A Partner in Business and in Life
At Janet St. Paul Studio for Hair and Beauty, Director of Operations Natasha McMillen helps bring her wife Janet St. Paul's vision to life, elevating every system from education to operations.
by Stacey Soble
Salon Today 200: ADVANCED EDUCATION
Learning never ends, and these ST200 honorees prove that advanced education fuels the creative and technical fires. They bring in high-profile educators, support their staff’s outside educational pursuits and encourage the sharing of new knowledge with both the team and the clients.
by Salon Today Staff
January 2, 20106 min to read
Caruh Salon and Spa
Seattle, WA
caruh.com
Michael Taylor and Cynthia DeSoto
SQUARE FEET: 3,500
TOTAL EMPLOYEES: 23
FREQUENCY OF EDUCATION: monthly
ED FUNDING PER PERSON: $1,000
AVERAGE CUT & STYLE: $58
BESTSELLING RETAIL LINES: Aveda
COLOR LINE: Aveda
SALON SOFTWARE: SalonBiz
ASSOCIATION: PBA
“When fund raising for our bi-annual trip to the Aveda Congress Festival, we invite guests to experience an “Evening of Indulgence,” a two-hour rejuvenating spa and hair service with all proceeds supporting education. Guests love to participate in the event and to support continuing education at Caruh.”
The Charles Penzone Family of Salons
Columbus, OH
charlespenzone.com
Debra and Charles Penzone
SQUARE FEET: 18,000/20,000/12,000/1,100/2,200/2,500 (six locations)
TOTAL EMPLOYEES: 512
FREQUENCY OF EDUCATION: weekly
PER PERSON: 70 hours
AVERAGE CUT & STYLE: $53
BEST-SELLING RETAIL LINES: Alterna, Schwarzkopf, Brocato
COLOR LINES: Schwarzkopfand L’Anza
SALON SOFTWARE: RIO Grand by Softbrands
ASSOCIATIONS: Intercorfiure, ISBN, NCA
“Each professional is required to fulfill 12 Charles Penzone Credits per year above state board requirements—these may be acquired by attending product knowledge classes, technical classes or personal development classes. We offer over 70 hours of advanced education for professional staff all free.”
Craig Berns Salon Spa
Delafield, WI
craigberns.com
Craig and Mary Beth Berns
SQUARE FEET: 3,200
TOTAL EMPLOYEES: 21
FREQUENCY OF EDUCATION: weekly
ED FUNDING PER PERSON: $500
AVERAGE CUT & STYLE: $45
BEST-SELLING RETAIL LINE: Aveda
COLOR LINES: Aveda
SALON SOFTWARE: Harms/Millennium
ASSOCIATION: PBA
“We offer matching dollars for all approved outside education. Everyone is expected to be involved in some sort of education. This benefits everyone as the knowledge is shared with other technicians on training mornings. Currently we are partnering with two other salons to provide education from a nationally recognized make-up artist.”
HQ Salons Spas
Westlake, OH
hqsalonspa.com
Ron and Tamara Bennett
SQUARE FEET: 6,500/2,400/2,700 (three locations)
TOTAL EMPLOYEES: 55
FREQUENCY OF EDUCATION: monthly
FUNDING PER PERSON: $1,100
AVERAGE CUT & STYLE: $44
BEST-SELLING RETAIL LINE: Aveda
COLOR LINE: Aveda
SALON SOFTWARE: SpaBiz
ASSOCIATIONS: NCA, PBA
“Twice yearly, HQ coaches attend spring and fall trends classes. Within two weeks after the class they are scheduled to import that knowledge onto the entire team. It is the coaches’ responsibility to schedule and set up the class, and invite and excite the team.”
Interlocks Salon and Day Spa
Newburyport, MA
interlockssalon.com
Ginny Eramo
SQUARE FEET: 4,300
TOTAL EMPLOYEES: 48
FREQUENCY OF EDUCATION: annually
ED FUNDING PER PERSON: $1,000
AVERAGE CUT & STYLE: $62
BEST-SELLING RETAIL LINES: Kevin Murphy, Difiaba, Empower
COLOR LINE: Wella
SALON SOFTWARE: ProSalon
ASSOCIATIONS: NCA, PBA
“Each year staff travel to Europe to attend educational venues such as Cosmoprof in Milan and Salon International in London, as well as various schools and trade shows throughout the U.S. While the salon pays for the travel and educational costs, the staff typically share or absorb the hotel costs.”
Jenni’s Salon and Spa
Normal, IL
jennissalonandspa.com
Jenni and John Kanski
SQUARE FEET: 6,000
TOTAL EMPLOYEES: 28
FREQUENCY OF EDUCATION: weekly
FUNDING PER PER50N: $2,030
AVERAGE CUT & STYLE: $38
BEST-SELLING RETAIL LINE: Paul Mitchell
COLOR LINE: Paul Mitchell
SALON SOFTWARE: Harms/ Millennium
ASSOCIATION: NCA
“Since advanced education is directly connected to career path our stylists celebrate advanced education with their clients. After attending the JPMS Gathering, the salon facilitates a fashion show with the focus on recent style and color trends. Throughout the salon we play DVDs from events, end stylists display their mannequin heads with recent work.”
Randolph’s Salon
Waterford, MI
landolphssalon.com
Scott and Mary Randolph
SQUARE FEET: 2,400/1,700 (two locations)
TOTAL EMPLOYEES: 43
FREQUENCY OF EDUCATION: monthly
FUNDING PER PERSON: $400
AVERAGE CUT & STYLE: $38
BEST-SELLING RETAIL LINE: Redken
COLOR LINE: Redken
SALON SOFTWARE: Envision
“Three times each year, we fly in Redken national performing artists for hands-on education, and regional artists twice each year for a total of five advanced classes that stylists from other salons only get to see at trade shows. Upon a stylist’s 10th anniversary with the salon, we honor their dedication with an all-expenses paid trip to the Redken Exchange in New York.”
Salon 01
Carmel. IN
salon01.com
Micki and David Stirsman
SQUARE FEET: 10,000
TOTAL EMPLOYEES: 38
FREQUENCY OF EDUCATION: weekly
FUNDING PER PERSON: $2,200
AVERAGE CUT & STYLE: $57
BEST-SELLING RETAIL LINES: Aquage. Brocato, Private Label
COLOR LINES: Artego, Davines, Joico
SALON SOFTWARE: Harms/Millennium
ASSOCIATIONS: Intercoiffure. PBA
“We are Fortunate enough to have top-notch educators come into the salon and give private classes to our staff. Candy Shaw, Ann Bray, Luis Alvarez, and Sam Brocato are among the industry greats who have visited our salon. We document these classes with photos and post them on the news page of our website, as well as on our Facebook page.”
Signatures Salon
Lake Charles, LA
signaturessalon.biz
Wendy White-McCown
SQUARE FEET: 2,000
TOTAL EMPLOYEES: 13
FREQUENCY OF EDUCATION: monthly
ED- FUNDING PER PERSON: $550
AVERAGE CUT & STYLE: $39
BEST-SELLING RETAIL LINE: Bumble and bumble
COLOR LINES: Wella, Organic Colour Systems
SALON SOFTWARE: SalonBiz
“While attending classes is vital to the life of a professional salon, sharing the information with fellow staff members is of equal importance. We achieve this with a morning training time for the attending stylists to teach other staff members the high points of the lesson.”
Travis Parker Salon
La Jolla, CA
travisparker.com
Travis Parker
SQUARE FEET: 1,500
TOTAL EMPLOYEES: 10
FREQUENCY OF EDUCATION: weekly
FUNDING PER PERSON: $500-$1,000
AVERAGE CUT & STYLE: $101
BEST-SELLING RETAIL LINES: Kerastase. L’Oréal
COLOR LINES: L’Oréal
SALON SOFTWARE: Elite
ASSOCIATION: PBA
“We are honored that every stylist in our salon is a L’Oréal Professionnel artist. We have stylists that range in every tier of L’Oréal’s educational program and we encourage and inspire each other to be the best educators we can be to the people we teach, as well as to our own team.”
“To foster continued education among our most talented professionals, we have established creative teams for all departments to inspire, educate and encourage the creative spirit of our professionals. Team members meet monthly at the home office to discuss industry trends, sample new products and discuss new services. And, creative team members serve as mentors to aspiring professionals and tech specialty classes.”
—Debra and Charles Penzone
The Charles Penzone
Family of Salons
Additional Honorees
Anaala Salon and Spa, Madison, WI
Art + Science Salon Spa, Philadelphia, PA
Bell Tower Salon, MediSpa and Store, Wyomissing, PA
Ginger Bay Salon and Spa, St. Louis, MO
Green Peridot, Frisco, TX
Habitude Salons and Spa, Seattle, WA
The Loft Hair Design, Escondido, CA
Luxe Salon, Denver, CO
Mango Salon, Richmond, VA
Paris Parker, Hammond, LA
Paul Kenneth Salon and Spa, Woburn, MA
Sagittarius Salon and Spa, Hagerstown, MD
Samuel Cole Salon, Raleigh, NC
Schardein and Co., Oklahoma City, OK
Valentino’s Grande Salon, Whitby, Ontario
Wax Poetic, Burbank, CA
Wisteria Salon Spa, Greenville, SC
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