Salon Lane was a ground-breaking concept for Australia. Born from an insight that hair stylists, particularly senior level, are often underpaid and forced to work during the opening hours of the salon that employs them, creating significant barriers to career progression or the opportunity for them to break out on their own.

The concept developed by entrepreneurs Jared Keen and Lance Kalish, aimed to put the freedom back in the hands of the hair stylists and beauty therapists, giving them flexible, affordable spaces they could personalise without the stress and overheads of running a traditional salon. Think co-working for hairdressers and beauty therapists – a game changer for the market segment.

Our brief was to transform the existing 1920’s Lamson Paragon factory into a dynamic co-working retail space for stylists. The design of the physical space was essential for the business success of not only Salon Lane, but all of the many stylists and therapists who choose to call the space their own.

Efficiency was key. We had to make the spaces look beautiful and welcoming whist being suitable to a range of tastes and personalities. Every element possible had to have multi-use in order to ensure that it was also affordable to rent, with minimal waste or inefficiency. Our design interpretation was driven by the desire to create a communal space for individual stylists and therapists to come to work, creating a sense of place and community, while still having flexibility in how their day and business gets to look.

As a business first for Australia, this project was highly collaborative and the design had to adapt throughout the process as the business concept was refined as the project went along. The proof of the success of the design is in the results. Within only four months of opening the space had 80% occupancy, a waiting list for their studio offering and some of the best names in the business –  surpassing all expectations.