INSTYLE March-April 2019

COLAB
QUEENS
Adilla Colab has gone from strength to strength
since opening in Double Bay two years ago.
Directors Frankie Endersbee and Rhiannon
DiMari catch up with Michelle Ruzzene to talk
about their strengths, synergy, staff and welldeserved
success.
When and why was Adilla Colab established?
Rhi: Adilla Colab was established in 2017 and all actually happened
very quickly for us. Frankie and I met at TAFE when we were
apprentices and always had a great friendship which continued
over the past 12 years working on editorial shoots and shows,
before freelancing together. We realised how well we worked as
a team and the rest is history. We wanted to create a space where
our brand was built around the ethos of being just, fair and honest,
both with our staff and clients, hence the name ‘Adilla’ which is a
name that means just that (in Arabic).
Tell us about your staff?
Frankie: We have a team of 11. Everyone has their thing that they
specialise in. Being a partnership is great because it means we
each look after completely different areas. Each staff member
shows potential in different areas so we create rolls around them.
I’m the editorial director, Rhi is the colour director and we have
recently promoted Paul Geronimo to technical director. We all
have our own roles and areas that we look after. We all play to our
strengths, and reward and enable staff that show potential and
interests in different areas.
What about your recent renovation?
Rhi: The renovation was a huge goal for us, and it really has been
the icing on the cake. Our designer Courtney has been a friend
and client of ours. She really has captured us and what we wanted
Adilla Colab to be. The mission with our renovation was to really
open up the space: add a lot of comfort and luxury. We started
with the wall colour and added the blush pink marble, brushed
brass, deep navy cabinetry to tie in our barbershop and the
softness of live hanging plants. I don’t think we could ever have
enough plants. I love the synergy of all of the elements. It’s so us.
Who is your typical clientele?
Frankie: About 80 per cent of our clients are between 25-35.
Having said that, at any given time there is always a big mix as the
younger more ‘lived in colour’ clients come in pretty infrequently.
So our grey cover clients we see a lot more often. Our clients
always say they love coming in as our salon is so welcoming and
although beautiful and high end, very unpretentious. So many of
our clients are entreprenuers, mothers, business owners and truly
inspiring women. We have set up our salon to be a ‘working salon’
so we have wifi, a table with power points and have enabled clients
to ‘work from home’ from our salon, so they never feel like they
are wasting time with us. This helps a lot as our week days are just
as busy as our weekends.
What are the most popular services?
Frankie: We have developed quite the colour correcting
reputation. Rhiannon is the most talented colourist I have ever
worked with, and in the last two years her books have become
over flowing with waiting lists a mile long. She is extremely
patient with colour and clients. Her technique is so incredible.
And she can bang out a colour correction without breaking a
sweat. Paul Geronimo and Keira Horgan are the same. Keira
started with us in November, and does maybe three colour
corrections per week. She is incredible the way she approaches
things, and Paul is so outside the box the way he approaches
colour as well. There is truly nothing he can’t do. We are all about
helping people get their best hair. So whichever way we can
achieve that, we recommend.
How important is education and training?
Frankie: The biggest thing about education that I didn’t realise was
it’s so important for team bonding. There are a lot of personalities
78 INSTYLE