Completed in November 2023, the renovation at Dylan Bradshaw Dublin was driven by a desire to create a full sensory experience for clients, according to Dylan Bradshaw, who co-owns the business with his wife Charlotte.
“Our brand identity is all about offering a bespoke luxury service, and we now offer a carefully curated collection of our favourite things in home, hair and personal care. The salon was where it all started for us, and as a family business, it is very much like our fourth child. We are constantly looking at ways to help it grow and perform to its very best.”
The idea for the revamp began in 2019, with the work originally scheduled for 2020. However, the pandemic put that plan on hold. “We revisited it early last year,” says Bradshaw. “At that point, the price of materials and labour had tripled, so we had to look at clever ways to get what we wanted with our budget. For example, we opted to reuse and repurpose as much as possible. I am blessed to have a wife who is an interior designer, so she could source a lot of what I imagined. And we made sure we worked with the right team, who could make our vision come to life.”
Central to this vision was opening up the f loor to change the whole area from a salon to a lifestyle space, notes Bradshaw. “We introduced ku.fee, a speciality coffee and tea shop that was a passion project for me. We always offered our clients a complimentary refreshments menu, but we wanted to go above and beyond with the introduction of highly trained baristas who are brewing the best cup of coffee in the city.
“We realised this area needed to be a high-end space to marry with the interior of the new store and salon. We invested over €12,000 in creating a bespoke La Marzocco Linea PB S ABR machine in a pop of orange, the results of which have surpassed our hopes and expectations. The coffee machine’s location at the front of our store has introduced a new clientele to Dylan Bradshaw Dublin.”
Meanwhile, in a nod to sustainability, some existing elements of the salon were upgraded. “Our Gamma & Bross Teknowash Plus units, which were a large investment when we originally purchased them, were all stripped, rebuilt, reconditioned with new motors and reupholstered. We also kept the bases of our styling chairs, but reconditioned the hydraulics and replaced the seating with a tobacco brown leather finish.
“For our overall look, we decided on a mix of brass, deep green tiles, pure oak wood flooring finished in chevron style and repurposed Connemara marble. This marble had been originally used in our first salon on Johnson’s Place back in 2000, came with us to our second salon at South William Street in 2012, and is now part of our renovated space.”
The booths in the centre of the salon floor have been designed as a communal space for clients to chat, work or have a coffee, or to be an alternative place for them to sit as their colour develops. “This has created a lovely atmosphere and given an inclusive feel to our space,” adds Bradshaw.
The new Dylan Bradshaw Dublin experience extends to its retail offering, which now includes food, homeware and lifestyle brands, as well as hair and beauty ones.
“We have introduced a range of Spanish candles, room sprays and diffusers from Ladenac and Vila Hermanos, and we have also developed our own range of Irish-made linen hand and bath towels. We have collections of hair and beauty products from Oway, Virtue, Hair by Sam McKnight, Color Wow and Shu Uemura, to name but a few. We wanted our clients to have a more interactive experience so we added a brass sink to the store floor so that they can now ‘try before they buy’.
Dylan Bradshaw Dublin remained open for business while the refurbishment took place. “On the one hand, it was great to be on site, overseeing the project, but it was challenging for the whole team, and we had to learn to adapt quickly to ensure we still offered the same luxury experience. We are lucky to have the whole building, so we basically fit out our first floor as a ‘mini salon’ and worked from there for the duration of the build. We appreciated our clients’ patience and loyalty while we manoeuvred through the experience.”
He says that walking up to the building every morning is a real ‘pinch me’ moment as he sees the vision come to life. “This is just the beginning. We are excited to introduce more products and develop more client experiences in the future. Innovation is always at the forefront of our minds, and we are surrounded by a highly motivated team who are excited to join us on this journey.”
Images: Donal Murphy Photography
This article was published in the July/August issue of PB/HJ Ireland.
