The Chicago Journal

Celebrated Makeup Artist Star Bahati Painting Her Way to the Future

danielruiz danielruiz on November 12, 2020

With over 23 fruitful years of experience in the industry, Star Bahati is one of this generation’s best makeup artists. Using her undeniable prowess in the art, Star paints the current and future makeup trends. 

Star Bahati’s journey started in her training at the Los Angeles Trade Technical College of Cosmetology. After her completion at the college, she attended several training workshops for major cosmetic brands.

Her passion and talent for makeup filled her impressive portfolio with her work for popular cosmetic lines such as MAC Cosmetics, Estée Lauder, and Prescriptive, all in the Beverly Center. Star Bahati has also worked as a Smash box freelance artist in their Culver City studio and as a manager at Sephora, where she helped open the beauty chain’s Santa Monica Store. 

Wanting to further her impact on the beauty community, Star Bahati opened her own business as a freelance makeup artist at Star 4 Makeup, Inc. She traveled to Koln, Germany, where she performed life-changing makeovers for international acts from the United States.

Seeing how her work inspired positive changes in her clients, Star decided to further her services. The celebrated freelance makeup artist now works year-round, creating countless bridal looks perfect for one of the most meaningful days of people’s lives. 

While adding an extra hint of blush to each wedding ceremony, Star Bahati was also on a journey to improve and perfect her craft. She became the makeup artist for two major television shows, MTV’s Ridiculousness and VH1 Network’s Basketball Wives. 

To add to her ever-growing portfolio, Star Bahati has also brightened the sets on TV One, R&B’s Divas Season 2, VH1’s Love & Hip Hop: Hollywood Season 2, and did hair and makeup for famed actress Nichelle Nichols of the Star Trek television series. 

Her fondness for makeup and how its colors seem to brighten a person only grew through the years. Star Bahati has also brought the magic of her craft backstage. The freelance makeup artist has tried her hand at creating dramatic theatrical looks and directing a team of talented makeup artists at esteemed high-fashion runway shows. 

And it’s not just shows. Star Bahati has also worked on numerous creative editorial photo shoots. Being a part of the beauty industry’s newest looks and revolutionary fashion trends is one aspect of her craft that furthered Star’s love for it.

Inspired to share that love, Star Bahati is finally working on her long-awaited cosmetic line. Together with the release of this line is the founding of Star’s trade school for risk girls. There, she plans to impart the knowledge and beauty hacks she’s picked up over two decades to inspire the children to take the brush in their hand and create their paths.

Star’s passion and exceptional resume know no equal in the industry. Her immense appreciation for the art of makeup has led her worldwide to be a part of the celebration of significant occasions and to be the catalyst for life-changing transformations.

With a brush in one hand and a palette in the other, Star Bahati paints the makeup industry’s future.

Virtual DSS Support Providing Elite Support Services to the Dental Industry

danielruiz danielruiz on November 12, 2020

One of the major problems that have plagued many dental practices for years is the inability to run at full capacity. Ardi Safi noticed this problem and decided to create a solution by launching Virtual DDS Support. Virtual DDS Support is a support service that gives dental practices enough room for their in-house team to focus on patient care.

Virtual DDS Support has dental-specific professionally trained schedulers who take patients’ calls 90 hours per week. With this unique service, calls to dental offices will no longer go unanswered. Virtual DDS Support will also take down detailed descriptions of every patient on behalf of dental practices. The company also offers real-time patient scheduling services to help dental practices book and confirm appointments.

Virtual DDS Support does not stop at booking and confirming appointments only; the company follows up on inquiries with patients to ensure that their dental goals are met. They reach out to both existing and potential patients to ensure that all appointments and consultations go through successfully. Virtual DDS Support was established to help dental practices around the country to increase their productivity and deliver excellent customer service to their patients.

According to Ardi Safi, “We highly value quality customer service, which sets us apart from our competition. We don’t just aim to answer missed calls; we have professionally trained schedulers who will assist our patients in the most coherent way. We will outperform our competition because our team is highly competent, motivated, and well-trained.” To ensure efficiency on the part of dental practices, Virtual DDS Support takes all their missed calls and returns those calls to find out what the patient wants on behalf of dental practices. If the dental industry ever wished for a company that serves as an extension of dental practices in the country, Virtual DDS Support is that wish being granted.

Ardi’s five-year goal for Virtual DDS Support is to make the company an integral part of the dental industry. The company will take away the need to waste money and time on front-office operations so that dental offices can focus on delivering the best medical care. This is a unique service geared toward productivity and efficiency in the dental field. Customer service is an easily ignored department in the medical industry, but Virtual DDS Support is bringing all the attention to customer service and maintaining excellence while at it.

Ardi Safi is the kind of entrepreneur with a knack for solving problems. The dental industry has faced this problem for a long time, and it has affected not only the practice as a whole but also the patients. Getting quality dental care can be quite a lot of work for patients as dentists are either unavailable or no one picks the phone to schedule appointments. With this revolutionary move, Ardi Safi is solving a real problem and taking the whole industry to the next level. Also, hopefully, the company can expand into other fields and industries.

Learn more about Virtual DDS Support by visiting the official website.

Barre Not Barriers: Open Space Studio Inc Breaks All Four Walls

danielruiz danielruiz on November 12, 2020

There is no such thing as barriers to dreams in the world of dance. This is the idea that laid the foundation for Open Space Studio Inc. Established in 2010, the studio has opened its doors to students of all shapes and sizes and has been home to exceptional dancers fueled by talent and passion.

The sisters behind Open Space Studio, Nicole and Brittany Purtell, created the space on the founding principle that a student’s love for dance or any expression of passion should never be dependent on their socioeconomic or financial status to encourage the realization of dancing aspirations, much like the siblings growing up.

To say that Nicole and Brittany had a rough start would be an understatement. Since the age of two, Brittany has been tapping to the beat, taking dance lessons with her sister, Nicole. Growing up, their family only had enough money to get by and, to help his little girls build the stage of their dreams, their father would barter printing for Nicole’s and Brittany’s dance classes.

“My sister and I grew up with an abusive mother, and dancing at the studio became our safe place from our unsafe home. Our childhood studios became our safe places and the dream to start Nicole’s studio began,” Brittany revealed.

Turning to dance to escape her horrid reality, Nicole began to envision a safe yet affordable place “where all children are included and will create some of the best memories of their childhood,” she said.

Years later, she made it happen. Over ten years after it became available to the public, Open Space Studio Inc has been voted as “Plymouth’s Most Loved” dance studio by HulaFrog for the last three years.

Employing a unique, cornerstone principle that establishes a “family atmosphere” in its classes, Open Space Studio offers a wide range of dance genres for students of all ages and cognitive abilities. Along with its extensive repertoire, the studio also boasts an unmatched scholarship fund.

True to Nicole’s and Brittany’s initial intention, Open Space Studio provides scholarships to students who have proven their commitment to dance. These scholarships provide a comped or discounted tuition to the awarded students comprising roughly 15 to 20 percent of the studio’s annual enrollees and have been a source of pride to the Purtell siblings.

Not just socioeconomic barriers, the studio has begun to erase physical borders as well, having adapted to virtual dance classes within the second week of enforced lockdown when the COVID-19 pandemic was announced. With its quick transition to online learning, Open Space Studio’s bright students were able to continue dancing and keep structure and routine.

The learning process at Open Space Studio Inc allows its teachers to apply corrections positively and supportively, helping students grow into their dancing shoes and providing a healthy and enjoyable outlet amid the stress that the coronavirus has brought. 

Seeing the potential in online classes, Open Space Studio hopes to expand its virtual program across the United States while also offering in-person classes at the studio. “We hope that parents and guardians will see these virtual dance classes as a perfect way to re-engage their children to the outside world and socialize, albeit through computer screens,” Brittany shares.

Learn more about and be a part of the Open Space family. Visit Open Space Studio Inc on its official website and witness how the studio breaks all four walls and other needlessly restrictive barriers standing between a child and a dream. 

OCG&E Delivering High Quality Gift Items

Leah Cooper Leah Cooper on November 12, 2020

For many people and groups, gifts are an important part of expressing gratitude and appreciation. They help bring families closer together, and company staff feel more appreciated. Omega Custom Graphics and Embroidery (OCG&E) stands by its commitment to bringing thoughts and emotions to life through their specialized gift items. 

The Fort Knox-based gift manufacturing company has become one of the most reliable gift suppliers for individuals and companies. OCG&E provides clients with a wide selection of handmade items, including T-shirts, mugs, can holders, fans, flip flops, mouse pads, hoodies, plates, embroidery, and many other products. Its tagline reads, “If you can think it, we can ink it!” Committing fully to that promise, OCG&E has developed a deep portfolio of the perfect customized gifts that are sure to wow both customers and their recipients alike.

The heart and soul of the gift creation company is its founder and owner, Marrianna “Annie” Varnadore. For Annie, gifts go beyond simple compliance to tradition. They’re a form of expression of one’s gratitude and appreciation for others. With that in mind, the entrepreneur believes that gifts should be made with love. Accordingly, her goal is to provide the best quality products without sacrificing the care and detail that only the handmade experience gives. 

Another of Annie’s commitments through her small business venture is to provide meaningful employment. At OCG&E, employee happiness is of vital importance. Even as the COVID-19 pandemic raged on, Annie committed to retaining all her staff and performed zero layoffs during the economic downturn. 

Through her business, Annie hopes to enrich the local community. She is quick to partner with smaller enterprises that show promise but lack market access. Through her company, Annie acts as a drop shipping company that provides access points to a steady base of clients and takes care of shipping and logistics. Moreover, she hopes to help the community of military spouses in the Fort Knox area. Many military families fly in and out of Kentucky all the time, making access to employment hard for spouses of army personnel, given the volatility of their residency. But Annie doesn’t see this as an issue. “I just want to help out,” shares the employer. OCG&E has employed many military spouses to keep them productive and provide them with a sense of community.

At OCG&E, the goal is to deliver great memories by providing high-quality gift items that stand the test of time. The company also commits itself to provide the best customer experience possible. Team members provide professional and reliable services and always deliver on time. An order of ten hand-manufactured bags or garments takes no more than two days to complete. Even intricate quilts, which are made from loved ones’ T-shirts and clothing items to make treasured heirlooms, take no more than ten business days to fulfill.

This speed is due to Annie’s proven systems and foolproof staff training that ensures nothing but quality in the shortest time possible. At one point, OCG&E completed over 6,000 masks in a record time of ten weeks.

Through OCG&E, Annie Varnadore hopes to enrich more lives through meaningful gifts and valuable service. Through her business, she hopes to bring pride and promise to Fort Knox, Kentucky, and its local community.

Check out Omega Custom Graphics and Embroidery company website and Facebook page to learn more about its services.