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 well-deserved 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 together, before freelancing together. We realised how well we worked together 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 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 percent 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 entrepreneurs, 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 and Keira 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 in our team, so getting everyone together usually has us all in stitches all day. We have a reputation for being unpretentious and welcoming, but that doesn’t mean we are unprofessional. We are serious when it comes to consultation, recommending and rebooking. I have a day education class that I do with the staff every three months, where we spend the whole day on recommending, rebooking and the why’s of retail. We have our staff booked in to every Rogue Beauty education day and Revlon education days.”
Tell us about your partnership with Revlon Professional?
Rhi: “We changed colour brands to Revlon around eight months ago and from the beginning absolutely LOVED everything about them. The products are incredible and backed with a lot of research and support so you always know exactly what you are using, what it’s doing and why. Frankie and I are always non-stop, pushing boundaries and throwing crazy ideas out there. Revlon have taken us on board and supported us all the way. We kicked it off with fashion week last year with an Adilla X Revlon Style Bar which was a huge success. Since then we have worked closely with the team and the brand, continuing to work to our strengths have proudly become brand ambassadors with Frankie being the Creative Ambassador and myself being the Blonde Ambassador. We will be educating around Australia in the later part of the year.”
What are your plans for the future?
Frankie: “Well, that’s the big question at the moment. We opened two years ago, just Rhi and I. So to have two shops and a team of 11 already with complete salon renovations, content shoots, blow dry classes, two launches, award nominations – we’ve done a lot. We worked so hard, probably a bit too hard, over the last two years to get to this stage. I really had no idea the love I could have for Rhi and our team. It’s so overwhelmingly amazing for this to be what we do everyday. Our focus for this year is number 1; our staff, number 2; education 3; our clients. It’s important to maintain quality control and a strong team culture. We want to keep our 5 star Google rating – I’ll die if we get anything less!”
For more information visit www.adillacolab.com
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