When you look back at how you came up with the idea to start something that eventually grew to be amazing, and more than what you thought it could be…sometimes you find that it did not start the way most would think. Our Monster Mash Salon is about to enter it’s eighth season in serving New York City’s most eclectic Halloween enthusiasts with over-the-top feature film worthy make up applications. I honestly cannot believe how much it’s grown and how awesome the clientele has been in past years. We even have some never fail veterans that continue to push the boundaries of their costumes every year, giving us new and exciting challenges.
But the Monster Mash Salon did not start from an idea of creating this massive event that serves elite patrons with crazy Halloween make up every year. It really started with two artists who loved doing creative make up so much that when they met in a Ricky’s on Broadway in 2006 during a pop up event sponsored by Temptu, and discovered not only each other’s talent but an instant connection that lead to an amazing camaraderie for years to come…it was almost like love at first sight.
Cory Bishop and I were people who always went 150% with our own costumes every year. We definitely had an easy out because we were make up artists and can turn any costume into a character that you would find in the movies. We were also hungry to have an opportunity to do fun out of the box make up on those who were creative like us. We realized that there were a few clients here and there who would appreciate services by artists who were exceptional at their craft offering the space for people to come and get something special done. We were also not interested in having a third-party pay us a menial fee when we knew our make up was worthy of a lot more.
So we made a pact to start producing a Halloween event out of my studio in the Lower East Side in 2007. We only had a few clients but the make up we did was so profound that word got out fast such that the following year we had almost a double amount of clients. So we gave the event a name and made a makeshift website to help promote our efforts. We realized the clients we were attracting were not people who took Halloween lightly. These people went all out with costumes and hair, planning to attend some of the most amazing parties New York City had to offer.
We realize it had gotten to a point where it was getting so renowned that even Lauren Scala wanted to interview us for a segment on NBC and get her makeup done.
When at first it seems crazy to us that this was getting so big, I know at some point Cory and I realized that New York City is not one to play around with creativity. When a New Yorker finds something that’s going to serve them with the quality and aesthetic that we’re known for they cling to it again and again. As long as there is a call to top something bigger and better than the year before, we will always have amazing clients at the Monster Mash Salon.
We had amazing clients like Adriana Lima, Christian Siriano, Atlanta De Cadenet, The CEO of Vimeo, and even an Arabian Prince.
We also have had some awesome loyal dedicated veterans who we consider to be family and always give us the best challenges at our salon.
We want to thank every single one of our clients past and present and we also want to acknowledge all the amazing artists and staff throughout the years who have made the Monster Mash Salon possible.
Even though Cory is on the west coast now, and we have changed the venue of the event several times, we will always continue to serve NYC with the iconoclastic work our city is and deserves.
So join us. We hope to transform old friends and meet new ones. We welcome all to our tribe who refuse to do this sacred holiday “half assed”.
Happy Halloween Ghoulish Patrons!
Repeat Offenders:
John Kluge
Yesid Torres
Chris Hunsinger
Naomi Cruz
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