The lease is signed
So after months of negotiations we’ve finally got the contract signed. So Tribeca ColorSalon Ybor Centro is a definite reality. I face this with excitement and some fear. There is a part of me when I watch the gloom of the nightly news I think “what am I doing?!?” There seems to be so much financial risk in the world. But I believe in our concept, we have a unique marketing position and I love the opportunity ahead of us.
So far the architecture office; ASD has been marvelous. I work with Ken and Dia out of the Tampa office, and the level of creativity while matching my design goals is awesome. I love what they’ve come up with, and I’m such a DIY guy it was hard for me to release the development of the space to someone else. Quickly I learned I could trust Ken’s direction, and he is great at listening to my needs and modifying the space to be a functional workspace.
The hardest aspect for me is to balance function and form. I love high design, but honestly I’m a cheap ass (Scottish) and I don’t think high design must come with a high price tag. Even with me trying to be frugal this is going to be a $200,000 project so who am I kidding? I’m very happy that I decided to spend some extra money already. I ordered what seemed to be a beautiful, perfectly modern styling chair. When it arrived, it looked like what I wanted but quickly realized that the closed shape of the chair trapped cut hair in the sides, covering both the client’s legs, but also required much more maintenance between clients. So I just saved myself from a $25,000 mistake of buying 32 of these chairs.
I should mention that I’m also trying to spruce up the current salon along with the creation of the next. I can’t afford as big a change as I’d like, but new chairs at least are a necessity. Time will only tell how that will proceed.
The new salon will be “urban modern” similar to the W hotel chain’s look. Becky, the new concept is going to be Asian minimalist with a youthful nod to San Rio. Becky is a big change for me, it is our beauty studio, a”bento box of beauty” that will offer a varied grouping of services in a high energy youthful environment.
I’ll describe the furnishings tomorrow.