About Donnie Ray
Warm welcome. Straight answer.
Donnie currently takes clients at Salon Être in South Norwalk.
Donnie brings Southern hospitality to a New York standard of work.
You will feel looked after, and you will always know what he thinks.
The long way here
How he got here.
Donnie Ray’s career began where modern hairdressing did: at the Vidal Sassoon Academy in London. There he learned the precision, structure and respect for natural movement that still shape every cut he gives.
From London, his craft took him around the world. As an international educator for Privé, he taught stylists across the USA and parts of Europe, sharing the technique and artistry that set the brand apart. Along the way he lived in places as different as Charleston and Amsterdam. Each one left its mark: Southern warmth and hospitality, and a clean, effortless European eye.
His first love has always been New York City. In New York he became a familiar presence backstage at Fashion Week for many years, working the fast, high-pressure shows that test a stylist’s skill. His work has taken him onto editorial and commercial sets and into the chairs of a long list of celebrity clients—names he won’t share.
Today Donnie is based in Fairfield County, Connecticut. He sees clients by appointment at Salon Être in Norwalk. He brings the same standards to every guest he works with: color with low-maintenance dimension that grows out gracefully, precise cuts shaped to how hair falls and how a client lives, and texture work that respects each curl pattern. He still teaches through the D-Ray Method, hands-on classes for stylists on how to read color, cut and texture together.
Southern hands. New York edge.
One pair of hands
No handoff in the middle.
Donnie works as a hybrid stylist because hair does not divide itself into departments.
He considers color, cut and texture together, then does the work himself.
The conversation is plain. If a reference will not work with your hair, schedule or upkeep, he will say so—and show you what will.
The chair is in Norwalk, Connecticut. The standard came up through New York. The welcome came from farther south.
Donnie Ray — Amsterdam 2026