Cassie Carey, a nationally rising star in hairstyling and design, wanted to blend in, be the commuter in New York City moving through the subways and Grand Central Station with GPS-like efficiency.

“It was confusing when I first got there,” said Carey raised in Boscawen. “I said, ‘Gosh, I wish I could be like that person, sprinting from train to train. I hope I can do that someday.’ ”

That’s her MO, comfort zones be damned. She’d grown up in Boscawen under difficult circumstances. There was a brief period of homelessness, her parents’ problems with addiction and the death of her mother at a young age.

Carey learned toughness, kindness, the ability to be non-judgmental. She saw her mother scrap against her demons like an MMA fighter and win.

Armed with profound life experiences and an innate hunger to combine art with hairstyles, Carey moved to NYC four years ago and has embarked on a meteoric rise that has seen her collaborate with major celebrities. Her creations have been photographed and landed on the cover of nationally known publications like Vogue.

She’s won international and national awards for her hairstyles and designs, flying to California and Florida to attend Oscar-like presentations, with red carpet interviews, five nominees in each category waiting nervously for the announcement and thousands of people listening to Carey’s speech.

Meeting two superstars

Remember those colorful, swirly designs featured on the tight haircut worn by former NBA star and bad boy Dennis Rodman? That’s Carey’s handiwork.

And have you seen a video recently showing Lady Gaga performing in front of 50 dancers, each fitted with either an exotic hairstyle or wig?

Yep, Carey.

She described stressful, long days. She met Rodman and his people in Mexico City and saw him grow impatient in a hectic scenario as he prepared for a TV shoot. Carey said the scene had a lot of moving parts, producers, directors, clothing people, coming on and off the set.

Carey didn’t blame Rodman for his behavior. In fact, she admired his past gender-blurring episodes, when he wore a wedding gown or skirt in public.

And, besides, Rodman was nice to Carey. COVID forced the staff to remain in the hotel during the shoot, giving her time to get to know Michael Jordan’s former teammate.

“We spent three weeks together each day,” Carey said. “I’d do a touch-up, and we became buddies. A great person. I can see why he is controversial, but he’s a good person, and he’s beyond his years. He’s comfortable enough to wear makeup during a game in a very masculine business.”

As for Gaga, Carey said, “Just as awesome as you would think. She was focused and really sweet. I love Lady Gaga. She has a great voice and a great voice for a lot of people in the queer community and beyond.”

Her bread and butter

Obviously, Carey has moved past the stress, the culture shock, that happens when you move from a tiny town to the biggest city in the world, with its massive subway and train systems.

She’s 24 and lives with her boyfriend in Jersey City, N.J. She has her own salon in Manhattan, on West 17th Street, where she takes clients twice a week.

Her bread and butter, though, her opportunity to become a giant in her field, stems from the work she receives from all over the New York City area and beyond.

She creates what has become a sought-after form of hair design, before a professional photographer shoots her work and, sometimes, the photos land in a major magazine.

She calls it editorial hairstyling. “That’s what I wanted to do,” Carey said. “I moved to New York City to do it. I collaborate with the people I’ve met. Photographers or makeup artists. They’ll say, ‘We have a job. Are you free?’ ”

Some of her work is mainstream, glamorous with curls and sweeping bangs, perfect for a wedding or prom.

And some of her work, mostly on African American women, shows long braids that stand stiffly and reach for the stars, or afros that are thick, full and bold, like a lion’s mane. It’s hair you’d notice with a double take.

Her patterns on clients like Rodman feature swirling colors that resemble rainbow sherbet. One design includes the planet Saturn, surrounded by other planets in a solar system of color.

“I always loved painting and drawing, my first love,” Carey said. “I did it with my mom since I was little. My dad’s favorite story was he’d take me to AA meetings and he’d tell me this person is having a hard time, and I would draw an angel for them. Some of the (AA members) did not make it, but some still have them.”

Love, hardships,rehab, tragedy

She speaks reverently about her parents, Bob Carey and the late Alissa Fannie. Carey’s Market was an institution in Boscawen for 52 years, a central meeting spot run by various family members.

Bob was the happy-go-lucky, affable Deadhead who greeted his customers with a smile and the set list from the most recent Grateful Dead show that he had seen.

The Careys gave back. Meat for Old Home Day, gift certificates for door prizes, food to families who were broke, opening the market at night to accommodate local firefighters returning from a late call.

They struggled, though. Bob and Alissa battled addiction. They split up when Cassie was 3. “I never knew them together,” she said.

Carey’s Market closed in 2007, not able to balance costs with sales. The family could no longer afford to rent the apartment above the market. They bounced around for a while – an uncle across the street, a friend’s attic down the street. They eventually found a place that they could afford.

It was modest, but it was theirs.

“When Dad took me to see the apartment for the first time, someone living in a big house would have said, ‘What the heck is this?’ ” Carey remembered. “For us, it was that we finally had our own home. Two bedrooms for four people.”

Both Alissa and Bob conquered their addictions. Alissa, though, passed away after suffering a seizure eight years ago. She was 41.

When her mother was clean, Carey said that they had more time to spend together. “We had a great time before she died,” Carey said. “Mom was funny, resilient. The biggest thing was she did not get served a fair hand at life, and she pulled through in many places. She was strong and beautiful. She helped anyone she could, helped them when she was homeless.”

Carey’s vision for the future – her drawing, her painting, her hair styling and designing – had no shot to blossom here. At least not into something big.

Her plan began to take shape during her junior year at Merrimack Valley High School. The students went to NYC for their school trip.

For Carey, it was game, set, match.

“I was on a mission,” Carey said. “That was my first trip there, and that was when I knew what I wanted.”

Don’t forget to write

She left in 2018. Bob rented a mini-van, and Cassie and two of her brothers drove down to NYC, her mattress sandwiched tightly between the two boys during the trip. She had found a place online, in Brooklyn. She had three roommates, three strangers.

“Leaving my dad and siblings was the hardest part,” Carey said.

Bob said he wanted his daughter to stay in Boscawen. “But she wanted to work on all kinds of ethnic groups, do their hair,” he said.

She moved from a tough part of Brooklyn to a safer part. Her boyfriend – Sean Poirier, also of Boscawen – joined her and recently received a pair of promotions in sales.

Carey networked with people she’d met during her career, working at different salons. A friend working for a beauty brand that was sponsoring a Lady Gaga video called her. The crew needed help. Maybe Carey could assist with the 50 backup dancers at the shoot, in Los Angeles.

Everything clicked. The Gaga shoot was in the same area on the same day as the 2020 North American Hairstyling Awards Ceremony. Carey had been named one of five finalists for the Newcomer Stylist of the Year award, and that included entries from the United States and Canada.

No problem. The Gaga crew drove to an area in Death Valley, arriving near midnight. After a three-hour catnap, they pushed on to the site, the sun not yet up over the desert. Carey worked with the backup dancers, searching for the perfect hairstyles and wigs.

Then a private car took her to the Terrace Theater in Long Beach, seating capacity, 3,000. Carey was named the top newcomer.

Word spread. New Wave Magazine, a national publication identified as an “independent platform bridging the gap between established and emerging creatives,” wrote a long piece on Carey entitled, “Hair Stylist Cassie Carey’s Artistic Expression Is Worth Watching.”

“At one time or another,” wrote author Charlene Foreman, “we stumble on the most talented and innovative people who are out of this world, which is why crossing paths with astounding hairstylist/artist Cassie Carey is such a blessing. She embraces her talent for anything colorful and patterned.”

Following her emergence as a hot-shot rookie in 2020, Carey’s career exploded with more national and international fame. She was named this year’s Hairstylist of the Year by the North American Hairstyling Awards organization. That means she was named the best hairstylist on the continent.

And just last weekend in Orlando, Fla., the Behind the Chair Show, the largest and most well-known competition in the world, was held. More than 30,000 entries from 30 countries were submitted.

Carey won three times. Thousands were in attendance at the Orlando World Center Marriott, with thousands more live streaming the event.

“My boyfriend said I gave a good speech,” Carey said, “but I don’t remember anything about it.”

She remembers where she came from, though. She’s young, cool, artistic, successful. She lives in one of the top party spots in the world.

But she says she’s careful. She learned that from her parents.

“I don’t go out much,” Carey said. ” I grew up fast and grew out of that, too. My whole life, I had people who struggled with it, so I am not like that.”

Instead, she’s focused, on where she’s been, where she is, where she’s going.

She says New Yorkers aren’t rude, just focused on goals and challenges ahead. They walk with purpose, not hostility. And they move through subways and Grand Central Terminal with confidence.

Just like Carey.

“Once you understand the system, it’s really easy,” she said. “I hoped I could do it one day, sprint like that from train to train.

“Now, I can.”

 

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