Business & Tech

Moon Stylist Travels to International Beauty Show

Linda Venneri-Smith said works to bring the most current hair styles and techniques to her Moon Township salon.

Longtime Moon Township hair stylist Linda Venneri-Smith this weekend will rub shoulders with some of the biggest names in the beauty world. 

Venneri-Smith is making her annual trek to the Premiere Orlando International Beauty Show . Stylists including Takashi Kitamura and reality TV star Tabitha Coffey will be on hand. The show, featuring stylists from across the country, kicks off today. 

She attends the show every year, learning techniques from some of the biggest names in the styling world before bringing them back to Moon Township, where she works at  

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"It's all about education," said Venneri-Smith, a Moon Township resident who has been working as a stylist for 27 years. "You can see how they cut, how they do their work and what the latest thing is. And then you bring it back to Moon Township.

"It's so important in this business to keep up with what's latest," she said. "You need to constantly keep learning." 

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She said popular styles for 2012 include shorter, asymetrical cuts with vibrant colors. 

"Sometimes even a little eclectic," said Venneri-Smith, who specializes in using organic hair color during color treatments.

Venneri-Smith has attended world hair shows as far away as London and in recent years has flown to Las Vegas and Chicago as a part of her yearly hair education. Before working at Michael's, she was a salon manager at Kaufman's in downtown Pittsburgh, where she managed six salons for the department store chain. 

She's visited the Peter of London Salon and the Vidal Sassoon School and Salon in South Beach Florida to take in the latest hair techniques. She said the most famous locks she's ever clipped were those of football great and Beaver County-native Joe Namath in the early 1980s, who she said was a decidedly no-frills client. 

"He was very nice, and very kind," she said of Namath. "And he could care less of how his hair looked."

Venneri-Smith began her styling career after graduating from Moon Area High School.

"This is where my love is. It's making people feel better," Venneri-Smith said. "No matter what size you are or what age you are, your hair can change how you feel." 


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