Blink Bar's Guide to Creating your Dream Salon
I'm a firm believer that your clients will return to you for who you are and the work you produce, not where you work from!
However having a warm and comfortable salon space isn't just a bonus for them it's also a luxury for you!
In this blog, I'll guide you through how I created my dream salon space and how social media played a huge part on the design element.
Being self employed definitely has its ups and downs, however I feel the best park about it is that we get to tailor our work space HOWEVER we want!
LOCATION
Let's start with location, when opening a new salon this is definitely key! You want somewhere that's easy for your clients and let's be honest, they're all lazy and want to park as close as they can to the front door.
Having a car park near by really helps, or if there isn't one nearby, have a little description of where to park with photos. I find it really puts clients at ease and makes their commute to their appointment a lot easier.
SETTING THE AMBIENCE
For me, I wanted to create a lash salon that represented my brand and me! Finding 2 or 3 main colours that harmonised with each other is a great starting point (for me this was beige and taupe colours) Using these as your primary colours helps so much when choosing other textures and colours to complete your salon.
I personally liked more beige colours to help me create a soothing salon ambiance, and hopefully a relaxing experience for my clients, as I feel warm neutral colours reflect this.
FURNITURE & DESIGN
When creating my salon I actually used my iPad with an app called home design to help work out where I wanted furniture etc to go. I only had one weekend to move all my stuff in, and let me tell you it was tight. So I had to be very organised and know exactly where I wanted things to go!
Choosing furniture came quite naturally to me as I had endless saved Pinterest posts that I took inspiration from, and I love interior design.
I found 5 Instagram accounts that I absolutely loved and saved my favourite parts of each, I messaged so many accounts asking where there furniture was from and I enjoyed endlessly scrolling through pretty salons. I now love when people message me asking where I got furniture from or if I recommend a certain product, I think it's a huge compliment and I love that I've inspired someone when setting up a new business.
When on the hunt for furniture, it's very hard to stick to a budget so I tried finding cheaper dupes of expensive furniture to elevate my salon which helped my salon have a classier look.
I chose to go for a wooden wall divide to help my clients feel a little more private when they are having a treatment done, I found a wooden wall divider online that was going to cost me a fortune which just wasn't reasonable and within my budget. So I decided to build it myself. The wood added a new texture and helped tie in the ambiance of my salon, it's also great as it helped divide my waiting area from the treatment area.
I find adding those personal touches where you have considered how the client feels when they have their eyes closed, really helps your clients feel relaxed before they've even been for their appointment.
SOCIAL MEDIA
Social media is probably what helped me advertise my salon the most, it shows clients a glimpse of what they should be expecting when visiting you for the first time. I loved taking all my clients on the journey with me when designing my salon and I love how I can connect to all my clients at once. I love how my posts look on Instagram and I enjoy having a 'theme' within my feed that represents my salon space.
NAMING THE SALON
I also had to tie in my new name with my salon theme as I wanted a name that sounded more like a salon rather than an individual lash tech. My old name was great for me when I started out but I knew I wanted to grow my business and needed to branch out. Clients were so understanding and loved the name change to Blink Bar, I feel like this change has helped me create a more professional feel for my business.
Lastly but most importantly I believe that creating a salon space that represents YOU is the most important thing. Creating a new salon gives you the perfect opportunity to express who you are, and your clients will appreciate that so much.
Thankyou for reading my blog, if you'd like to have a look at my instagram or ask me any questions I'm always here for a chat.
Ella x
