The Dry Bar: Focus on One Thing and Perfect It
What do you think happens when you mix fanciful, à la mode interiors with a simple beauty concept? How can the motto “focus on one thing and perfect it”, help you when designing your small commercial space?
My love of bohemian chic, vintage and whimsical interiors knows no boundaries. With the right hand, I believe the look can be applied to any setting be it a home, restaurant or clothing boutique. Which is why I’m directing today’s post to a special group of people – business owners.
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While strolling down the streets of Downtown Chicago, I stumbled across a pretty slick commercial concept that offers some great tips for business owners and the interior-obsessed in general. It’s called Dry Bar.
No Cuts, No Color - Just Super Cool Blowouts
Established in 2010 by a pair of siblings and an in-law, the Dry Bar was scoffed at by investors for what they deemed was an over-simplified business model: a salon offering no cuts, no color – just blowouts. That’s it.
Now to be sure, I can’t really blame the previous naysayers. Hairstylists and salons come a dime a dozen. And when you strip away 75% of the services offered by traditional salons, there’s really nothing earth shattering about this vision. Therein however, lies its beauty. These folks took a simple-as-grill-cheese idea and put an avant-garde stamp on it.
a·vant-garde |ˌaväntˈɡärd | (adj) favoring or introducing experimental or unusual ideas. synonyms: innovative, unorthodox, left-field… Bohemian
Are you starting to see how this is all coming together? The Bohemian lifestyle is a mindset, not just a exterior style. It’s about celebrating people over things and creating extraordinary experiences from seemingly mundane things.
One of the owners of Dry Bar, a hair stylist herself, wanted to “focus on one thing and be the best at it.” She wanted to create an elevated experience for her customers that was about more than just a blowout. The result was that she and her partners designed an environment that would deliver just that to their clients.
Providing an Old Service in a Unique Way
Great attention was given to detail in the styling of each salon. The objective is clearly to deliver a luxury experience with strong brand touches.
Yellow, white and charcoal serve as the signature colors. Vintage-inspired mirrors don the walls. And tufted wall panels glam up the place, while funky music plays on the overhead speakers. Guests even receive a complimentary glass of wine or champagne, while watching vintage movie flicks on large flat screen televisions.
And instead of offering a host of different services like a standard salon, Dry Bar offers a “menu” of different hairstyles and haircare products which are named after different drinks like triple sec, Texas tea, hot toddy, and mudslide. Just like a real bar!
The best part? They deliver all of this yummy deliciousness for a blowout service that starts at $40. Can you BELIEVE that price?! Wanna know something else? This place is jam packed with women of every nationality, every single morning and throughout the day. The owners are also now enjoying an annual profit numbering in the millions.
Guess they got the last laugh afterall! And that’s this week’s Friday Fix. If you are a business owner take a quick look at your surroundings.
What “experience” do your clients walk away with when they use your service?
More importantly, how do YOU feel about the experience you deliver to your customers?