THE RICO MAGIC, GET SOME UNION CREDITS AND THE OPPORTUNITY TO NETWORK WITH SOME OF THE GREATEST BLACK PEOPLE IN THE INDUSTRY!

TO START I WAS INVITED TO THE TABLE READ… THIS PROVIDED A PREPARATION OPPORTUNITY THAT GAVE ME THE HEADS UP ON “THE HAIR SITUATION” THE TABLE READ PROVIDED ME AN OPPORTUNITY TO PREPARE HAIR PIECES AND WIGS TO ENSURE THAT EVERY HAIR TRANSITION WOULD BE SMOOTH AND QUICK, BECAUSE IN MOST CASES THERE WAS ONLY 10 TO 15MINUTE CHANGES BWTWEEN SCENES, AND YOU HAVE NO TIME FOR GAMES… THE TABLE READ FEATURED ALL THE MAIN CHARACTERS ALONG WITH SOME GREAT WALK ONS LIKE Rolanda watts, who I later fell in love with back stage during filming…. She was just a beautiful as I remembered from her talk show and was amazed by the talent she possessed, her character was the Godmother/aunt character of Tatiana’s character that was “all that and a bag of chips!” Roland was loads of fun back stage, she and I exchanged beauty secrets back stage and even talked about doing some beauty blogging together … she is just as sweet in person, but of course I knew that already, since I had dinner with her years ago at a march of dimes fund raiser, right after I moved to LA back in 03 (small world) Next there was Denise Boutee whom I have had the pleasure of working with before, you probably remember her as the Ho who stole Jill Scotts husband on “Why did I get married ”, the funny thing about her is that she would be casted as the cheating married woman that seduced Tatyana’s father on the show! Denise is nothing like the characters she plays, contrary she is delightful and syrupy sweet, with a real life husband that she absolutely loves… I know because it’s all she ever talks about…

From the blooper s and blunders to the line by line”takes”! With a 6am call time and a 8pm departure

I had so much fun on this job! I worked with fabulous people and had the opportunity to change Tatiana’s hair after practically every scene… ccouldn’t ask for much more than that!

I don’t know when and how the show will air, but I highly recommend it as one to watch!

So look for it on TV ONE! And enjoy the moments…. I know I did!