The fascination of inspiration

Inspiration comes and goes. We live in a complicated world. In this web of technology, pandemic and being human, there are billions of ways to be inspired. Nicole Knobel is a hair designer and cigar lover. In this interview, she tells us how she gets inspired and shows us the fantastic art of her hair creations. Let's let her have her say:

Hello, I am Nicole

My name is Nicole Knobel and I am American. I was born and raised in Los Angeles. I later moved to New York City. In 2018, I took a much-needed holiday. I met and fell in love with a Swiss cigar producer. Now I am 36 years old and a permanent resident of Switzerland.

I am the founder of the Nicole Knobel Creative Company and Director of Operations at ADVentura Cigars Co. I have made two worlds collide that might never have met before: Beauty and cigars. Together, my husband and I revel in all things that either stop time, give you time or remind you of a time. Because that's what matters in the end, isn't it?

The inspiration of models

You are a hair designer and also create hair jewellery for models. Do many of the models enjoy cigars? We want to read names and see photos! 🙂

Fire and hairpieces are not always the best of friends! We have a strict no smoking policy on set, unless we need a prop.

One of the talents and a BIG fan of ADVentura cigars is Sascha Moeri. He is the CEO of Carl F. Bucherer. He's not in the supermodel agencies, but I had the opportunity to work with him.

What was your worst experience working with a model?

I love this question and answer aptly with: „Pre-production is everything and be nice to everyone.“ Clear expectations, mixed with a little gratitude, have luckily saved me from the worst experiences. My best advice is when working with professionals: You have to understand what they're there for, and we all just want to create beautiful work and get paid for it.

And which experience was the best?

The best experience I had was working with the ballerinas of the Joffrey Ballet Company in Chicago. We created a book of 60 images, all shot at a shutter speed of 1/60th of a second. 60 images with a shutter speed of 1/60th of a second = 1 full minute of shots. It took us (my former team and I) 3 years to create.

The premise of this book was to create highly difficult hair pieces and put the ballerinas in highly difficult poses. Some of these pieces took months to create, but when you see the finished image at the end, it's all worth it. And yes, all of these pieces are made of hair.

Be sure to watch the short video

• Photographer: Luis Alvarez 
• Model 1: Brunette: Abigail Simon
• Model 2: Red Hair: Amber Neumann
• Model 3: Blonde: Jenny Winton 

The fascination of inspiration

Where does your inspiration come from?f you design hair accessoriest? 

There are 3 things I always refer to when it comes to inspiration. It's amazing how much similarity there is between artisan cigar making and the creative process for hair art.

Number 1: The NATURE and their leaves in particular. Funnily enough, tobacco leaves are something I find most fascinating, not only because of the product they ultimately become, but also because of the generations of legendary families that have fuelled entire economies. And all because of one paper and the respect for it. Secondly, they are visually stunning in the early, middle and late stages.

Number 2: CALCULATED INTENTION. This photo was taken in Bad Ragaz. The lighting is strategically placed to cast these particular shadows on the staircase. It is only on the descent that you get to fully appreciate the detail and realise that Swiss precision is a very real thing. 

Number 3: CURVED SHAPES. Whether they are flowing or static, sinuous shapes amaze me. They support leading lines to guide the eye in a certain direction. The most beautiful example of this is rising smoke. There is nothing more sensual than seeing how more than 157 steps (that's how many steps it takes to make a cigar by hand) are combined with fire to create perfectly randomised curves and wisps. 

The inspiration of the fashion industry

What fascinates you about this dazzling fashion industry?

Hair is to fashion what dancing is to music. You can do one without the other, but together it's the magic that happens. This industry has managed to generate billions in sales by transforming textiles into emotions, feelings, personalities. Pretty amazing when you think about it. 

Can you remember your first job where you were allowed to do the hair of a famous model? What was that like for you? 

It's funny when you grow up in Los Angeles and see all the stars on TV or in films. When you have the opportunity to do their hair, they become tangibly human again as soon as your hands touch the strands. But I actually felt even more in awe when I got to work with Wendy Holdener, Mujinga Kambundji and Bianca Sissing for a campaign here in Switzerland. I felt more like a guest in this country and was grateful that I had the opportunity to contribute my skillset here. 

The inspiration cigar

Your husband, Marcel Knobel, is a well-known man. He is co-owner and creator of the cigar brand ADVentura Cigars. Do you only enjoy his cigars or do you also like other brands? ...maybe you should be careful with the answer.... 🙂 

I really enjoy our cigars! But I also think it's important to try other brands to find out about flavour profiles and composition. I'm a fan of ADVentura The Navigator Cadamosto, but can't get enough of The Royal Return Queen's Pearls. It's true that ADVentura is born from Swiss precision and Dominican passion. There is no better combination for handmade cigars.

What is your role at ADVentura Cigars? I believe you advised Marcel and opened doors for him when his cigars were coming to the US?

The best way I can summarise ADV in terms of who does what is as follows: Henderson Ventura is the heart, Marcel Knobel is the head and I am the arms and legs. Together we form a brand in constant motion. My role at ADVentura is to translate our brand standards and the creators behind them into the American culture by building relationships and sustainable operating systems that foster with the growth of our brand without sacrificing the core of the ADV brand. 

Having worked for a large cosmetics corporation and manufacturer, I have first-hand experience with production from start to finish: with schedules, distributors, communications, visuals, and building relationships with existing and potential customers. Fortunately, I have also worked extensively in almost every single US state, so I can relate to many of our US clients.

The cigar industry is a very relationship orientated business. We take the time to ensure that each member of our extended team is recognised and valued for their contribution to our growth. We have great distributors around the world and brokers who believe in our mission. They believe in why we do what we do.

We do not hesitate to pay tribute to them in order to share our story. First and foremost, our skill is in the flavour profile we create with the best materials we can source. We want every person who is even remotely interested in cigars to know „us“ when they choose ADVentura.

Mr Olympia and the stained wardrobe

What story can you share with us that has impressed you in your job?

I am impressed by the ability of our beauty artists to adapt. We shot the campaign for the America's Beauty Show with the former Mr Olympia and a beautiful model with an incredible wardrobe. The competitive bodybuilders have personal spray-tan artists that they use before the competitions.

We decided to use this technique for the shoot too. The wardrobe we had was from the late Rocky Gathercole, who designed for Lady Gaga, Beyoncé, J-Lo and Katy Perry to name a few. Needless to say, we had to be VERY careful with this wardrobe.

The poses we asked for this campaign had the model leaning against the Mr Olympia, and well, the wardrobe was coated in spray paint. We worked all night with a small toothbrush, scrubbing every bead and thread of fabric to get it out.

The photos were amazing, but this was the most pre and post work of a shoot ever!!! Whatever it takes to get the shot....

• Body Builder: Akim Williams
• Model: Hannah Wyatt
• Photographer: Luis Alvarez 
• Hairpiece: Nicole Knobel