DISRUPTOR - MAVEN HAIR STUDIO

MAVEN HAIR STUDIO is a co-working space for hair and beauty creatives. We speak to founder MICHELLE GRIMES about creating a space that worked for her.

It’s a coworking space, a co-op. It’s a place where you can rent a space as you need it. It allows you to look after your clients and still do other things that interest you, whether it’s family time, editorial work, weddings or education. It’s hot-desking for hair. 

I worked in traditional salon setups for many years. I trained in Hession in Drumcondra under Frank Hession who was a master at upstyling. It was a really nice space to train with amazing education and I had a great few years there. When I left to work in other salons, upstyling wasn’t as important, it wasn’t prioritised. I worked in Lunatic Fringe in Grafton Street and clients were asking me to do their weddings and it became harder and harder to be able to do that. Salons can’t afford to have their top stylists head off for the day to do weddings because you are bringing so much money in. 

I went to a smaller salon that allowed me to manage my own hours but when I returned to work after my first child, I realised I wanted more. Friends from Lunatic Fringe had begun having kids and I saw how the traditional salon didn’t work for them: rushing in after doing drop offs, working Saturdays. Many of the top women hair stylists, after a few years of trying to make i work, ended up leaving and working from home. I thought, why can’t you have a creative career and be a mother? I wanted both. I had to create that balance for me and other women who want the same thing, and I began looking for a premises. 

Now, I work a four-day week and I alternate my Saturdays and Sundays. My children play GAA at the weekends, so I can be a part of that. Clients love coming in on a Sunday – they come and have their hair done and then go for brunch. For many, it’s an easier day than Saturday when there are lots of activities on. During the summer, I take extra days off. It’s the flexibility it offers. 

When I started this way of working, I was worried that people would just use the space and there wouldn’t be that team element, that connection between people. What I have found is you can only work in this space if you are at the top of your game because you have to have a clientele that is going to pay your rent for you every week. What it has attracted are really passionate people who are very into education: they share what products they are using, what styles they’ve learned, what techniques they prefer. 

There are 11 people sharing the space – nine stylists and two make-up artists – and we are all interested in what the others are doing because we all come from different backgrounds. There’s a great buzz in the place, real camaraderie, there are lots of collaborations going on between us. There’s an extension expert and during the week, she taught one of the guys how to do it and he gave her a balayage class. We have a global blond expert, an amazing upstyler, and we have a few that have won the Wella Colour trophy. It’s a lovely hub where people are sharing skills to help one another and learning themselves. 

There are eight stations and a makeup counter over two rooms. It’s very transparent model: there is a set fee for the chair, I don’t take any commission. They are all self-employed and they set their own prices. You can book them through the schedule app and they take payments through their own SumUp card readers. I don’t handle money from anyone, it’s way too much work for me. 

You can pay a daily rate for two, three or four days or book in for a week, giving you 24-hour access. This allows them to work whenever they want. If they want an extra day, they have to check the roster to see if there is a space free. They have the choice to work whatever days they want. There are a lot of us that do editorial work, and one guy works back to back for seven days and then takes four days off to see his boyfriend in London. 

It was just me initially and Kristen, a stylist from the States. There was a fear in Ireland at the time about going out on your own, but in the five years that we have been open, I haven’t lost one person. Everyone has stuck with the model. 

Going out on your own isn’t for everyone: a huge percentage of hairdressers like having someone booking their appointments, paying their tax, because there is a lot of work involved in being self-employed. I think traditional salons are essential to the industry as they offer training and competitions, and they are perfect for the majority of stylists. This is to facilitate those who need flexibility and freedom. ✂ hairmaven.ie