STUDIO EIGHT
Where beauty, culture, and conversation meet.
STUDIO EIGHT is the editorial and media home of Triple Eight Creative, a space to explore the ideas, experiences, and conversations shaping beauty, business, technology, hospitality, and everything in between.
Founded by Chardé Smith, STUDIO EIGHT brings together original articles, founder essays, industry commentary, and conversations that go beyond the surface. From the beauty counter to the boardroom, we explore the moments that shape how we create, connect, and show up in the world.
Whether you're here to discover a new perspective, catch up on an episode, or explore what's happening across the industry, there's always something worth talking about.
The Beauty Edit
Beauty is more than what we see.
The Beauty Edit explores the products, people, trends, and cultural conversations shaping the beauty industry. Through thoughtful commentary, practical insights, and a perspective informed by more than two decades of professional artistry, we're looking beyond what's trending to understand what it means for the people who experience, create, and work in beauty.
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The Beauty Edit
STUDIO EIGHT PRESENTSBeyond The Counter
The conversation doesn't end at the counter.
Hosted by Chardé Smith Anglin, Beyond the Counter is a podcast exploring beauty, business, technology, hospitality, and the experiences that shape how we build, connect, and show up.
Drawing on more than twenty years in the beauty industry and experience building Triple Eight Creative, Chardé brings listeners into honest conversations about entrepreneurship, creative work, industry evolution, and everything beyond the service itself.
Some episodes are personal reflections. Others feature conversations with founders, creatives, and people whose experiences bring something new to the table.
Because there's always more to the story than what happens behind the counter.
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The Founder Stories
The stories behind what we're building.
Building something of your own comes with experiences that don't always make it into the business plan. The Founder Files is a collection of personal essays and reflections from Chardé Smith on entrepreneurship, reinvention, creativity, leadership, and the relationships that shape the journey.
From building Triple Eight Creative to navigating the unexpected turns along the way, these are the stories, lessons, and questions that deserve more than a passing mention.
Suite 888 Was the Room Where The Fall Edit Became Real
Suite 888 was the first invite-only preview of The Fall Edit during NYFW, hosted by Triple Eight Creative at Champagne Problems. What unfolded behind that private door was more than an event. It was a live expression of The Beauty Layer, bringing together hospitality, scent, Char, Signature Glam, product discovery, and the beauty professionals who make the experience feel human.
Consideration Is the Highest Form of Luxury
After NYC Tech Week, Chardé Smith-Anglin realized Triple Eight Creative was never just a beauty company with many moving parts. It is a company built around one idea: people remember when they feel considered. This founder essay explores what that means for customer experience, team culture, beauty, technology, and the future of modern brands.
In the Room: What Women Founder Events Are Really Teaching Us Right Now
This week, I stepped into rooms filled with women building what’s next. From conversations with founders like Rachel Liverman of Glowbar and Gabby Garritano of JECT to insights on platforms like ShopMy, one thing became clear: community, clarity, and connection are no longer optional. They are the foundation of how modern brands grow.
Ulta, Loyalty, and the Cost of Not Listening
The Ulta Beauty World rollout wasn’t a failure of demand. It was a failure of listening. As excitement built across social media, customers signaled exactly what they wanted. But when access prioritized influencers over loyal spenders, the disconnect became impossible to ignore. This Beauty Edit explores what the moment reveals about loyalty, trust, and why the future of beauty events must be built around real connection, not optics.
Where’s the Clarity?!
If you’ve been guessing your way through your routine, you’re not the problem. The system is. This post breaks down what’s missing in beauty right now—and how the Signature Glam Test and Winter Edit were built to bring the structure back.
The 8 Women Who Inspired Me This Year (And Why I Needed Them)
This year I kept a running list of women who inspired me to build with more intention, more clarity, and higher standards. These founders and artists reminded me what’s possible when you keep showing up and creating your own lane. Here are the eight women who lit a fire under me, plus two honorable mentions.
The Beauty Edit: Winter Is Coming
Late but beautiful. This week’s Beauty Edit explores what showing up really looks like — featuring Vera Hair Co, reflections on Teen Vogue, and what’s next for Triple Eight Creative as winter arrives.
When you build experiences for people, you quickly learn that some problems only reveal themselves once people enter the room. After watching the conversations around Beautycon, Create & Cultivate and CultureCon, and experiencing CultureCon as both an attendee and Braindate host, I’ve been thinking about feedback differently. The bigger question isn’t simply how you give more people access. It’s how you scale without losing the feeling that someone considered you.