Colour Bar Hair Colour Specialist

Rockville Centre, New York

colourbarhair.com

Owner: Izabela Sabsoki

Date of Opening: December 2013

Overall Style: luxurious, upscale boutique

Square Footage: 1,500

Total Design Investment: $180,000

Number of Styling Stations: 12

Furniture and Equipment Lines Used: Belvedere

Retail Lines Carried: Kérastase Paris, Shu Uemura Art of Hair, L’Oréal Professionnel Inoa Color

Color Lines Used: L’Oréal Professionnel Inoa Color, Dia Light, Dia Richesse

Design Firm: Belvedere

Architect: Denise Bradley

Photography: Rich Dodge Photography

MORE FROM THE SALON OWNER:

1. List your three favorite features of your salon/spa design and explain why.

"The salon was designed around the colour, light, and texture. I want my guests to feel esoteric! As soon as they enter my salon I want them to feel like they are in a Tiffany Jewel Box. The Colour: Peaceful. Comforting. Orderly. Many describe the colour as Embellish Blue. The richest of them all, Embellish Blue captures your imagination.  The Ceiling: My ceiling evokes the same feelings as a contemporary work of art. It provides a beautiful foundation for the specific lighting scheme.  I designed the layout of the ceiling's raised panels to mimic the origami style of paper art. My ceiling gives texture, volume, and dimension to the salon. The Lighting: Throughout my professional career in numerous high end salons, I never experienced good lighting. After much investigation and probing, my lighting specialist shared this fact: the natural sunlight at 11am is the most perfect sunlight of the day.  I wanted my clients to come to my salon and have a very positive experience, seeing themselves in the most perfect lighting when looking in the mirror. Therefore, every LED ambient and task light I installed shines with the perfect 11am sunlight, precisely revealing each client's beauty and hair colour result."

2. What was the biggest challenge about this salon or spa design, and how did you overcome it? 

"The biggest challenge about my salon design was the structure of the building which is 100 years old, with tenants upstairs. The codes and restrictions from the building department and were extremely difficult. There was no budget to level the ceiling so I had to create a drop ceiling, but I made it beautiful. The ceiling also had to be double fire proof. I had competent people who helped me overcome these challenges. With them, I persevered with doing whatever I had to in order to follow the guidelines placed before me and complete the construction. My motivation was seeing the finish line, staying focused on the big picture."

3. Who is your target market and how did you design this salon to attract that market? 

"Our target market is a high-end clientele. To attract this market, I designed the salon with luxury in all of the details.  The state of the art Colour Bar is openly on display. Free style hair dryers dangle from the ceiling. USB chargers are easily accessible for client use. Aromatherapy oils strategically are dispersed to enhance the sensory experience for the client from the minute they walk through the door. The luxurious retail product boutique is filled with only the most prestigious brands in the world, Kerastase Paris and Shu Uemura Art Of Hair.  I covered the pipes in the restroom with seemless looking sleeves, and installed a vessel sink of waterfall like flowing water that many clients compliment. The salon chairs are a rich chocolate brown that deliver ultimate comfort. The shampoo bowls move up and down instead of the shampoo chair for optimal client comfort. All of the water used at the shampoo bowls is tourmaline treated and ph balanced. Everything at Colour Bar Hair has been handpicked for its luxurious detail – and it shows."

4. Which specific elements of your salon design were planned to enhance productivity and profitability? 

"I designed a salon that specializes in hair colour because colour is the most profitable salon service. I took the fast-growing popular Dry Bar concept and reversed it to create Colour Bar Hair, the hair colour specialist salon.  I am a seasoned hair colourist so I designed the salon for optimal colourist productivity which translates to enhanced profitability. The Colour Bar is designed for mixing speed and openly showcases our Ammonia Free hair colour, which we offer exclusively in our geographic area. We 'serve' all of our colour on a silver platter tray that sits on a simple sleek cart while we apply the colour. The salon staff communicates through two way radio Motorola headsets, allowing for constant communication from any area of the salon, eliminating the need for shouting. We also offer internet ready mini iPads for client use. These elements greatly enhance productivity and contribute towards the ultimate client experience for greater client retention. We offer a high-tech, high-end salon experience that is discrete and relaxing."