PaintS/S19

Colr bars
ALL BAR
NONE
COLOUR MIXING USED TO BE CONFINED TO A DINGY ROOM FULL
OF DISCARDED GLOVES AND MUCKY BOWLS. NOW IT’S TIME
TO PUT IT FRONT AND CENTRE – ALL HAIL THE COLOUR BAR!
CHRISTEL LUNDQVIST,
STIL
“It was important to us as a team that we created a space
where you can take time to feel creative, so the colour bar
is like a little ‘thinking haven’ for ideas and mixtures. For our
clients, we wanted a neater and cleaner space where they
could easily sit, have a coffee and chat to us while we were
mixing colour.
“It’s vital to have a space dedicated to colour if that’s what
the focus of your business is. We are a colour specialist
salon – my other role is global creative technical director for
TIGI – so it makes sense for us and clients love to be part of
the whole journey.
“Before you start building, have a clear vision about why
you want the bar and how you’re going to use it, as it can be
a multi-functional space throughout the day.
“And the design is so clever as it can be super-neat but
very creative at the same time.”
The stereo is playing a killer Spotify playlist. You’re sipping a
delicious latte, scrolling Pinterest to find the precise blend of
shade inspiration for your new ’do, all while a hugely talented
colourist sources the correct hues from the shade charts, and
whips together your bespoke mixture before seating you for
your service – isn’t that the kind of experience you want your
colour client to enjoy?
When you’re up against affordable yet sophisticated DIY colour
boxes, and many clients are conscious of the limited free time
they have to spend in the salon, you need to ensure your colour
experience is playing it’s A-game. And increasingly, product
partners are encouraging the inclusion of colour bars to help
salons impress their clients. The Salon Emotion programme from
L’Oréal Professional Products Division extols the virtue of the
colour bar as a chance to showcase what makes you different,
bringing colour mixing to the forefront of your salon and impressing
clients with your creativity and knowledge, all while showcasing the
professional difference.
“It’s always amazed me how we tend to hide away the most
creative and visually exciting part of the colour service offering,”
agrees Matthew Martin from Kao Salon Division, which offers
opportunities to have a colour bar within its business agreements.
It has partnered with Maletti to design a colour bar concept that
can be adapted to the needs of the salon. “It creates a striking
feature while being practical to the demands of dispensing and
mixing colour.”
So how are salons raising the (colour) bar? We spoke with some
who have made them integral to their businesses…
32 | PAINT