creative SPACES

DYLAN BRADSHAW DUBLIN

South William Street, Dublin 2

Completed in November 2023, the renovation at Dylan Bradshaw Dublin was driven by a desire to create a full sensory experience for clients, according to Dylan Bradshaw, who co-owns the business with his wife Charlotte.

“Our brand identity is all about offering a bespoke luxury service, and we now offer a carefully curated collection of our favourite things in home, hair and personal care. The salon was where it all started for us, and as a family business, it is very much like our fourth child. We are constantly looking at ways to help it grow and perform to its very best.”

The idea for the revamp began in 2019, with the work originally scheduled for 2020.

However, the pandemic put that plan on hold. “We revisited it early last year,” says Bradshaw. “At that point, the price of materials and labour had tripled, so we had to look at clever ways to get what we wanted with our budget. For example, we opted to reuse and repurpose as much as possible. I am blessed to have a wife who is an interior designer, so she could source a lot of what I imagined. And we made sure we worked with the right team, who could make our vision come to life.”

Central to this vision was opening up the floor to change the whole area from a salon to a lifestyle space, notes Bradshaw. “We introduced ku.fee, a speciality coffee and tea shop that was a passion project for me. We always offered our clients a complimentary refreshments menu, but we wanted to go above and beyond with the introduction of highly trained baristas who are brewing the best cup of coffee in the city.

“We realised this area needed to be a high-end space to marry with the interior of the new store and salon. We invested over €12,000 in creating a bespoke La Marzocco Linea PB S ABR machine in a pop of orange, the results of which have surpassed our hopes and expectations. The coffee machine’s location at the front of our store has introduced a new clientele to Dylan Bradshaw Dublin.”

Meanwhile, in a nod to sustainability, some existing elements of the salon were upgraded. “Our Gamma & Bross Teknowash Plus units, which were a large investment when we originally purchased them, were all stripped, rebuilt, reconditioned with new motors and reupholstered. We also kept the bases of our styling chairs, but reconditioned the hydraulics and replaced the seating with a tobacco brown leather finish.

“For our overall look, we decided on a mix of brass, deep green tiles, pure oak wood flooring finished in chevron style and repurposed Connemara marble. This marble had been originally used in our first salon on Johnson’s Place back in 2000, came with us to our second salon at South William Street in 2012, and is now part of our renovated space.”

The booths in the centre of the salon floor have been designed as a communal space for clients to chat, work or have a coffee, or to be an alternative place for them to sit as their colour develops. “This has created a lovely atmosphere and given an inclusive feel to our space,” adds Bradshaw.

‘The coffee machine’s location at the front of our store has introduced a new clientele to Dylan Bradshaw Dublin’

The new Dylan Bradshaw Dublin experience extends to its retail offering, which now includes food, homeware and lifestyle brands, as well as hair and beauty ones.

“We have introduced a range of Spanish candles, room sprays and diffusers from Ladenac and Vila Hermanos, and we have also developed our own range of Irish-made linen hand and bath towels. We have collections of hair and beauty products from Oway, Virtue, Hair by Sam McKnight, Color Wow and Shu Uemura, to name but a few. We wanted our clients to have a more interactive experience so we added a brass sink to the store floor so that they can now ‘try before they buy’.

Dylan Bradshaw Dublin remained open for business while the refurbishment took place. “On the one hand, it was great to be on site, overseeing the project, but it was challenging for the whole team, and we had to learn to adapt quickly to ensure we still offered the same luxury experience. We are lucky to have the whole building, so we basically fit out our first floor as a ‘mini salon’ and worked from there for the duration of the build. We appreciated our clients’ patience and loyalty while we manoeuvred through the experience.”

He says that walking up to the building every morning is a real ‘pinch me’ moment as he sees the vision come to life. “This is just the beginning. We are excited to introduce more products and develop more client experiences in the future. Innovation is always at the forefront of our minds, and we are surrounded by a highly motivated team who are excited to join us on this journey.”

REVAS SPA &HAIR STUDIO

Adare, Co Limerick

Located at Fitzgerald’s Woodlands House Hotel in Adare, Co Limerick, Revas Spa & Hair Studio opened in 2007, with owner Orla Fitzgerald making many changes to the spa since then. The recent revamping of the hair salon was the first time this part of the business underwent a total refurbishment.

“We have a lot of repeat business, so we wanted a more up-to-date, yet relaxing environment for our clients, which was also more user-friendly for our staff,” she explains. “The salon has remained the same size as it previously was, but a different layout gives an overall feeling of more space.”

As a destination spa and salon that offers a range of beauty, skincare, hair and body treatments, the interior of Revas Spa & Hair Studio is very important to the ethos of the business as a whole, notes Fitzgerald. “I wanted to create something that was modern, but with an earthy feel, which was both comfortable and functional for the team. It needed to be bright and spacious for them to work in, and it also needed to still tie in with the overall feel of the spa.”

Planning began about six months in advance of the work, which was important because of the nature of the project. “The trickiest part was when it was going to take place because we knew the salon would have to temporarily close. It is always more difficult to facilitate a refurbishment project when a business is established and open, so we planned for those six months and scheduled a closure in January of this year. We shut the hair salon for two weeks so the revamp could be done, and the spa remained open.”

Once the time frame for the project had been decided, a collaborative approach was taken in order to bring it to life.

Fitzgerald worked with Co Limerick-based interior designer Mairéad O'Doherty to decide on the overall aesthetic she wanted. “I have used Mairéad’s services for many years, so for this project I worked with her to choose the various colours and textures for the new-look salon, and to define my vision for the space.

“Richard Barry from Xpert Professional assisted with the layout design, advising on the best way to make it functional for all the staff. Lisa Mulvihill is my manager and she and I discussed what we wanted from the refurbishment with Mairéad, who then devised something from a visual, functional and budgetary perspective.”

‘I wanted to create something that was modern, but with an earthy feel, which was both comfortable and functional for the team’

A core part of the project was adding light to the space. “The salon was already quite spacious, but the original design was predominately cherrywood, so we wanted to introduce something lighter to give the illusion of more space. We sourced the natural wall surfaces from Surface Wow in Tallaght in Dublin, while the flooring came from ATT Flooring in Co Limerick. We opted for Pahi units, which were all sourced from Xpert Professional, with Richard's guidance. After speaking with our clients and staff, we decided not to change our existing styling chairs.

Instead, we sourced new fabric from Xpert and got them reupholstered locally by Murray Upholstery. We added a reception desk and waiting area to the salon itself.”

Already offering a wide range of services, including blow-drying, cutting and colour, the studio has now expanded its menu. “We have begun to offer some more holistic hair treatments, such as the Ori Lab Ritual, thus bringing a more spa-like experience to the salon.”

Fitzgerald says that she and the team are very proud of the finished project. “I think the atmosphere is among the things that make the new space unique. We have had a really positive response from our clients, many of whom have been with us for 25 years. And the ease of use of space is a big hit with our stylists, who all played a part in the design. The overall result has made the investment very worthwhile. It is very important to be able to develop and change with the everevolving business landscape.”