The rise of the ‘Home Salon’ has been massive, with many hairdressers thinking “what am I going to do after the pandemic?”. The time spent during lockdown became a very reflective period for many of us with so many stylists wanting to change the way they work for reasons including wanting more time with family, wanting a more flexible working pattern, being their own boss etc. We have seen some beautiful home salons recently and this month our Salon of the Month is going to be dedicated to one of the best examples we have seen! In conversation with Candice Harrop from Hair, Nails & Beauty by Candice based in Lincolnshire, we discussed her journey, challenges, and design inspiration and how she created a calm and tranquil space that has been styled to perfection.
SEC: Could you tell us about your journey to become a home based hairdresser? Have you always worked from home or in a high street salon?
Candice: I worked in a couple of salons to build up my experience in the hair & beauty industry and to complete training in all aspects of hair, beauty, and nails. I wanted to eventually become self-employed once I got the confidence to do so and had built up my own clientele. I worked stupid hours, like everyone does, to get those clientele. I have been home based (in a spare room at home) and a mobile hairdresser for 6 years now and it has been the best decision. It works around my children and family and I love it. I wanted to build a home salon in the garden as we had room to do so, and I wanted to keep my home separate from my working space.
SEC: How did you find the home salon project during lockdown? Was it a completely new space created or a refurbishment?
Candice: The salon project was great to do in lockdown as I had the time to get things organised and ordered whilst I had no clients. My driveway was full of different tradesmen which would have been a nightmare if I had my regular clients coming. I had a new space built at the bottom of the garden; I was lucky to have so many friends who are tradesmen who helped to achieve the build on time. Everything went to plan, and we started the build in February once planning permission was granted.
SEC: How did you overcome the challenges of being self-employed in this industry throughout the lockdowns?
Candice: Being self-employed has been ideal for me but the pandemic did create some challenges. Being self-employed meant that when the salons were closed, I couldn’t receive any furlough pay, instead, self-employed workers received a percentage of a grant. The grant payment took months to come through which caused a lot of difficulties. There were definitely some pros to the lockdown as I managed to do many online refresher courses with Wella and Bio Sculpture as I had the time to do so! I was lucky that I found myself very busy every time I was able to reopen, mainly because my clients had saved money from not being able to go away and wanted to get pampered as soon as normality was returning.
SEC: What is the best and worst parts about being home based?
Candice: The best thing about being home based is how it worked well around family life. I do a few mobile clients who have stayed loyal to me for so long and are unable to travel but most of the time I am in my salon at home. I can’t see any bad parts from working in the home salon in my garden yet, I’ve been working in it for a couple of months so far and I love it! The salon is purely for me and my clients, I have no staff and I don’t think I’ll ever change that. My clients are getting a salon experience but much more relaxed.
SEC: Where did you get your salon design inspiration from?
Candice: Pinterest helped me a lot for inspiration as I was wanting to go for a green and natural design with the salon being in my garden. With everything trending in sliver and greys at the minute I wanted to be a bit different and bring in gold with the green. I came across your home salon package in your Green & Gold Collection and fell in love with it. Every one of my clients has complimented your furniture and I’m so please with it!
SEC: How did you find the experience of purchasing furniture from us?
Candice: Whilst in lockdown I was unable to come to your showroom, but I was sent a catalogue and used your website to view all the options which was perfect. To order my furniture I spoke to Jade over the phone who was helpful and friendly. The furniture arrived when it said it was due and I was so happy with the quality of it all, the green and gold just looks amazing! I loved your Pink & Collection as well, but I do a mixture of gents and ladies haircuts so the Green & Gold Collection won!
We are so thrilled for Candice; all her hard work has paid off and we are excited to see what’s to come next!
A big ‘well done’ from all of us here at SEC x