WESTROW EXPANDS
Westrow has unveiled its highly anticipated tenth salon: a stunning hair, beauty and lifestyle salon set in the Yorkshire town of Skipton. Launched to coincide with the hairdressing group’s thirtieth birthday, this new state-of-the art salon is a fully integrated concept salon – the first of its kind in Westrow’s award-winning portfolio.
Headed up by Jeremy Bridgeman, the franchisee behind the hugely successful Westrow Harrogate salon, it is no surprise that since opening its doors in March 2017, Westrow Skipton has made a significant mark on the West Yorkshire market town. The largest of all the Westrow salons, the salon is set over two floors, with a vast total of more than 2,500 sq ft of salon space. As the first Westrow salon to offer express beauty treatments, as well as a luxurious lifestyle area for clients to experience the products and services on offer, Westrow Skipton is unique to both the Westrow group and the locality.
Every element of the salon’s interior has been sourced from far and wide, with a bespoke salon fit and finishing touches inspired by the sleek, high-end destination salons of Knightsbridge. Divided into separate zones, Westrow Skipton has been designed to take every client on a journey, with the entire client experience being one of relaxation and luxury surroundings, in line with the brand’s ethos. Every zone has been imaginatively designed to differ from the last; American walnut flooring fitted throughout lays in different directions in each zone, for example. Meanwhile, the clever addition of co-ordinating design details, such as the Farrow & Ball Purbeck Stone shade painted on walls throughout, pulls the four zones together in perfect harmony.
Clients are wowed as soon as they enter the salon. The entrance boasts a white marbled bordered floor and Georgian-inspired cornicing and raised panelling, which together give an uber-luxurious feel. While the design may have period elements, there is nothing old-fashioned about the salon’s technology, with state-of-the-art skirting vacuum hair disposal systems featuring throughout.
The magnificent reception area was inspired by the Givenchy store in Paris, most notably its gold accents of furniture. A bespoke reception desk – shaped like a piece of cheese – makes a seriously fashionable statement. Using interesting angles, the desk plays tricks on the eye, appearing to float in mid-air, while its metallic gold-mirrored design brings a dose of that desired Parisian glamour to the reception area. Styling stations are custom-made, featuring designer wall lights and premium, Italian-inspired chairs. Lighting has been modified to mimic natural daylight and the addition of brightly coloured occasional chairs adds a burst of colour to the muted tones of the interior.
The Hair and Beauty Zone, distinguishable thanks to a full copper mirrored wall, is home to six further styling stations and two luxurious beauty stations, as well as a bespoke retail area dedicated to brows, nails and make-up, with all express beauty services headed up by Jeremy’s wife, Kirsty Bridgeman. Further retail displays can be found in the Lifestyle Zone, which, with its old-school glamour, bespoke lounge chairs and private consultation station, has been designed to mimic a luxury beauty hall, where clients are free to browse, feel and try out products. In contrast, the backwash zone, which is housed behind a dark satin-grey divide, is evocative of a spa, with fuschia lighting, black granite units, ebony flooring, and four state-of-the-art, shiatsu massage, fully-reclining backwash chairs.
True to the Westrow brand, the entire salon has been constructed with acute attention to design detail, with an interior design process led by franchisee Jeremy Bridgeman and Westrow co-director, Steve Rowbottom. Says Jeremy: “While retaining true aspects of the brand’s identity in terms of pantone colours and branding, I wanted to really push the design boundaries to give it a look of pure luxe in line with my own individual interior style.”
The resulting impression of Westrow’s first lifestyle salon is undeniably one of individuality and remarkable luxury; a unique, one-stop shop for hair and beauty, where clients can sit back and relax in their new hairdressing home.
