About butter LONDON
We Believe in Rock and Roll. Great Britain. And Fashion.
By transforming catwalk trends to custom nail colour palettes, butter LONDON has developed a passionate following. butter LONDON is the cult phenomenon of the nail industry and is fast becoming famous for our high fashion, 3 Free (non-toxic) nail lacquers and revolutionary waterless nail services. butter LONDON products are formulated without the use of the harmful ingredients like Formaldehyde, Toluene, DBP or Parabens. butter LONDON was the first company to sell non-toxic nail lacquer in the United States.
butter LONDON Authenticity and why fashion designers love our lacquer
butter LONDON, has been a backstage fixture at Fashion Week since the beginning. We have longstanding relationships with designers who love butter LONDON for the authenticity of the experience. Our specially trained team of manicurists and the designers sit together, discuss the designer’s muse, look at the collection, and arrive at a bespoke colour just for them. Nails are a fashion accessory and can have a huge impact on an outfit, so getting them right is crucial. It’s a unique process, and ensures that the designers have creative input and control over their catwalk beauty look, which is incredibly important.
butter LONDON’s fashionable friends include designers like Alexander Wang, Victoria Beckham, Betsey Johnson, Vena Cava, Calvin Klein, Issa, Rachel Zoe, and many more. butter LONDON is honoured and delighted to be a part of their world, and they help to ensure that butter LONDON customers receive genuine, high fashion colours.
Company History
butter LONDON was founded in 2005 by British entrepreneur, Sasha Muir, who saw a gap in the marketplace for luxurious yet affordable nail services and high quality products. To help her realize this vision, Sasha asked industry veteran Nonie Creme, London’s premier fashion manicurist, to partner with her as butter LONDON’s Founding Creative Director. With years of experience, Creme’s colour expertise was quickly put to use in the development of a unique, cutting edge and high fashion collection of lacquers and products. Muir now serves on the Board of Directors. Our talented Product Development team continues to be at the forefront of formulation and design with imaginative techniques, bold graphics, and audacious cheeky humor. Leslie Freytag now serves as President and CEO.
Executives and Board of Directors
Leslie Freytag, President & CEO, Director
Leslie is a specialty retail veteran with more than 35 years’ experience in multi-channel specialty retail. Her successes in upscale specialty retail are as varied as they are iconic: Neiman Marcus, Jackson & Perkins, Tommy Bahama, Harry & David, to name a few. Her reputation as a visionary leader is built on innovative product development, creative marketing, strategic planning – and clear results. Today as President and CEO, Leslie brings her considerable skills and experience to butter LONDON, where she inspires all aspects of the company’s endeavors – from branding and product development to merchandising and marketing. Leslie earned her Bachelor of Science degree in textiles and clothing from Colorado State University.
Murphy D. Bishop, II, Vice President of Sales & Marketing
Murphy is a highly skilled beauty sales and marketing executive with over 18 years beauty industry experience. Murphy began his career at Estee Lauder, spending 5 years learning the business and working with the Stila and Bobbi Brown brands. He went on to work for Victoria Secret Beauty, and served as a National Sales Manager for Bare Escentuals and Molton Brown during rapid growth periods. Most recently, Murphy served as Vice President of Sales and Operations for North America at Omorovicza Skincare. Murphy earned his Bachelor of Science in business administration from Birmingham Southern College, graduating in 1994.
Phil Davis, Co-Chairman of the Board
Phil received a degree in Economics from Stanford University in 1980, and followed that with a successful 25-year business career in finance and general management. From 2000 to 2003, Phil Davis led the early stage Internet start-up, HouseValues Inc., as Executive Vice President of Finance & Operations. He built the organizational and financial foundation for what at the time was one the region’s most successful new businesses that ultimately went public in 2004. From 2005 through 2010, Phil was the Executive Director of the Hoh River Trust and continues to serve as Treasurer of the Board there. Phil also currently serves on the boards of a Stoneway Electric Supply, a regional electrical distributor, The Methow Conservancy, a community based land trust in Washington’s Methow Valley, and was recently appointed by Governor Christine Gregoire to the Washington State Forest Practices Board. Phil and his family have been active angel investors in Seattle for over 20 years.
Jan Hendrickson, Co-Chairman of the Board
Jan currently serves as Managing Partner, Denny Hill Capital. She has been fortunate to work with early stage companies for over ten years as a venture capitalist and investment banker, in roles capital raising, governing, advising, investing and fund managing. She is co-founder of Denny Hill Capital, an early stage, multi-industry venture capital firm supporting the Pacific Northwest’s entrepreneurs, and manages Denny Hill’s predecessor fund which has delivered a ten year performance in the top quartile nationally for early stage venture capital. Jan currently serves as director of butter LONDON, PhotoRocket, Tully’s Coffee (SEC registrant), and CleverSet until its sale to Art Technology Group (ARTG: NASDAQ). During her career in operations, Jan led or participated in financings in excess of $600 million. In her most recent operations role, she was the first Chief Financial Officer of a $5 billion start-up responsible for financing, constructing and operating a regional mass transit system. Prior experience includes Chief Financial Officer for the Port of Seattle’s Seaport where she managed a $600 million capital investment program. A native Seattleite, Jan holds graduate and undergraduate degrees from the University of the Washington. She is past chair and current member of the Woodland Park Zoo Board of Directors, past president and current trustee of the Frye Art Museum, a founding director of the Seattle-based Women’s Bioethics Project, and past chair of Wellspring Family Services of King County Board of Directors. Jan can’t live without her running shoes, skis or yoga mat.
Kenneth Block, Director
Ken has more than thirty years of experience in marketing, distribution, global sourcing and corporate operations. He is the Chairman of Block and Company, Inc. a manufacturer and distributor of office products sold globally under the brand names MMF Industries and Steelmaster. In addition to being a founding Board member of butter LONDON, LLC, Ken is a limited partner in several venture capital funds and has been an active angel investor in the Seattle community. Ken also has extensive community experience including a term as President of the Board of University Preparatory Academy in Seattle. He is currently a Board member of Hearing, Speech & Deafness Center. He holds a B.A. degree in Political Science from Claremont McKenna College and an M.A. degree in Asian Studies from the University of Washington.
DT Levy, Director
DT is an accomplished marketing executive, with 15 years of experience in global brand marketing and business development in consumer packaged goods and fashion/lifestyle retail. She is a partner in Days Group, a boutique consulting firm providing branding, marketing strategy and relationship marketing services to a broad base of US and internationally based consumer-focused companies. DT is currently a board member of the Stroum JCC. She holds an LLB from Tel Aviv University and an MBA from INSEAD.
Sasha Muir, Founder and Director
Sasha is an accomplished executive leader with a passion for creating, branding, and growing new businesses in both the corporate and entrepreneurial space. Sasha received a Masters in Engineering from Cambridge University, UK, She spent 7 years as a Management Consultant at Gemini Consulting creating and implementing new global initiatives for large private banking clients. In 2002, Sasha received her MBA from top European business school, INSEAD. Following this she moved to Seattle where she served as Vice President of Sales and Marketing for the digital marketing firm, Emanation Software. In 2005, she founded butter LONDON and was CEO from 2005- 2009. Following the success of butter LONDON, Sasha has built a second company, Knickerbocker Glory that designs and manufactures high-end children’s undergarments. Sasha is active in assisting female entrepreneurs grow their businesses and serves on a number of consumer product Advisory Boards.
Long Live Nails!
