Salon Design Of The Month: Grid Studios London

How did your salon begin?

Our salon was born out of a need we found running our production company. Our company, Fondness (now Grid Productions), specialises in creating content for the hair and beauty industry, working with clients such as Wella, YUV & Treatwell. Through working with these amazing brands, we have met and worked with some of the country’s best hairdressers, so we wanted to create a space that is perfect for us all to create content.

When we shoot in salons or studios, we always encounter the same problems: mismatched lighting, insufficient room, or no styling areas or equipment suitable for shoots. Our space is designed to solve these problems, making it the perfect place to capture high-end hair and beauty content.

How did you decide upon the design of your salon?

Our goal was to make the space versatile so it could be used for shoots, events, education, and more. We have six styling stations that are all mobile, so you can set the space up in a way that suits you.

They can also be packed completely away if you are doing a large shoot or event. Each station can be rented individually, making the space more accessible to every hairdresser. We also have a custom-made lighting system that tracks the colour temperature of natural daylight, so we have perfectly consistent light throughout.

Our interior designer, Temi Johnson, worked closely with me and my business partners, Ben Ottewell and Carla Mendoza-Hall, to bring our brand to life through the design, fixtures, and finishes, making it an amazing space.

Everything was done in collaboration with our wonderful creative partner, Jordanna Cobella, who has made sure this is the dream location for creating content for a hairdresser.

What are some of your favourite products and tools to use in your salon?

We love our Lotus Westbury chairs and backwash (from Salons Direct). The backwash even has its own island, so you can mount cameras around it. We have many gadgets in the studio, such as tripods and phone mounts, so you can just turn up and start shooting.

How do you stand out from your competitors?

We often get confused with being a freelance salon, and while you could rent one of our chairs and work with your own clients, we are a space specifically designed for creating content.

We have everything in-house you would need as a hairdresser, but we have the custom lighting, backdrops, and proper shoot area. We also have a 75m2 courtyard and a fully functioning cafe.

What do you think makes a successful salon?

We have learned from the people we work with that you should really care about your clients and the customer experience.

Happy clients return to and promote your space. Obviously (and we would say this), marketing is really important as well. Getting new clients in is the only way to sustain a business over the long term, so having a strategy in place to gain new clients is as important as keeping your current clients happy.

Show off and promote your best work. Other than word of mouth, social media is usually the first touch point a potential new client will have with your salon, and you want to put your best foot (content) forward.

How do you keep up to date with the latest industry trends?

We are very lucky to have some of the best brands and hairdressers come to the studio regularly, so they keep us up-to-date with every new and exciting thing that is happening in the industry.

What advice can you give to others wanting to open a salon?

There isn’t a good time to do it, so do it now. It took us nearly a year to agree to our lease, which we didn’t expect, so all our best-laid plans went straight out of the window. If you’re passionate and resilient, you can make it work.

What can we expect from your salon business in 2024 and beyond?

Happy hairdressers are creating amazing content. We want to spend time building out our community and collating feedback to ensure the space develops in a way that works for everyone. Then, if all goes well, we will look to expand into other areas of the country and beyond.

Get the look with Salons Direct!

Feel inspired by the Grid Salon interior? As Danny mentioned previously, you can also achieve the look with Lotus Furniture, which is available exclusively at Salons Direct!