Awards & Credentials

I don’t usually lead with awards. The work should speak for itself. But when people are choosing a colorist — especially for complex work like corrections or major transformations — credentials matter. They tell you something about the level of training and the standard someone holds themselves to. So here’s the full picture.

NAHA — North American Hairstyling Awards

NAHA is the most prestigious competition in the North American hair industry — the equivalent of the Oscars for hairstylists. I hold 17 NAHA recognitions across multiple categories:

Newcomer of the Year — Winner, 2012. This was the one that changed everything. Winning NOTY put Reverie on the national map and opened doors to international education and editorial work.

Hairstylist of the Year — 3× Finalist. The overall category. Being nominated here means you’re competing against the best in every discipline — cutting, color, editorial, men’s — not just one specialty.

Additional recognitions across cutting, color, men’s hairstyling, and editorial categories. What makes this record unusual is the range. Being recognized across every major category — cutting, color, men’s, editorial — reflects a breadth of skill that is genuinely rare.

Other major recognition

Estetica’s It List — Top 25. Selected as one of North America’s top 25 most influential stylists by Estetica, one of the industry’s premier publications.

International Visionary Award — London, 2016. Recognized internationally for creative vision and technical innovation.

Behind the Chair One Shot Award nominee. Peer-nominated recognition in one of the industry’s largest online communities.

Fashion Week & editorial

I’ve worked backstage at New York Fashion Week for multiple designers including Christian Siriano, Porsche Design, Kimberly Ovitz, Behnaz Sarafpour, and Ann Yee. Editorial work published in Vogue, Allure, Modern Salon, American Salon, Estetica, Behind the Chair, Bangstyle, and Davines international campaigns across three continents.

Editorial and runway work teaches you things that salon work alone never will — speed, adaptability, how to translate a creative director’s vision into something that looks effortless on camera. I bring that perspective back to every client interaction.

Davines Global Artist & Kaizen Education

I’m a Davines Global Artist — one of a small group chosen worldwide to represent the brand through advanced education. I’ve taught master classes on stages in the UK, Ireland, France, Italy, Germany, Japan, South Africa, Canada, and across the United States.

I also founded Kaizen Education, the professional development platform that every artist at Reverie trains through. The name comes from the Japanese philosophy of continuous improvement — the idea that you never stop getting better, no matter how long you’ve been doing this. That’s the standard our team is held to.

What it means for you

Awards don’t cut hair. Technique does. But the training, the editorial experience, the competition — all of it shapes how our team approaches every appointment. The standards are high because the work demands it.

Book an appointment at Reverie Salon, River North, Chicago.