American Salon 0512 : Page 58
FLOOR PLAN The Mastery by Esani in Alpharetta, GA, is the brainchild of a beauty pro, an Ivy League grad and a doctor of psychology. Touch of Class There’s an impressive pedigree behind The Mastery by Esani, a new beauty academy and salon in Alpharetta, GA. Co-owner Lucie Doughty is former head of color at Sassoon’s Santa Monica, CA, academy and creator of the color curriculum for Paul Mitchell Schools; co-owner Arlene Lyons holds an Ivy League MBA degree; and their designer, Dr. Leon Alexander of The Eurisko Collection, boasts a Ph.D. in behavioral psychology. The program, an advanced course for beauty school grads, includes seven weeks of classroom instruction, then seven weeks of mentored practice in the academy’s salon. On the salon floor, 18 stations equipped with Takara Belmont Libra chairs are grouped in pods of two or three, in fixed positions under carefully designed overhead lighting. “Lighting is such a focal point, especially in retail,” Alexander says. Displays in the Take Home Store, as the retail area is called, use under-shelf illumination, with transparent backs that allow a view into the dynamic activity of the salon. Lighting was also a 58 American Salon May 2012 carefully planned element of the shampoo area, called the Reluxe Lounge. Doughty worked with massage therapists to design The Mastery’s signature five-point shampoo and massage treatment. A backlit backsplash provides illumination for the therapist without directing harsh light into clients’ eyes. Five client stations surround the curved color bar, with the formulation area located behind it. The bright poppy color of the back wall is energizing, according to Alexander. “If you’re a customer who currently doesn’t have color, you might want to try it because it looks like a cool place to hang out,” he says. Technology plays a huge part in the experience. There is a sophisticated master A/V control center that feeds eight strategically located flat-screen TVs. This system enables micro-control of the environment: soothing rain forest imagery and relaxing music in the Reluxe Lounge and energetic fashion images on the salon floor. Use of iPads provides roving access to client data, everything from booking FROM TOP: The Mastery by Esani’s color bar includes iPad kiosks that facilitate easy access to each guest’s color formulation and technical requirements; a “cloud” drop ceiling diffuses overhead light. information to beverage preferences and color formulations. Small class sizes—14 students maximum—dictated the need for a single classroom, which is equipped with a 95-inch Promethean interactive whiteboard flanked by 50-inch flat-screen TVs. The system can display video from the control room or stream content from the Internet or satellite while electronically capturing pen strokes on the whiteboard, giving presenters the ability to e-mail a complete presentation with a single click. ✂ —Karen Ford
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