While Amanda Craig-Borski may be the owner of the top Bellevue salon Leigh Edwards & Company (LE&C), she operates her salon under a philosophy that transcends standard teamwork. Her motto? “Build a team so strong no one knows who the boss is.”
After leading a whirlwind life as a stylist on country tours for everyone from Reba to George Strait to Kelly Clarkson, doing hair for Blake Shelton on the hit TV show The Voice, and even keeping NFL stars Tim Tebow and Jay Cutler looking sharp, Craig-Borski felt the pull to plant her roots in the Nashville community, open her own salon, and champion a team of experts. After establishing her flagship salon on White Bridge Road in 2015, she opened the second LE&C location in Bellevue upon seeing the immense growth in the area. Next month the Bellevue salon will be moving from its current Highway 70 location on October 3 to a new home in One Bellevue Place.
Her team’s years of experience and expertise, covering an array of specialties, make them one of the top salons in Bellevue, if not Nashville. Whether it’s an intricate cut, a perfectly placed color, or changing up a look completely with a perm or extensions, the LE&C team can do it all.
Stylist Steven Lhamon is known as the salon’s “curly guru” since he’s incredible at handling all types of curls. Ashley Hammer, Mary Beth Jones, Victoria Moser and Olivia Antonino are pros at bringing clients’ blonde dreams to life, and for those looking to go a little wild and try something completely different with color, stylist Brianna Hamer has you covered. “Brianna is a total boss and is amazing at blondes and cutting, but if you want rainbow hair, she will make that happen,” says Craig-Borski.
This team of experts has seen specific trends emerging for the fall season, but they truly encourage clients to find what makes them feel best.
“Honestly, I feel like we are embracing what makes you feel good, what you enjoy, what makes you feel the most comfortable in your own skin, which is exciting because then we can find the perfect trend for you,” explains Craig-Borski.
“The trend to me is what makes you feel the most beautiful and if having long hair makes you feel the most beautiful, then let’s put some extensions in,” she says. Due to their popularity, the salon will introduce its own extension line soon. Moser and Jones are LE&C's go-to tandem for extensions.
LE&C stylist Seventy Jane is a master of Cali Beach Waves, which Craig-Borski dubs the “new-age perm” for those that love their hair in a “wild, beachy wave kind of look.”
When it comes to lower maintenance styles, straight hair is making a comeback. “It’s exciting to see someone who has really great hair be able to rock out a really cool straight look and show off a haircut,” she says as straight hair allows a stylist, such as their cutting specialists Katie Davis and Karesten Porter, show off their talent.
“I really don’t ever see the lived-in look leaving because once you get your hair—the canvas—to the right spot, it’s a very inexpensive color to wear,” explains Craig-Borski. Vivid colors such as bright blondes and reds, along with hair that is so dark it almost has a blue tint are popular right now, but the upkeep is a more substantial financial investment compared to the “lived-in look.”
LE&C’s Jessica McCormick, Raistlin Pennell and Hammer are the experts when it comes to men’s cuts. “They’re seeing both clipper cutting and embracing that longer look,” shares Craig-Borski. “Now men, even if they’re in corporate America, they don’t have to cut all their hair off which is exciting for them. They can have a longer look. I call it the ‘Bradley Cooper.’ All the men want the 'Bradley Cooper.’”
“We are living in a very casual vibes moment,” she says of present-day style and fashion. “However, if your hair and your makeup are on point, it doesn’t matter what your wardrobe looks like. I think that hair is an added bonus to you. It doesn’t change who you are as a person by any means, but it does change your vibe.”
PULLQUOTE
“Honestly, I feel like we are embracing what makes you feel good, what you enjoy, what makes you feel the most comfortable in your own skin."