The Examiner
Sophisticates Black Hair Magazine
Sept/Oct 2009
Copiah County Courier
Hazlehurst, MS
COPIAHCOUNTYCOURIER_COM.mht
(MHT — 838 KB)
Submitted By:Jena StewartSubmitted:9/22/2009 I enjoyed reading this message,it has a powerful meaning. I appreciate you Kiesha for being such a great inspiration to us young black women. It gives great pleasure to see someone from your very own hometown have so many goals of accomplishments! You are a inspiration to me to set goals and do my best to accomplish even though their will e times of setbacks. I encourage you to keep up the good work for their is always someone watching you for motivation and I'm pleased to be one:)
Submitted By:Tasha WatsonSubmitted:9/22/2009 Congratulations Keisha !!!! Everyone is so proud of you !!
Submitted By:Tameika HarrisSubmitted:9/24/2009 Way to go, classmate! It's always good to see someone you know become successful. Keep up the good work!
Submitted By:William KillingsworthSubmitted:9/25/2009 you have achieved a lot in a short time and made us proud that you are from hazlehurst,ms.
Submitted By:Cynthia Bogan/motherSubmitted:9/26/2009I very proud of my Daughter's success. She's worked very hard to get where she is at. Coming from a small town, she has worked since the age of 14 with a positive attitude. She has always strived to accomplish her goals and what she sets her mind to. I'm a very proud Mom. Luv ya Daughter.
Submitted By:Tamara Watkins BeachamSubmitted:9/27/2009 Way to go, cousin ! Keep up the hard but excellent work & we are truly, truly proud of you. Like I know you have, it's evident that you keep GOD first in ALL that you do. May God continue to Bless & We Love You, Girl !!!
Submitted By:Gwen RobinsonSubmitted:9/29/2009 Congratulations, Keisha!
Show You KARE
“Nothing in life comes easily.”
This is one life lesson that beauty industry bombshell Keisha Bogan Trammell knows all too well. Coming from a troubled background, Trammell has fought poverty, discrimination and social status stereotypes to build her own beauty empire. Owner and master stylist at Beautiful Klue Salon in Smyrna, Ga., she has stayed true to her personal motto, “Image is Everything…Be the Example.”
In Nov. of 2005, Trammell found herself displaced from her home in New Orleans, LA and going into pre-term labor in Starkville, MS. Since the hospital in Starkville was unable to properly care for her delicate situation, she was forced to travel to Jackson with no connections for shelter, money or food. While watching her daughter fight for her place in this world on Christmas Eve, a room at a local Ronald McDonald House became available and Trammell was able to remain close to the hospital.
In Oct. of 2009, Trammell officially launched the KARE Foundation and the first Project KARE event was held at the same Ronald McDonald House that helped her so many years ago. KARE Foundation volunteers assisted Trammell and her family as they delivered “KARE packages” to residents containing basic toiletries, as well as a special token of beauty.
Today, Keisha Bogan Trammell is still making great strides with her foundation. In March of 2010, she delivered a motivational speech at the University of South Alabama as part of the foundation’s current speaking tour. Afterward, I was lucky enough to steal a few moments of her time and pick the brain of this ultimate beauty girl!
Q: What is your definition of beauty?
A: Beauty is a personal acceptance of what exists through individualism. No two people will have the same (emotional) response to an experience. Often, we get fixated on the outer appearance of things without realizing the ultimate advantage of overlooking the obvious and discovering true beauty. It’s sort of like going to an art museum and looking at a painting that seems very simple at first glance. But after you stare at it for a while, your interpretation creates imagination embedded within your subconscious; therefore, the view becomes different. Beauty is my engaging platform to educate people on the importance of being an example to others. This is how I perform community service and appreciation for having an opportunity to capture the attention of others with great impact.
Q: How did you get the courage to open Beautiful Klue Salon?
A: It’s funny that you asked this because the name Beautiful Klue began as my little name for representation purposes. I wanted to create something soft and girlie for when I went on location to do hair and makeup for weddings, and it just stuck. KLUE is actually an acronym for Kreating Looks Uninhibited…Exclusively. I continued to add things under this umbrella name and eventually realized that it summed up so much of my personality and mission in life (smile). The salon I previously worked in gave us a two-day notice that it would be closing its doors indefinitely. I was basically forced into making a move, but was not fearful at all. After that experience, I realized that sometimes God takes over and says, “Ok, I have put you in position to get where you need to be, now here’s another opportunity to excel.” It was very abrupt the way it all happened, but I embraced my new beginnings. I had a salon in New Orleans and, I moved to Atlanta, Ga., not knowing anyone or having a clientele with a plan to get a job in the top salon and eventually open my own. After a year and 5 months of working at one of the top most infamous salons in Atlanta, I opened Beautiful Klue.
Q: What is the ultimate goal of the KARE Foundation?
A: The KARE foundation is my way of bridging the gap. Its name is an acronym for Kollectively Arranging Relationships Exceptionally. If we come together by joining forces and sharing our strengths, then our weaknesses will become few. This foundation is not based on gender, age, race or ethnicity, but pure cohesiveness as a whole. The future depends on us, and we all have a purpose. If we are not concentrating our energy based on the belief that we have the power to change things, then how can one seriously have a purpose driven life? We are capable of making a difference, but it is a choice that we must make. Through the KARE Foundation, I’m making the first move in hopes that many will follow my lead.
Q: What can we expect from the KARE Foundation in the future?
A: The KARE Foundation has so much in store for the very near future! Stay tuned with what we are doing through my Web site: http://www.BeautifulKlue.com as we will be launching our newest project in June of 2010.
Above all else, Trammell gives God, her devoted husband, Travis Trammell, and her dynamic daughter, Amyah Kelyse, the credit of being the driving forces behind her success.
~ Ashley D. McGee
Comments
Bianca Salazar says:
I can appreciate this interview. Although I heard Mrs. Trammell’s testimony live and in person, I can truly appreciate the reminders through her message over and over again. Mrs. Trammell is a motivation and example to young women all over the world, and I can respect that.
Maria Young says:
Keisha is a not only a gifted stylist but an intuitive individual who provides both beauty and confidence to her clienetele/ friends. She embodies these qualities within in a very natural fashion with a flair all her own.