STUDIO 26 - By Racquel Lacson

Our Creative Team - short introduction

Racquel Lacson
Creative Artistic Director
Master Artist - Makeup, Hair, and Photography

Racquel Lacson is an entrepreneur with a passion in makeup, hair, and glamour photography. As founder of Studio 26, Racquel focuses her energy on a commitment to client services by setting a high standard that keeps Studio 26 the leader in the industry.

Her educational background consists of the following:

Makeup Artistry Diploma -Blanche MacDonald Institute (1997)

Hair Styling Certificate -Ray's Beauty School (2004)

Hair Up-Do's Certificate -NCA of Oregon (2005)

Eyelash Extension Certificate -Tony Galvez School of Cosmetology (2007)

Eyelash Perming Certificate -Tony Galvez School of Cosmetology (2007)

Hair Care Diploma -Tony Galvez School of Cosmetology (2007)

Ionic Hair Straightening Program -Giesel Marine Collagen For Hair (2008)

Basic Photography -British Columbia Institute of Technology (2004)

Studio Portrait Photography -Philippine Centre for Creative Imaging (2007)

RTW and Haute Couture for
Fashion Photography -Philippine Centre for Creative Imaging (2007)

Vikas Aggarwal, B.A.,LL.B
Director of Business Development

Vikas brings considerable knowledge and legal expertise to our company and we are excited to have this rising legal talent as a member of the team.

Vikas' position with Studio 26 includes Marketing strategy as well as Promotion and Advertising campaign coordination. He is also our in-house Solicitor overseeing all the legal aspects of the business and streamlining the company in all its personnel and administrative matters.

Background: Vikas is a 2003 graduate from Government College, Sector-11, Chandigarh where he completed his studies in Humanities. He continued his educational endeavors at the prestigious and highly venerated as one of India's finest educational institutions, Panjab University, Chandigarh where he obtained his Law Degree. Upon graduation, Vikas joined Sessions Courts, Mansa and then moved to High Court of Punjab and Haryana working for one of the most prestigious Law Firms in Chandigarh. While working in the courts, he was dealing with Civil, Criminal, and Consumer cases. In September 2008 he joined the Corporate Sector and began working with one of the biggest Telecom Companies in India where his responsibilities included drafting of Service Agreements, Contracts, and Lease Deeds, Handling Litigation and Compliance of Statutory compliances for the company.


	Thuy Dinh Senior Team Artist - Makeup and Hair In House Trainer Thuy obtained her professional training and designation at the Blanche MacDonald Institute. She successfully completed her Diploma in 2001. Working with fashion photographers in Vancouver and New York has allowed Thuy to expand her creative base and explore her artistic talent. Her retail background makes Thuy very skilled in dealing with different ethnicities and working with clients to create distinct looks and styles.

Navi Sandhu
Team Artist - Makeup and Hair

Navi obtained her Diploma in Freelance Makeup Artistry in 2005 at Blanche Macdonald Institute. This achievement allowed Navi to work in the cosmetic industry for 3 years, allowing her to work with different faces and looks. Having a passion for Fashion, Makeup & Hair allowed Navi to keep up-to-date on new trends and styles. While following her dream in Fashion, her nurture side and her love for helping people had her enter school in completing her Diploma in Counselling. Her cosmetic experience, her passion and love for fashion and counselling skills has provided Navi with a very creative and open-minded personality when dealing with clients.

	Leah Wendland Team Artist - Makeup and Hair Leah Wendland obtained her professional training at Blanche Macdonald in 2003 and graduated with honors. She excelled in the subjects of Bridal, Fashion, and hair. After graduation she opted to pursue a career path in retail and freelance work to widen her perspective in the makeup world. Her retail background of five years enables Leah to understand and communicate with all types of skin tones. Leahs' attention to detail and extensive experience gives her the right tools to provide our clients with the best service possible while assuring their needs and concerns are met. Studio 26 is proud to include her as the newest member of our dynamic artistic team.

	Katy Hall Team Artist - Makeup and Hair Katy's experience comes from the hair, make up and fashion industries. She began her apprenticeship at Sukis hair salon in 1990 and went to work for Bertorellis hair salon in 1992 where she furthered her knowledge and development through Hair shows. In 1996, Katy obtained her diploma in makeup artistry at Blanche MacDonald Institute. Shortly there after she relocated to Texas where she utilized her experience in make up artisty by pursuing a career in retail and retail management. She handled sales of some very prominant cosmetic lines, such as MAC , Nars, Smashbox, Bobbi Brown, Laura Mercier, Lancome, Prescriptives to name a few.
Katy was also very actively involved with DIFFA, a prominent charity fashion show event held annually in Dallas, Texas. She actively participated in events that contributed to young women with cancer and were unable to attend proms and graduations, as well as battered womens shelters. Retail and make up artistry have been a part of Katy's life and passion for over 12 years now.

	Priya Saggu Team Artist - Makeup and Hair Priya is one of those people who grew up loving makeup and how it can affect a person emotionally and physically. It is about being creative and having the ability to show one's artistic side. Growing up with an intuitive eye for fashion, she was naturally drawn to the creative side of life. Priya Saggu graduated from Blanche Macdonald in 2004 where she mastered the skills to transform the look of her clients in accordance to their desires. Priya is known for her exceptional work ethic, her dependability and a never ending devotion to her clients.

	Suzy Phi Team Artist - Hair Suzy’s fascination with hair at an early age set the stage for her to be a hair artist. She is a licensed Hair Technician who loves creating updos and been doing so for the last three years. She wanted to do it at a larger scale and this brought her to the Studio 26 team. Her obsession with hair is her secret of being one of the best creative Hair Artist in the industry and Studio 26 feels more richer with her induction in the company.

	Gurveen Gill Team Artist - Makeup and Hair Gurveen got her start in the beauty industry in 2008 at the Blanche Macdonald Institute but her passion for makeup stems back to her childhood. Gurveen has a highly diverse background dealing with many different ethnicities, hair, and skin. She has worked on several TV and Film sets including many music videos, fashion shows, and photo shoots. In addition to her broad range of talent and expertise, Gurveen brings her dynamic personality to her work; balancing dedication and professionalism with a sense of lightness, fun and creativity. Her sincere appreciation for beauty and her passion for working with people shows in the inspiring work she does.

	Lexi Slade Team Artist - Makeup and Hair Lexi graduated from Blanche MacDonald in 2001 with a Makeup Artistry Diploma, and confidently jumped into the competitive makeup industry. Ten years of hard work, dedication and focus have taken her deep into her craft with influences ranging from her five years living and working in Hawaii, to her study of fashion which she views as a form of performance art. Lexis' creativity is driven by her uncompromising eye for detail and her ability to connect with each person sitting in front of her. To her, every face is unique and she approaches each with artistic integrity and the goal of both creating the looks which showcase her work, and ultimately make her customers profoundly happy.

Matthew Cronkhite
Website Content Support

Reviews and edits postings, automated messaging and imaging. Periodically checks for flow of content and user accessability and advises Studio26 on site marketing and layout.

Cyber Diva
Online Service Coordinator

Cyber Diva is our online service coordination expert responsible for managing appointments/messages with Studio 26 through the courtesy reminder feature. She works hard behind the scene policing the database 24/7 to ensure the quality of service our clients deserve.