New Business

I haven't been able to write in a few months because I’ve been too busy. I had a blog all set to talk about my brush with President-Elect Donald Trump but after reading it I decided not to post because the Secret Service knows where I live ... Ha Ha Ha! Seriously though; I actually thought people that like Mr. Trump will support him at all costs so my little blog and experience would not make a difference in the minds of so many set to vote for him.



FOX news hired me for the Sean Hannity show broadcasted in Cleveland back in October at Pastor Scott’s Church. I was set to style Mr. Hannity, the now Vice President-Elect Mike Pence (for my second time this year), Dr. Ben Carson and his wife, Candy. The whole day was a surreal experience to say the least. After the results on Election Day, I realized I have now styled a President (Barack Obama in 2008), a VP Elect and also have been in the company of another President-To-Be, Mr. Trump. It is crazy that I can say this, considering when I was seventeen years old and I just starting my career, I had no idea how all this was going to work out and where it would lead me.



A year ago I started to organize a new business and last January I had some setbacks to open but knew it would happen at the right time. I recently signed a lease for a space in my city to sell makeup and teach classes out of. I asked a couple of amazing artist to be part of my business and we opened in November. It was worth the wait. I am proud to be an owner of Sparkle & Shine Makeup Studio in Mentor Ohio.



We offer makeup lessons to beginners wanting to learn makeup as well as to actors wanting to look better on HD TV. We show you our products and also suggest ones you can get in drugstores to add into your routine. Our team will help find your makeup prescription. If you have an event we can also travel out to you. At Sparkle & Shine you can find cruelty free and fragrance free makeup that lasts all day. We would love to meet with you and share our knowledge. I will still be meeting celebrities’ out and about in Cleveland but this space gives me so many new possibilities and I am excited for 2017.






Connect with us:


Karensiat.com


@Ksiatmakeup – Instagram


https://twitter.com/sparkle_shine16





https://www.facebook.com/sparkleandshinemakeupstudio/

SOVO Photography 

SOVO Photography 

Cleveland Shines

 I can’t even describe how busy this summer was. As many of us work and have families things can be thrown at you to change up the routine; for me it was the Republican National Convention back in July.  I thought I was ready for it, two years in the making. Here is the catch, we were moving out of our home into another one in late June and I just wrapped up working five long days for ESPN. I had little time to prepare for this crazy week.

  I received calls starting in May to reserve makeup artists for the RNC. There were security issues and credentials that all needed to be lined up for us yet information from the networks were sketchy. Talking to the girls some were booked already while others that gave me their word to work called off and that left me scurrying to find other artists. I guess that is was happens when your name is on the door. 

 It was a roller coaster and through all the ups and downs I ended up getting a call while in route to downtown that I was going to style Mike Pence the VP candidate for the Republican Party. It was a last minute interview set with Judy Woodruff for PBS News Hour. This totally took me by surprise and I became very happy that the week had taken a positive turn.

 Everything was beautifully planned by the RNC committee and the city of Cleveland. I was able to meet many national news anchors including David Muir. It really was an incredible history making time. The TODAY show was also filming on E 4th St. and on one of my mornings off my daughters and I were able to meet Matt Lauer and Savahanna Gutherie which was a thrill for us.

I also chatted with Chris Soules the Bachelor and Iowa farmer that was at the convention to speak about alternative energy. He was charming and VERY tall. So much excitement around the city that was just shinning.  I am not sure we will have another world event like this here but I am proud of Cleveland and my staff for making it through a hectic and prosperous week.

RNC

  A few years back it was announced that the Republican Party was going to hold their convention here in Cleveland Ohio. I was so excited that the media would be in town and that we would have work. Fast forward to the event actually happening in a few days.  My friends and family are not sure how safe I will be working around the arena due to the possibility of protesters and riots.

   I can’t say I am not worried, but I need to live my life, work and be brave. I will make sure to have a plan in my head to try and be safe or know how to escape the city if I need to. Cleveland is not big, I have worked in town long enough to know the short cuts and its ins and outs. If there is an emergency who knows I may be get all confused or paralyzed by fear and lose all sense of direction and the plan may never happen at all.

  All this preparation reminds me of the lyrics in Daughtry’s song Home; “Be careful what you wish for cause you just might get it all and then some you don’t want”. The calls started coming in for holds on the dates in June and production companies have NO other information then or even today. I have had staff hired and some have jumped ship to go with other offers or have called off all together already.  I have also been talked down to over the phone by bookers at the networks as if this is the first time I have worked in production.

  I laugh because I am “just a makeup artist” to many people, what could I know? Yet the calls of desperation out of NYC has me thinking I am quit a valuable asset to them for this event and I rather be talked to respectfully than how the calls are going.  

  I know this for sure; I take what I do seriously. I bring it all every time I work. I feel good when people are happy seeing how they look after they are ready. I will show up and give more respect to my clients than I am receiving now.  I hope Cleveland shines during this time so once visitors leave they want to come back and see us again. 

WKYC Photo credit

The Show Must Go On

About two weeks ago I was helping my daughter with her stuck engine oil cap and cut open my right index finger knuckle. I knew by the looks of it a trip to the emergency room was about to happen. Once there I was told I was going to need two stitches. I was NOT happy at all. I was mad at myself because I was impatient and didn’t wait for help from my husband and now I was on an UN paid work leave.

This time of year tends to be a bit slower but I did have some work lined up for the following Monday that would now have to be canceled. This also meant simple tasks like showering and washing my own hair was a little tricky as well. On day seven of my recovery I received a call that former congress women Gabby Giffords was coming to town to support Secretary Clinton’s campaign. I was asked to do her hair and makeup. How could I make this happen? I think I can do it, so I say “YES” to going.

I quickly go through my kit to make sure everything I need is an ease to get to, all I need is to open my stitches while UN loading and have to start all over. That morning I get all ready, cover my finger in a bandage and head out. I arrive to find “Rock Star” free parking outside a downtown hotel and CARFULLY head in.

At the valet station news anchor Martin Savage from CNN is waiting looking at his phone. I wanted to say hello but didn’t want to be weird about it so I proceeded in to find Gabby’s assistant. Once she greets me I shake her hand ever so slightly. I have not told them I am hurt. We head up to Gabby’s suite.

I then meet the private nurse, this is where I ALMOST lost it. She shakes my hand grabbing my bad hand with both her hands and says “Oh my your hands are so cold”. I thought the day was over before it began. She had a tight grip on my sore hand. I quickly wiggled it out from her hold not saying anything about it healing but I did take a minute to recover.

I was fine and began to set up. After some introductions Gabby sat down and her husband Mark Kelly left for some breakfast. We watched the fallout from the Chicago Trump rally on television as I applied her makeup. I have to say I was not going to miss this opportunity. Gabby survived an awful attack  and is alive, I on the other hand have two teeny tiny stitches so I really couldn’t complain. It truly was a pinch able moment for me because I watched her story every time it was on the news. I cried each time and prayed for her and now I am privileged  to be her stylist.


Life sure has a way of surprising me. I did manage to work and not have any issues. My hand was a bit sore after but I was  happy on my application. I also received a text messages from Gabby’s assistant after that they loved my work, so it was a successful day. The show must go on even when I am not 100%. I felt so honored meeting Gabby Giffords, what an inspiration and a day I will never forget.

First 48 hrs

Gabby and Mark

Hospitals

In the first months of the year it is time to regroup my business and check in with past clients. It also is a time for my family to plan their surgeries so I can play nurse. I say this with love and humor because I am not a patient Florence Nightingale. Sitting at the hospital for hours you tend to people watch. This is not a place to see the latest styles or any great makeup but you can take the time to be grateful for good health.

I do observe people passing by in wheelchairs with oxygen attached to them and couples moving slowly with twin canes getting from place to place. No one cares about grooming or fashion here it is a place to get care and heal. The stylist in my wants to run up and fix hair that is sticking straight up on people’s heads but seriously it really doesn't matter. When you’re sick the last thing you worry about is impressing anyone.

 I am checking out all the "WELL” people here, the staff. I am seeing man buns on some of the orderly’s, this weird fashion statement is truly making a huge presence recently. Then I spot some cool clogs and surgical caps on others. This is not new but I must say it does add flash to an ordinary scrub. I tend to do work for hospitals on their ad campaigns. Patients are asked to tell their story now that they are healthy in hopes new patients will choose their hospital. People will get excited to see me because for many of them this is the first time they ever had their own makeup artist.

Photo shoots like these make me smile because I feel I have left a footprint on their experience and made that person happy. I guess I look at it this way; we don't need to be all dolled up every minute. Everyone is allowed to be down or sad. Let’s face it when we feel sick or upset it may take a lot to get ourselves together. Taking an “off” day we can regroup and feel blessed on what we do have. Today I know one thing I am happy that I am not a nurse.

Kent State

After I graduated and finished beauty school I said to my Mom, “I think I want to go to Kent State University and study Nursing.” My Mom laughed and said, “Nope you are going to State Board and getting your license to be a Cosmetologist. “ I don’t know what I was thinking or why I said Kent but that moment lasted for about a minute.In the last ten years I have been able to meet and collaborate with many students from Kent's theater department. I also have been on campus to work for MTV while they taped the band Cobra Starship for a concert on the green.

In December it tends to be the slowest month of the year for me, maybe a wedding or two but really not much goes on. This year was a different story, a production company from Virginia contacted me to work on a new commercial for Kent State. This was to be a very busy week and then  I could sit back and enjoy Christmas with my kids off of school.

After being on the campus that week I quickly realized I made the right decision not to go to college. I would have been late to every class trying to navigate around and tired all the time from socializing. Our crew had full access to the campus that included being at the Kent airport to film students that are training to be pilots. I had no idea this course was even offered there.

 Another day we saw future designers at the fashion school, and one evening we were on the football field. I also met some of the best professors and many eager students willing to take part in the commercial despite it being finals week.

I look forward to seeing how much footage is used but I really like the concept of the commercial which I can’t discuss right now. I will add it to this post once it is released so make sure to follow my blog if this is your first time stopping by. Ohio is lucky to have so many wonderful Universities in it and for many reasons I suggest to explore Kent State if you are looking to apply.

https://youtu.be/ICJUFoXqk3E

Sunrise at the airport

Vocal lesson

Fashion School

Football

Rising Stars

Over the years I have helped many people get ready for their portfolio pictures. I often wonder where they are in their career. Some stall out, others give up but a few are “Living the Dream”. I have three model friends working hard in NYC Cat Carney, Isabella Jiang and Dave Williams. From runway shows to movies they are going places for sure.

Last summer I was watching an episode of the ABC show Mistresses and I thought the character named Marc Nickleby played by Rob Mayes looked familiar. I Googled him to see if Eric Mull’s photos came up but nothing did. I just dismissed the idea I knew him. Then when updating my portfolio a couple weeks ago to take to Nashville I saw the photo of Rob right there in my book. My instincts were right, I did work on a shoot with him. Actually twice once at Eric’s and also for The College Store catalog. In the last eight years Rob has not only been a cast member on Mistresses but appeared in the films Ice Castles and Enough Said.

It is awesome to say I remember them when. Cleveland is where many big name stars are from like Monica Potter, Patricia Heaton and  Halle Berry just to name a few. In the past the media has poked fun of us but with the CAVS going strong, films being made here and all our museums I think the educated people know Cleveland is on the rise.

My shoot with Rob Bill Pappas photo

CAT Eric Mull Photo 

Isabella

                                                           

Dave