Thank you to those who took time to apply to our job vacancy. We went through a thorough interview process from screening interviews to final interviews to eventually finding who we thought would fit well within our working culture. I'd like to take this moment to officially welcome Alli Economu-Barton. 

Alli will be training under Kat whilst she completes the necessary standards to complete her National Certificate in Hairdressing. From time to time we may call on people as models to help her with completing her finals. Kat, Carmelita and myself are excited to have Alli on board and we look forward to her progress towards furthering her career.

To meet the demand of clients wanting fashionable colours the team continue to improve on their skills. This month we work shopped with 'Illuminates & Intense shades'.
Hair colours can accentuate your own natural beauty as well as turn a haircut into something more prominent. Adding onto that, the colour tones and techniques used by the stylist can create a artistic flair to the whole hair-do.
Thank you to our two models Jen and Tino.

Some would have seen that we were advertising for another staff member. NO Kat nor Carmelita are leaving! We've simply have gotten busier over time and it was time to bring another stylist on board. The last 12 months business has been doing really well of which I found myself working on the floor more than I would have liked. Now is the right time, to bring someone who is enthusiastic to want to learn. (As I write this we welcome our newest member but as she is working out her notice we are unable to announce until next month).

Apart from our day to day work, not a lot has been happening this month so I've asked Carmelita to write about her journey since starting at Salon Villair:

Since joining the team at Salon Villair it has been the most educational and self developmental time of my life thus far. I didn’t realize what an adventure filled journey it would be. It’s amazing how in such a short period of time, I’ve learned so much of which I’d like to share my journey with you:
 
I started June 2014, it was a hectic time having to deal with a new job and empathising with clients grieving after losing Sue. Soon after Sue’s passing, Kat had a couple of family bereavements which saw Ann and I managing the salon alone. Not having Kat there was challenging without a proper introduction and not knowing how the salon was previously run but we managed our way through and it gave Ann an insight to how things could be done better. 
 
One of the changes introduced was implementing monthly in-salon training's to help improve product knowledge and hairdressing skills. We’re taught different hair techniques and uses of products that help give clients a modern look and feel. Staff also have to commit to doing one training of our choice outside of the salon. These training's help to keep us trending with the latest fashions and I have never had the degree of 'training' as I have since working in this salon. This experience has also led to running our own workshops whereby we ran GHD and hair braiding sessions; we show customers techniques on how to manage their hair and that of their families. I quite liked educating others and it’s created a new career drive to become a tutor.

Our social events have been great motivators to work hard and to continue to improve. I enjoyed our weekend trip to Martinborough, which our children got to experience it with us. This outing was the beginning of many and each one has been a special bonus as I have never worked for anyone that has given so many rewards and acknowledgments for the hard work done. We also had two special occasions last year, whereby guests were invited to join us in the salon. I love how our relationships with clients have extended outside of work hours.
 
I was also encouraged to finish my hairdressing qualifications. It has been challenging at times and although I passed some units, I have had to re-sit a couple because of minor incidents whereby I should have known better ...sigh!!! Failing this has been one of the worst feelings I have ever experienced, I can’t describe the disappointment that I felt. The silver lining is that I’m not giving up, I’ve got one unit to complete next month and I’m looking forward to pursuing another aspect of hairdressing.
 
Lastly, for the first time throughout my hairdressing career, I didn’t have to work in between Christmas and New Years and it was awesome. We’re actually encouraged to take holidays with our families and if our children are sick we’re encouraged to stay at home with them so as to get them better quicker (in other jobs I would have had to take my daughter to work). I feel that I am truly blessed to be working here and to have a caring and understanding boss. Now don’t get me wrong, she just so happens to be my Mum but as she often tells me when we’re at work I’m her boss first!
 
Working at Salon Villair I’ve had some of the best times of my life, of course you have your ups and downs and I have had to face some big challenges. I believe being here with the team has helped me to grow as a person and I have learned so much about so many things. I look forward to the challenges and adventures yet to come.

A reminder that we won't be trading over the Easter Break and don't forget our Easter and Mothers Day draw.
Check out the home page.

To all those who are traveling over the Easter break, safe journeys and happy Easter to everyone.

New Years greetings to you all and here's hoping you all have had a great Christmas break, spending time with friends and family. Kat, Carmelita and I managed to take some time off over the month. After a busy lead up to Christmas, it was certainly well deserved.
The return of local businesses is the first sign of people/families returning from their holidays. We've had a very good month, particularly with our back to school promotion. Lots of families have taken advantage of it and because we've had such a great response will be running it till the 13th February.

In December Kat and I (Carmelita) had the oppotunity to run the Salon for a day, which was an exciting venture. We decided to have a fun day offering all the girls hair braids based around well known fairy tale princesses, and called it the "Fairytale Hair Day''. We had to put our heads together to work out what hair styles we were going to offer on the day, and materials we would need to make it work and once we put our plan together we showed it to the big boss Ann, who then gave us a thumbs up to go ahead. 
 
The Fairytale Hair Day was held on the same day as the Khandallah Village Fair 13th of December. Both Kat and I were nervous about our very first business venture but once the girls started coming in for their braids we relaxed and found that it was so much fun. We had pictures of braided styles for the girls to choose from and we also offered hair chalk and Feather bead extentions which were a huge hit with the girls. 
 
The most popular hair style for the day were the Feather bead extentions which were inspired by Pocohontas. We had all sorts of colored feathers and beads for the girls to choose from which we attached to the end of small braids. The Waterfall hair braid and the Headband french braids were the next favourites inspired by Aerial the little mermaid and Anna from Frozen, many of the girls then added the Feather bead extentions as well for fun dual hairstyles.
 
 The Fairytale hair day was awesome, Kat and I really enjoyed running the event and we look forward to the next time we do a similar day in the future.

The winners of our Christmas draws were:
Girls mini straightener - Nicole Turner
Boys hair products - Harrison Cederwall
Ladies hair products - Sam Edington, Alison Pandelidis &Karen Johnson
Men's hair products - Chris Wheelan

Next month the team will start their in salon training with Emma, the new Joico technician. Emma will bring her hair dressing expertise and knowledge to the salon. We're excited to be working with Emma. It looks to be an exciting year.  

NO, Kat nor Carmelita is not leaving..... we are at the stage where we need someone to help us in the salon. Check out our vacancy notice on the home page.

Not a lot of activity occurred during November a part from Kat and myself taking leave before the busy season was upon us. Sabre at the time hadn't filled the hair technician position that Sinead left vacant. But I've been told they have found a replacement but she wont be on board until next February. So watch this space because there will be a lot of different products and hair techniques for 2016.


A few months back we planned to celebrate our Christmas break-up in November, being the best time that suited most. We combined with staff from my other business, Affiliated Insurance Brokers (AIB) and arranged to go ten pin bowling and then dinner later at Whitby restaurant. Knowing my husband was a reasonable bowler, I was under the impression Lynn from AIB wasn't thrilled about the idea, thinking that she wasn't all that good. So the girls and I were jumping for joy a little thinking that we'd have a chance of winning. The first round we were slaughtered. We discovered that Lynn could actually bowl. She was lining up strikes like it was going out of fashion. We'd all lost count how many John got and Rex held his side rather well. The girls and I needed to change our strategy for the next round....a few words in John's ear.....and we won the second round!! A draw! It was a fun evening, finished off with dinner and a few wines. The SV team will be looking forward to next years challenge.

Businesses attended a evening put on by the Cornerstone Trust, who are responsible for looking after the Khandallah Town Hall. The girls and I attended. Over a few wines and nibbles we met other business owners and/or staff. Many businesses that attended contributed towards the Christmas decorations that are displayed on the Town Hall. Not only do they look good during the day, they are certainly worth driving past at night when the lights are on.

We also wanted to make it feel like Christmas in the salon, so we put up our Christmas tree, decorations and lights. Thank you to my sister in-law Janine for making Christmas mince tarts of which clients and SV staff enjoyed. My friend Ana, for making her scrummy chocolate chip cake as another alternative. They've been most enjoyable with a glass of wine or cranberry juice.

Later in the month, and on a smaller scale. We'd invited a few friends to join us in seeing 2015 out with a bang and welcome 2016. It was a fun evening to cement our relationship with many,  with plenty to eat and drink. Plus it was a nice way for our guests to meet and mingle with new people. I'd also like to thank Margaret, from Khandallah New Worlds for making our delicious platter of goodies for the night. They were scrum....

Doing the Fairytale Hair day  was such the coolest opportunity...ever! Ann wanted us both to experience what it would be like to be in her shoes for the day. She gave us the chance to run the salon for ourselves and we even had to provide a business plan outlining our marketing strategy, operating expenses, how much we were charging per braid etc. A business plan was something that we'd never done before but it taught us a lot.
The day was filled with lots of girls coming in to have their favourite fairytale character hair-do such as Pocohontas, Ariel, Anna & Elsa. Some had feather, beads extensions...glitter....hair chalk. It was a fun and cool day.
Thank you to those who came in to model our hairstyles and to the many that supported our day. We hope that we get the opportunity to be the "Boss for the Day" again. Thanks boss lady for giving us the opportunity....

Look our for our back to school haircut promotion next year, the month of January.

This month we've been promoting our new keratin smoothing treatment, Cezanne. We've had quite a few take advantage of our  opening deal and your feed back has been that it's amazing! Therefore, we're going to give you another opportunity and we're going to repeat this offer throughout the month of November. Receive free with any Cezanne service, moisturising shampoo & conditioner valued $70. More information on this service go to http://cezannehair.com/ or give one us a call.

When lightening hair yourself it often does go horribly wrong! We often get calls from people who have done exactly this and then have asked us to fix it! In these situations, if things do go wrong, it costs more to fix the problem than it would have to come to the salon in the first place. The use of non-salon products can be a false economy.
Lightening is a lot more trickier than using hair dye because there are different layers of pigment to remove. For example black, brown, red, red-gold, gold and pale-yellow. It is not uncommon that this process may take a few appointments to achieve a desired result. Once the hair has lightened to the desired level, a toner may be used to help soften the colour.

The following pictures depict our model Mel's journey of the different lightening stages that Kat has taken her hair through to achieve a funky and fun violet tone. Mel's base colour was a light brown and although it took several appointments so not to compromise her hair, she was ecstatic with the end result.

A consultation is always necessary to figure out what needs to be done to achieve the colour/tone you want, and to give you a quote. We will always try to work within your budget, so we will give you a few options of what we can do, which might mean breaking it up into a few appointments and doing it gradually. Sometimes it is not possible to achieve the desired colour in one appointment without damaging the hair, so it needs to done in stages. Keep in mind that when you already have colour in your hair, your natural colour has been changed and the hair is starting off at a drier stage. The stylist’s job is to give you the colour/tone you want without compromising your hair.

The SV team thought this would be a great course for me to attend, to help build my confidence with doing hair-ups. Whilst watching Chimney Yeap (tutor) work her magic on a half a dozen models, and making it look easy. I was itching to tackle my mannequin to practice some of the great techniques I had just observed.
We spent the first half of the course observing and listening to Chimney explain how each style can easily be achieved. Then the next half of the course we were let loose on mannequins to be 'creative' using the techniques that Chimney had just shown us.
The key points that I took away from the day was the importance of prepping the hair and ways that the hair can be manipulated and placed to create some trendy looking hair-dos that look great.
Thanks to Kat, for working my day so I was able to attend this course. It was worth it......

We were pretty excited to be able to sponsor Rebecca her opening hair-do when we'd heard she was going to be performing in "The End of the Golden Weather" by Bruce Mason. I hadn't been to a play in ages, and along with John and my friend Ana we toddled along to see the play. Well done to the Khandallah Arts Theatre (KAT) you've got some amazing talent.

Looking for ideas for Christmas presents, check out our range of packs and gift ideas.

Firstly, you may have noticed that I didn't put a post up last month! It wasn't because we hadn't done anything. whereby we didn't have anything to share. It just got too hard when our pc and laptop needed replacing, at the same time.
I thought because of the salons workload, we didn't need a new pc. So instead, the insurance company (my other business) upgraded one of there's and I'd receive the second hand one.
Now here's a lesson to be learned, if your wanting a fast fix, best buy a new one! It took a week for the new pc to arrive, a day to transfer apps and files to the new and then erase from old. Repeated the same process from the salons pc to the new/old one....and then we're up and running. This took close to two weeks and by that time we were half way through September! So if you were wondering what happened to last months blog...blame it on technology.

Last month we tested the new Joico Duo-light creme lighteners. It lightens and deposits glistening caramel & sun kissed colours. It seals the colour and creates shiny hair. A great product for Sombre & Babylights. Thanks to our lovely models, Jen, Debs & Kiri.

Unlike treatments that wash out in a few days or a few weeks. Cezanne delivers an exquisitely beautiful, manageable result that will last for months. All of the staff have experienced this service and we think its the best that we've ever tried. We can't wait to share in the experience with you all! More before and after pics on our facebook page.

A part from the salon being busy, we've been absolutely crazy, busy training this month....take a look at what we've been up to!!

I was given the opportunity to take part in a hands-on concept called Salon i-deas, which has been developed and inspired by the elements of our environment and surroundings. I learnt a bunch of new and innovative cutting and colouring techniques which have enabled me to broaden my creativity and versatility in my hairstyling.
In the picture shown with my model, I named her Ruby, you will see the end result of some of the techniques demonstrated on the day. CUT: The alpha, COLOUR: The two way. This was a very fun style and I have already implemented some of these techniques on a number of my clientele.
I can't wait for more JOICO INSPIRATION!!!

The L'Oreal course that I went to was about different ways to cut & colour the hair. I found the haircut interesting and it taught me different ways to texture the hair for a really funky, free style that gave heaps of body and movement.

The colour was really complimentary to the haircut and gave a nice subtle look which is great for those people who want something different but not to big of a change. I really enjoyed the fresh ideas and feel that it has helped me grow as a stylist.

Although a small number turned out for this workshop, it was worth attending. I was quite excited to do this course to see how well (or not) the salon measured up against concepts of 'enhancing customers journey' through a salon.
The course highlighted industry trends that attracts clients as well as keeping existing clients loyal; effective marketing strategies. As well as using all forms of media that will keep your business successful, relevant and profitable.

I particularly found the industry stats intriguing, overall highlighting that salons need to give customers more options to help with enhancing customers experience to the salon. I look forward to putting a few new ideas in place to improve this.

Beauty Gallery offer a wide range of beauty training, based in Auckland but often come to Wellington to provide training to those like myself who want to up skill.

I had lovely Sam walk me through the intermediate level of lash extensions which involved code of Practice and a bit of theory. As well as suggestions in areas where to improve.

I picked up some great tips in how to better apply the lash extensions to natural lashes. It is a timely process when applying a full set of lashes of which you must be prepared to spend up to 2 hours lying still. Infills are quicker.

Here is one of our ladies who enjoyed herself at our workshop. Rebecca already had an idea in how to do a French braid, here she is learning to do a reverse French braid.  Many have asked if we will run this event again...which we intend too. So watch this space....

Check out our home-page and look at all the new products launched recently.

Lots!!!! This month we celebrated our first year in 'Hair' with a few close customers, friends and family. I'm sure you can tell by the pics we all had a great night! The past 12 months has gone incredibly fast of which during this time we have met many wonderful and interesting people and I thank you all for your continued patronage.

To my wonderful and supportive staff, thank you for your continued support. As I have said many, many times - we make a great team. Here's to another exciting and busy year.

To our Joico team - thank you for all your support and we look forward to continuing working with you guys.

Last but not least, we also would like to acknowledge the Atkinson family as they marked Susie's first anniversary. She is missed dearly and still often talked about amongst many...

If you missed seeing pics of the evening on our facebook page, here are more taken by my 11 year old grand daughter Avania.

Carmelita attended a colour course organised by L'Oreal. The aim was to show stylists different colour and hair cutting techniques used to enhance the hair.

Next month Kat will be attending a similar course organised by Joico. It will be interesting to compare different techniques and fashion taught by two well known hair companies.

Click on the below pics to enlarge:

Blow waves and hair-ups were this months training. Sinead showed the girls how to cleverly place fewer hair pins in a hair-up style and how to create finger/waves using smaller radial brushes. Thanks to our models Christine, Mikayla, Trista and Gemma.

I posted earlier in the month on our facebook page hair-ups, styled by Kat and make-up by Courtney Wilson. The girls hair and makeup looked fab! If you haven't made your school ball booking, it is advisable that you book soon as appointments are filling up. Also, consider getting your makeup done by Courtney as her work is very 'chic' and modern. You won't be disappointed. Call us today.

We've been long overdue to do something for our male clients, the waiting is over:

During the months of July, August & September, we will offer all male adults a hair wash with their service using a male range - Proformance. For at home purposes, after the hair wash it doesn't require conditioning but can be used also as a body wash. Wow, how convenient is that!

Will also selectively be giving away samples of this range and we'd be interested in your thoughts on whether you like the range enough for us to retail? Guys you can have your own range, that's yours and not hers!

Also, during these months, all male adults will go into the draw to win a hamper of Proformance styling products (Drawn end of September).

For every NEW male client that is referred to Salon Villair receive $15 off your next in salon service (Doesn't apply to retail). If you want to know more information, speak to one of our stylist.

Interested in learning to braid your little gems hair?

• French Braid
• Simple plait
  

WHEN: Wednesday 22nd July
TIME: 1.30pm - 2.30pm
COST: $10.00

Limited numbers, bookings essential.

This will be a fun, hands on workshop working with mannequins. It is expected that this workshop will give you more confidence to then be able to try it at home.

As you can see there's plenty going on with us....tune in next month for more!