Blo in the Wall Street Journal!

The Blow-Dry Bar Scene

New Chains Court Women Who Want Polished Locks; Open Before Work and Late Night to Battle Frizz

By ELIZABETH HOLMES

There's an escalating arms race to set up blow-dry bars where women can go and for $35 get their hair blow dried straight. Elizabeth Holmes has details on Lunch Break.

Jennifer Maggiore has been to a hair salon 15 times in the past five months.

The 33-year-old mother of two has been frequenting Drybar, one chain in a burgeoning group known as blow-dry bars. The salons don't cut or color hair; they simply wash, dry and style it.

At first blush, the concept seemed "frou-frou," says Ms. Maggiore, who lives in Scottsdale, Ariz., and owns her own Internet marketing agency. "Really, do I need this?" But she quickly grew to love the experience, which lasts about 45 minutes and costs $35. "If I'm having a bad day, I go. If I'm having a fat day, I go," she says. "If I'm traveling for work and I want to look and feel polished, I go."

Blow-dry bars are reminiscent of an old-fashioned beauty parlor, where ladies would go to have their hair washed and set each week. This incarnation attracts women with all hair types, but the core customer is someone with long, thick locks who wants a just-groomed look—not necessarily pin straight, but sleek and smooth with volume and fullness.

The style looks simple, but can be difficult, time-consuming and physically tricky to achieve at home. Professionals divide hair into sections and use a combination of a high-powered hair dryer, a large, round brush and strong arm muscles to tame hair into a smooth and lasting style.

Blow-Dry Bars Fill Salon Niche

At a burgeoning group of salons known as blow-dry bars, customers don't get their hair cut or colored -- it is simply washed, dried and styled.

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Daniella Zalcman for The Wall Street Journal

Joanna Campbell, right, has her hair done at Drybar. Blow-dry bars are reminiscent of an old-fashioned beauty parlor, where ladies would go to have their hair washed and set each week.

These new salons hope women will indulge themselves a few times a month or incorporate a visit into their weekly routines. "It's like your mani-pedi," says Rebecca Tallerine, owner of Blow Dry Bar in Houston.

Several chains have popped up in the last year, primarily along the west coast and in the southern half of the country. They follow the expansion of two of the largest, fastest-growing salons: Blo, which began in Vancouver in 2007 and now has 16 locations, and Los Angeles-based Drybar, which debuted in early 2010 and just opened its 10th location, in New York, this month.

The trend comes as the hair salon industry is struggling. Consumers are stretching out the time between haircuts and cutting back on higher-priced—and higher profit—services such as coloring and permanent straightening treatments, says Caitlin Moldvay, industry research analyst at market research firm IBISWorld. Revenue from hair salons has slipped 0.3% each year for the last five years to an estimated $34.9 billion this year, according to IBISWorld.

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Halo

MENLO PARK: Halo, which plans to open a third location in California's Bay Area this week, tries to be family friendly.

A blowout, or the process of having one's hair blown dry, began as the finishing touch to a haircut before becoming a service in its own right. Traditional salons still offer blowouts, but often price is based on hair length or thickness.

Drybar and its competitors have standardized the process. All charge about $35 for a blowout. Several describe it as an "affordable luxury." Each chain has a training program, some as long as two weeks, to teach stylists how to do a half dozen styles, from stick straight to beachy waves to voluminous curls.

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Amy Vining Photography

PORTLAND: Blowout in Portland, Ore., opened in December, and charges $32 for its standard service.

The salons aim for convenience, with hours seven days a week, some as early as 7 a.m. and as late as 9 p.m. Most feature girlish décor, with chick flicks on big-screen televisions, and offer clients a free drink, including wine or champagne. Customers can make appointments but not with a specific stylist.

"I've had some good stylists and I've had some not-so-good stylists," says Renee Polychronis, a 47-year-old stay-at-home mom who lives in Dallas. Ms. Polychronis has three standing appointments for blowouts each week at her full-service salon, which charges $55 to dry and style her shoulder-length hair. She goes to Drybar on Sunday or Monday, when the full-service salon is closed.

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Jaylyn Todd Photography

VANCOUVER: Blo, a chain that started in 2007 in Canada, expanded into the U.S. last year.

Women tend to go before an evening event or at the start of the work week. With the help of dry shampoo and a little upkeep (think bath, not shower), a blowout can last several days.

The approximately $35 price point appears to be the sweet spot for most blow-dry bars. Tara De La Rosa, who runs Blowout, a blow-dry bar in Portland, Ore., used her background in retail buying and merchandising to determine she needed to charge about a dollar a minute to make the model work. A standard service at Blowout, which opened in December, is $32, but Ms. De La Rosa charges $20 more for extra thick, long or coarse hair.

The biggest barrier to the business model: speed. Profits depend on a salon's ability to get customers in and out as quickly as possible, typically between 30 and 45 minutes per person.

"It's like landing planes," Ms. De La Rosa says. "Who's coming in the door, who's almost done, constantly shuffling and adding."

But the bigger speed hurdle is getting stylists to abandon their perfectionist tendencies, salon owners say. At Drybar, employees are instructed never to turn off or put down the hair dryer. The "style boss" on the floor at Blo locations makes sure each station stays on track.

Hair à la Carte

Most blow-dry bars offer a style 'menu' of looks. Here, three of Drybar's options:

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Drybar

THE COSMO TAI: This Drybar style mixes the Cosmopolitan's loose curls with the Mai Tai's waves.

Drybar

The Hot Toddy: Interest from Drybar's short-haired clients prompted this style.

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Drybar

The Manhattan: Drybar's straightest option, billed as 'sleek' and 'smooth.'

At Houston's Blow Dry Bar, employees are asked to wear a watch or keep a cellphone nearby so they can keep tabs on the time, says owner Ms. Tallerine.

The noise of eight hair dryers running at once causes its own set of problems. Receptionists at Blow Dry Bar, which opened in April, ask new customers to fill out a written form because information conveyed over the phone can often be wrong. "Sometimes it is a little loud and you hear an S when it's an F," Ms. Tallerine says.

Talking is kept to a minimum, for everyone's benefit, Ms. Tallerine says: "You turn the hair dryer on and that quiets everyone down."

Most of the blow-dry bars have tried clever branding to carve out a niche in the market. Drybar, which hopes to open four more locations before year's end, uses bar-inspired language. Blowout options include a Southern Comfort ("big hair with volume"). Kids age 10 and younger can get a Shirley Temple (a head of curls).

Blo, the largest North American chain, has a more risqué marketing approach, using puns on its name. It opened its first U.S. location in April 2010 in San Francisco and is expanding rapidly, with two locations set to open in Miami this fall. Blo has plans for another dozen salons in the next year.

The company considers its competitors a compliment. "Before we were just a cool business, now we're a category," says Chief Operating Officer Paul Spindler.

Rosemary Camposano was interested in starting a Blo franchise in the San Francisco suburbs, but was turned off by its sexually suggestive marketing. Instead, she started her own chain, called Halo Blow Dry Bars Inc., a year ago, with a family-friendly approach. Her goal is to attract women of all ages—including her own. "We're wearing our hair long and flowing to our shoulders well into our 60s now," the 49-year-old says.

Ms. Camposano spent her own money, about $200,000, to open the first location in Palo Alto, Calif., and has since raised an additional $1 million to open two more stores and a training facility. She has plans to add 10 more salons next year. One of her innovations: Hair dryers hang from the salon ceiling to ease the strain on stylists' arms.

Although she tried to compete with a cheaper price—$25 for a blowout instead of the $35 the others charge—Ms. Camposano bumped her price back up after two months.

Blo-ing like a Texan

Texas knows hair. Big hair. Big voluminous hair that makes you feel like an old-school Charlie's Angel cast member. 

I had my blo orientation in Austin, Texas last week at the blo-cation there. Insert blo austin pic. 

Austin is very cosmopolitan yet very Texan at the same time, all in a good way! I actually enjoyed developing a southern drawl (y'all need a blo?) 

Blo Austin was amazing - from the staff to the bar itself - and my training experience was great. I saw a variety of things and it realy just pumped me up that much more for my blo Brickell! Insert blo austin pics. 

I learned a lot but there was also some play-time too (or that wouldn't be me!) Friday night in Austin began with closing the bar and heading to TnT across the street for tacos and tequilas!

It ended at Rain, a fun gay bar with Texas-size drinks, cause everything's bigger in Texas...then a 4am run to WhataBurger! 

Overall great few days, and since I've landed I've hit the ground running (in heels). 

Blo is almost ready.... Here's a peek at the current situation. Doesn't look like much but it has come a long (annoying) way:

Y'all come back now! 

Xo 

Fatima

Bienvenido a Miami

Bienvenido a Miami
The last week or so has been very busy and very interesting for me. When reflecting on it, I am happy to say I have been very productive with blo stuff and my other work items.

I also noticed something cool that I did not before. When going for my weekly blo out (shh!) I heard the phrase 'Miami is the closest thing to America, the rest of the country is the United States.' 

What does that even mean for me, this young Canadian who has never lived outside Toronto, save for a 6-month stint in London, England? I can argue London is like Canada, but with accents and euro-flair. Ok not really, but... 

We Canadians, atleast my generation, have been brought up with, or taught in school, the notion of Canada being a 'mosaic' and the US being a 'melting pot.' This is how we differentiated ourselves from Americans, and to be honest we have said this with a little arrogance (c'mon fellow Canucks, you know it). We have always been told that the mosaic is better. Incase you are not a Canadian and have no idea what I am talking about, let me explain. [Sidenote: thanks to Blog stats, I know my blog has tons of readers all over the world and I wanted to send some love to the international viewers out there who coyly follow me privately]. 

This is how I learned the definitions: 

Mosaic - living as part of the community but embracing your individuality first, ie your culture is your identity first and then you are Canadian. We tend to have more tolerance for individuality in the sense that our laws and society should try and be as inclusive as possible so everyone is happy. 

Melting Pot: Everyone is American first and individuals second. You should conform to the American society because that is where you now live, and this is your Nationality. Don't like it? Leave. 

So why is a mosaic better? We can point to examples of small town America where the eastern European family might feel out of place because they cannot do things exactly the way they did at home, but at the same time what's wrong with that? The 11-year old sitting next to me on the plane (as I write this) is from California and Washington, yet he now lives in Quintana Roo, Mexico and is a home-schooled white kid who doesn't speak Spanish. How does he feel? He loves it and says everyone tries to learn English from him (among other American things they want to learn about). He is also a part-time magician, fyi.

Before moving to Miami, only having stayed with friends or in tourist-friendly places, a lot of people made comments referring to Miami as little Havana or how I better be able to conform because people here are different and less tolerant. In actuality, this perception is all wrong. Miami is extremely diverse in cultures and nationalities, even if it is a little bubble within America. 

Consider my past week: 

- dinner with fellow blogger Andee who moved here a month ago from Orange County with her hubby who is Cayman/Trinidadian originally from Toronto. Check out why I love Andee: http://andeelayne.blogspot.com/
- drinks with Iranian Yasmin who moved here from Oklahoma.

 - dinner at The W's Chinese resto Mr. Chow, with friends from Colombia, Ecuador & Brazil. 

- Dinner at my Chinese-Jamaican family's house with a side of Colombian sis-in-law. 

- Bachelorette weekend with 10 girls from NYC (too many characters/backgrounds here to list).

 - Tarot card night with Indian, Persian, and Puerto Rican flavours. Incase you are wondering, my reading was eerily accurate regarding past and present scenarios, and the colour of my aura is royal blue :) 

Ok so these last few things that happened this week are very 'Miami' but hey, that's what I'm here for right? 

- Miami Magazine Fourth Anniversary party @ Fontainbleu Hotel. 

- Lunch @ Nikki Beach with Columbian Diana who moved here from NYC, who btw, just learned the word 'peep-toe' from me(!) 

- first spin class at LA Fitness in Brickell after a 6 month hiatus....yes it kicked my ass...

This is as diverse as it gets. I personally feel that in Canada, or specifically in Toronto, we tend to hang out with others who share a similar background. Even with a diverse group of friends attained from school or work, we don't generally mix groups together. And realistically, most of my time is spent with the friends most like me. Nothing wrong with identifying with your community, just saying. 

Going back to that tidbit I overheard, consider what that person meant, regarding the difference between North & South America, and the United States of America. I feel that what I learned in grade school, which was sheltered by arrogance was actually ignorance in disguise. What we don't know may not hurt us, but assumptions may still hinder us. 

On that note, time to don my cowgirl hat and prepare for touch down in Austin, Texas! Now that I have written this, I will not likely run into a single 'typical' cowboy, ha! 

These boots were made for blo-in... 

Xo 

Fatima 

This is my hood

I just came across this article in my twitter feed and I had to share because it made me proud to be living in Brickell & for Blo to be opening here soon!

 September 13, 2011 at 02:21am by Carlos Miller

Brickell Rivals South Beach As Hottest Spot To Live, Work And Play

Above: Le Kabob allows customers to smoke out of the hookah while listening to live music

With its high-rise luxury condos, towering glass-lined skyscrapers and elevated trams zipping above streets and between buildings, the Brickell neighborhood in Miami is the epitome of modern American city living.

With the exception that most of its inhabitants are speaking Spanish.

But what can you expect from an area that has the largest concentration of foreign banks in the United States?

There is money on Brickell. Plenty of it. But most of it comes from South America.

However, Brickell can also be affordable on a healthy working wage (or two), especially if you compare it to South Beach.

“I find that newcomers usually have both South Beach and Brickell as top options,” saidJamey Cothran Prezzi, a Miami real estate agent who specializes in both areas.

“But in terms of what you get for the money, you can get a lot more bang for your buck in Brickell than in South Beach.”

For example, rent at the Icon South Beach, a luxurious condo designed by Philippe Starck, goes for about $3,000 a month, Prezzi said.

“And that’s without a balcony,” she said.

But rent at the Icon Brickell, which is also designed by Starke and just as luxurious, goes for about $1,950 for a 1-bed, 1-bath unit.

You won’t have a beach within walking distance, but you will have a balcony.

Rising Rents

However, rents in Brickell have sharply increased within the last year, due to the increased demand and dwindling supply.

“The average rent (for a 1-bed, 1-bath) is around $1,600 to $1,700 because there is not a lot of rental inventory anymore,” Prezzi said. “It’s super competitive.”

“Last year, they would have been $1,500 or a price people could negotiate. Now there is the list price and if you don’t want it, there are five other behind you who will.”

Ashley Rodriguez and her husband pay $1,575 for a one-bed, one-bath with small den at Latitude on the River.

“We locked in a good price two years ago up on a really high floor,” she said.

Scott Potchik, an underwear model from Ohio who is always posting pictures on Facebook of himself sitting in a pool with various women in bikinis, pays $2,300-a-month for a 2-bed, 2-bath unit.

He loves it there, but admits it is expensive.

“It’s great if you live and work in Brickell,” he said. “You’re living in a metropolitan city, close to the airport, close to the Keys, close to South Beach; the views from the condos are amazing, great food and lots of exciting development on the way.”

Most units come with a parking space and charge you about $150 per month for a second space, so that should be factored in before making a moving decision.

Nightlife

Like South Beach, many of the bars and clubs don’t stop serving until 5 a.m.

And while you won’t have endless blocks of nightclubs, bars and restaurants as you do on South Beach, you’ll have a concentrated section of diverse, thriving establishments ranging from Tobacco Road, the oldest bar in Miami, specializing in live blues acts, to Kukaramakara, a Colombian-owned restaurant and nightclub (pictured below), specializing in live Latin dance music.

And you’ll have everything in between from the corporate chain P.F. Changs to the locally owned Italian trattoria, Rosinella.

“We’ve been here since 1998 and have seen this place change very much,” said Angelo Filaccio, manager of Rosinella (pictured above with his staff), a very authentic and well-run trattoria owned by a local Italian family that makes some of the best tiramisu in Miami.

“I used to stand outside and when I saw a car coming, I knew they were coming here,” he said.

Now, they could be going to a number of other locations, including Rosa Mexicano, Dolores but you can call me Lolita, El Vato Tequila and Taco Bar, Blue Martini Lounge, Burger and Beer Joint, Fado Irish Pub, Perricone’s or Baru Urbano.

History

William and Mary Brickell moved to the area from Ohio in 1876, 20 years before Miami was incorporated as a city.

They bought large tracts of land south of the Miami River to Coconut Grove, which included what is now known as the Brickell area.

Mary continued developing the area after her husband died, creating a row of mansion’s along the bay that was known as “Millionaire’s Row” back then.

Chad Cohen of the Brickell Life blog describes Mary’s goals:

Most historians agree that William Brickell was more of a recluse while Mary was the power player in the marriage. She typically handled the business and earned a reputation as a cantankerous and stubborn woman. After William’s death in 1908, Mary set her sights on developing the neighborhood and laid
out her vision of what it should look like. She had a very definitive idea for how the region should be developed all the way down to the current landscaped median in the middle of Brickell Avenue. In December 1921, the year before she died, Mary Brickell wrote an open letter to the people of Miami describing what she wanted to do with her still ample property: “Many times in the past I have been urged to sell this tract to subdividers but I have not cared to part with it for a number of reasons. The average real estate operator has but one object in view: to develop the land to be subdivided as quickly and cheaply as possible, and to get it off his hands at an inflated value, and reap an exorbitant profit. But I have always had a vision of a subdivision ‘de luxe’ for Brickell Hammock.”

The mansions were long-gone by the 1980s, replaced by towering condos and Latin American banks, which were fueled by the cocaine economy of the time (and probably made Mary Brickell turn over in her grave).

And while the area has always withstood the Miami cycle of booms and busts, it has always come out gleaming.

And today is no exception. In the early part of the millennium, Miami was going through yet another development boom, which added to the area’s already high skyline.

Units were snatched up in record numbers by foreign investors, mostly from South America, but many from Europe as well.

But then came the bust and Brickell was left with a bunch of empty condos that were valued less than the buying price.

That opened up the area for renters, mostly young, single professionals who were unable to buy a condo, but could afford to rent one.

And that helped spark the nightlife, which provides a less-hectic and pretentious alternative to South Beach.

“Brickell is very laid-back and friendly, especially this place,” said Dimitri Секейра (pictured below), a bar manager at El Vato Tequila and Taco Bar, a place where barmaids climb up on the bar and pour tequila down your throat.

Above: Fado Irish Pub in Mary Brickell Village
The Culture Shock

For those whose only experience with Miami is South Beach, Brickell might provide a little culture shock because so many people are speaking Spanish on the streets, bars, clubs and restaurants.

But these are not the low-wage immigrants you’ll find in other parts of the city, but young, educated professionals from prominent South American families.

So most will be able to switch to English in a second.

“If you are one of those people who feels English should be the only language you hear, then you probably should move to Broward,” said Potchik, who happily describes himself as a “Gringo from Ohio.”

“If you like different cultures, good food and beautiful people, then you will love living in Brickell.”

Photos by Carlos Miller

Above: A group of Portuguese and Brazilian woman chatting over coffee at the Brickell Starbucks

Above: The Brickell Tennis Club

Above: The Brickell Citicentre is another shopping complex that will soon be built in the area

About the Author: Carlos Miller is a Senior Editor at Miami Beach 411. He also operates Photography is Not a Crime, a blog about photographer rights, New Media and First Amendment issues. See more articles by Carlos Miller.

Labour Day love

I am becoming very comfortable in my new city, making more friends and enjoying what the city has to offer (on a budget sometimes, since Blo is consuming most of my life right now).

I have an influx of visitors still, anyone that has moved here from another city tells me this is the norm and it will apparently never end....but I don't mind when it's good company! Speaking of, I had Anar & Nadia come down for Labour Day weekend, and they basically took me on vacation to the W in Ft. Lauderdale before moving to a hotel on South Beach. We had such a good time, and if I ever felt like I was in a re-make of The Hangover before, this weekend takes the cake! Let's just say somehow shoes ended up outside my condo, Tyson slept with his leash on, random chicks hanging around (yes, I mean baby chickens) & not remembering the last time we slept. Hell we almost had Mike Tyson make a cameo. I definitely do not want to piece this weekend together with pictures ;)

The InterviewHer event was fun and I definitely enjoyed the company I was with. While I was there I indulged in a little feather extension just for fun!


Incase you can't tell it's purple and black, just one lone little guy. In hindsight I wish I got 2-3 but we'll see. It's difficult to brush the area where it is attached (or more like painful when you forget!).










This past weekend was fun: Went to Mynt with a great group of girls & we randomly had a table next to Sammy Sosa, a former baseball player and Latin legend in sports. Nothing special, just thought I'd mention...because only in Miami have I seen a 45 year old pimped out in a white suit (and can still rock it) & order about 6 magnums of champagne and be considered 'cool'...
Oh and I was the ultimate wing-woman for my friend Diana, who calls me Vacanissima (translated as a Columbian term for 'Super cool'). In my quest to learn Spanish, I am learning a lot of other words too, that have no application for me in the outside world....need to get me a Rosetta stone asap! Most people think I am Latin-American already because of my name & skin tone...if I had some of the language down I could get away with it!

My friend & former University of Toronto housemate Khaled is in town from Vancouver so we had dinner at the local fave Dolores but you can call me Lolita, and caught up on the last year and a half. It was nice to see an old face...someone who remembers me as the blonde Portugese girl (as he may recall it) & our late night jogs and Tim Hortons pit stops.

Lastly, Sept 8th was Fashion's Night Out, a big evening of fashion where shopping areas host shows/events during the evening. Blo was at Zingara Swim Boutique in Aventura Mall on Thursday evening for a pop-up Blo bar, styling the women who wanted to freshen their 'dos!


Although I am getting comfortable in my hood, I am still directionally-challenged when it comes to getting around. I am not sure why, perhaps because I rely so heavily on GPS and when I don't have it I get lost. I also think it has to do with the setup of the city and beach, as in Toronto if you want to head towards the lake you know to drive South, and we don't have all these different bridges to get to the beach (and since south beach is really east of me...it makes no sense just yet).



Ordering glittery pumps online (even though I shouldn't be!)...

xo
Fatima