Here at Salons Direct, we love chatting with salon owners and creative directors to discover how they transformed their hairdressing vision into a popular bricks-and-mortar hair destination.
This week, we speak to Taylor Taylor salon director Sarah Brass to find out how the salon expanded from its inception in 2003 to a multi-award-winning brand, with salons spanning East London to the Indian Ocean.
Tell us more about how Taylor Taylor started?
Our original salon on Cheshire Street opened in 2003 and Taylor Taylor London began as a two-person team with a small personal loan and a vision to create the first genuinely boutique hair salon in the country. Within the first year, the salon had been featured in Vogue, Time Out and Marie Claire for our interior design, longer appointment times, world-class stylists and our infamous free cocktail bar.
How does Taylor Taylor stand out from its competitors?
From the moment we opened, our intention was always to change the face of hair salons from rather functional, clinical spaces into a welcoming members club of hairdressing – crucially, however, without any door policy.
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One of our most critical differences is that we specifically select our stylists for their individual flair and creativity. Unlike many other salons we have no “Lead Stylist” and we actively support our whole team to follow their own personal careers which encourages creativity and means we have “partners rather than employees”.
How did you decide upon the aesthetic of the salon? What inspired you?
The salon’s aesthetics are linked directly to our belief in creating hairdressing salons that are relaxed yet always glamorous; a little like finding your very own members club.
We wanted each salon to exude the faded grandeur of 118th-century French palaces but to be personalised with statement cocktail bars, oversized murals, and decadent washrooms.
The interior is crucial to creating our unique atmosphere and it was essential for the salons to be show-stopping yet still welcoming to all. As all of our teams are selected for their individual style we wanted to reflect that by also making each station individual as well. From cutting mirrors and statement chandeliers to the glassware and magazine racks, each piece is carefully curated from vintage markets, antique stalls and craftsmen to create what we believe are magical settings to inspire the head and the heart.
How does Taylor Taylor keep up to date with the latest trends within the industry?
Whether it be working with celebrities, styling international catwalk shows, or creating editorial shoots, it is vital to us that our team members split their time between the salon floor and external assignments. Our specialists are then in a unique position to bring their creativity, passion, and talent back onto our salon floor or to our rapidly growing education team.
What do you think makes a successful salon?
Quite simply it’s about understanding your brand and your customer but above all its about maintaining a passion that can be translated on to the salon floor every single day.
What is Taylor Taylor’s biggest achievement to date?
To still be at the top of the hairdressing game after 14 years of cutting and colouring is perhaps our proudest achievement. We are recognised for our unique blend of both edge and elegance and our modern and relaxed style has led to a global reputation in both the hairdressing industry and also the interior design world.
What can we expect from Taylor Taylor throughout 2017 and beyond?
We have great plans to expand our recently created Education Team. We have been delighted at the response to our personally tailored hairdressing seminars and workshops and you will see us across the world in locations such as Russia, Italy and Japan sharing our passion and knowledge with other hairdressers.
We have also been working with our sister brand Løre to launch a revolutionary new range of intelligent haircare that we believe will become the essential kit bag of contemporary products for your hair. Originally born out of the need to have a unisex kit bag of hero products covering the everyday requirements of our international hairdressing team, Løre was created to simplify everyday hair care. It will offer a modern range that makes outdated “his and hers” products a thing of the past. Launching in November 2017 in Liberty London and all Taylor Taylor London salons, we are just a little bit in love.
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