Customer of the Week: Reine Des Fleurs Hair & Beauty
When Shelly decided to take on the challenge of owning her own salon, she had a clear vision of what she wanted to bring to her community. Meet Reine Des Fleurs Hair & Beauty, our latest Customer of the Week.
Many salons shoo their clients in and out like a conveyer belt but Shelly wanted the salon experience to be a calm, relaxing, and comfortable place to visit. With her training and knowledge nurtured by the Aveda network, she knew she wanted to offer chemical free alternatives, not only for their clients but for the staff as well.
The five-strong team at Reine Des Fleurs Hair & Beauty (RDF) are passionate advocates for the Kevin Murphy and Eleven Haircare brands, and achieved their goal of becoming a paraben free salon last year. All of the products they use are natural and chemical free and have been tried and tested by the whole team.
“We only stock products we believe in.”
Shelly is open about the uphill struggles she’s faced as a business owner. Firstly, rectifying the reputation of RDF from the previous owners, cash flow battles, and staffing qualms. Under Shelly’s management, RDF is now well-renown in Parnell with 5 star ratings on Google and Flossie. She is passionate about her trade and finds immense reward in making her clients feel good.
“I could make more profit, but then I wouldn’t love my job… I’ve worked in conveyer belt hairdressing salons before and I hated it. That’s not what I’m about.”
Shelly saw a gap in the New Zealand market for the salon experience she offers at RDF. Affordable luxury – good hairdressing in a relaxed, friendly, eco-friendly environment. When you walk into her salon, the fire is on, upbeat music is playing, clients are sipping on wine and coffee, and the staff are dressed relatively casually.
RDF refuses to compromise their integrity with customers, so Shelly and her business partner look to cut costs where they can in other ways. For example, they added a beauty room out the back to better utilise the salon space.
Shelly is a business owner that’s open to change. Decisions in her business, from an operations perspective, are purely objective. It’s a different story when it comes to her client’s experience. Decisions that affect the clients are made with them at front of mind.
That’s what makes RDF stand out.
