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FF: Let’s say there’s a person who may be approaching forty or in their
early forties, who has had very long hair since high school. Do you feel that there are
dated looks? And then what do you do? How do you get people to gradually get used to the
idea of changing?Sherwin Jones: Personally, I particularly like it when people are looking for something completely different from what they really are. There’s a lady who lives on this street; she’s got to be nine thousand years old with three strands of blond, overprocessed hair on her head. Well, she wears all the club kids’ clothes. And I think she looks fantastic.
And then, they can be a bad sort of dated. Like if that person’s doing their very best to project themselves in a good way. But, you know, they’re not.
And you want your clients to project a good image, because word of mouth is such a big form of advertisement. You want to try and get them on to the program.
And then, someone could be sixty years old, and
could look wonderful with long hair, and maybe it’s just styling tips that could be
sort of altered, and they can keep that long hair. I don’t think there’s any
general rule like once you get a certain age it has to go.
Alex Sansone: I think the only things that become dated are when someone is not open to the idea of change. And that’s where we need to come in and prescribe something. It may not be changing drastically, but again, as Sherwin said, giving styling tips.
But really something becomes dated only on the individual if they’ve kept their hair a certain way for you know X amount of years. So again it becomes our job to just prescribe change for them, even if it is simply moving a parting, or adding a few highlights. And that’s where it’s our job to not allow clients to become dated in their own individual look.
FF: And what are the issues and concerns of the three of you? What is important to you just as the three owners of the salon. What are the more behind the scenes concerns and issues that you have, I mean that are not too personal to reveal?
Sherwin Jones: As a business I think it’s important to try and maintain a happy staff because that’s the biggest part of -- that’s basically the heart of the salon, the people that are in it. And you know some things are possible in keeping you happy, your staff happy; but some things aren’t possible. So staying realistic and having your staff being aware of the direction of the salon. You know certain things that you want to do; certain things, projects that you may want to work on, or certain environmental awareness sort of projects that may be there.
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Our staff lets us know what the clients are interested in. And once again, the staff is a big part of the business so you want to maintain a happy staff, and a very nice, clean environment. I think those are some of my personal goals, and things that I work on.
Alex Sansone: We’re constantly growing, constantly changing and constantly evolving. We’re not sort of getting stuck into one thing, and I think it’s because we’re open to the ideas of learning and expanding our interests and so forth.
And so I think it’s just constantly evolving
what we are doing and what we will continue to do. And I think it’s one of the things
that does make us successful, both with the three of us working together and also with our
staff.
FF: Describe your personal philosophy towards what you do. In the case of Penny and Alex, hair cutting, hair styling; and in the case of Sherwin, hair coloring.
Sherwin Jones: Healthy, shiny, beautiful, versatile color and textures.
Penny Wang: My individual goal is to create something that’s suitable and that people can carry on styling on their own to it’s best quality on a daily basis. That’s my philosophy of cutting hair and styling hair.
Alex Sansone: I guess our philosophies are very much the same. But for me, I would say, you know, suitable, technical haircuts that are easy to maintain on a daily basis, and that grow out well, but do also have some versatility, so that it’s easy to take care of on a daily basis, but it does have some options for either an evening look or a special occasion. A very easy to maintain, wash and wear type haircut.
FF: And as far as Aerea is concerned, what makes it unique -- describe that. Describe the philosophy behind the salon, and what you think when a client walks in, what’s the vibe they feel? What are you trying to convey, as a feeling and as an atmosphere, and how is it different from other salons of its caliber?
Sherwin Jones: I think the first thing is, people coming in here -- it definitely gives a good feeling, I think, because everyone here is very individual. We have a variety of different races of people who work here, and different ages of people who work here. It’s a real melting pot of different races, ages, different types of work as well.
Some people tend to be more conservative; some are
more creative. It’s really a good blend covering just about every area that you can
think of.
Penny Wang: And also, the client is free to try all different stylists within the salon, because we are not the type of salon that are like, grab on to your own clientele and not willing to share. Basically, I think it’s good to try out different stylists within the salon that have different tastes.
For clients who like lots of change, that’s a really good point.
Alex Sansone: I think it’s nice also to have a salon with a lot of knowledgeable people and very experienced people, in not only how they project themselves, but also what they’re capable of doing. And because we offer free consultations, people can come in to get ideas about what the possibilities are.
Our prices are not extremely expensive for the quality of work that we know we’re capable of doing; we know a lot of people are charging that much more. And you know sometimes quality isn’t as good.
FF: Right.
Sherwin Jones: Also, we’re not like a factory where there are too many stylists and too much commotion. We like to have a very good energy about the salon, but definitely not too much commotion. We like people to come in and relax and have a good time, enjoy the atmosphere. The atmosphere is soothing. You know it’s open, it’s welcoming just as big as the front window that’s outside. We’re here for people to experience what Aerea has to offer.
Alex Sansone: Also, more basically personalized service, since we do spend more time with our clients, I believe, than most other salons do. I think people feel basically better taken care of.
When people begin to see smiles on faces in a place that can look very busy, you know automatically you feel that much more comfortable. And not like intimidated or afraid to be the people that we are. Because we all need to bounce ideas and energies off each other, client and stylist and colorist alike.
Penny Wang: A friendly environment among the
staff is definitely important, because we do not run our business and have rules for our
staff in a very rigid corporate way. We basically let the staff have the freedom to work
on the most productive and the most likeable hours that they want to be working. So no
stylists here are being forced to do something they don’t like to do. I think that’s
the key, of having a very nice, calm and relaxing environment.
Aerea’s design team consists of 10 stylists and 5 color technicians. All highly experienced, each one brings his own unique sensibility to the creative mix.
Aerea
18 East 17th Street
212.604.9668
Hours:
Tuesday 10:00 – 7:00
Wednesday 10:00 – 7:00
Thursday 10:00 – 7:00
Friday 10:00 – 7:00
Saturday 9:00 – 6:00
Walk – in appointments also available
Services: Haircuts $70-$80
Single Process $55-$70
Highlights $120-$175
Double Process $80-$90
Perms $100-$150
Relaxer $70-$80
Visa, Mastercard, and Bankcards accepted.
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