Sister Joan: Lifes a Bleach
With new wave flair and punk attitude, Sister Joan aims to rid mundane from your mane
Photo: Ally Blackgrove
Styling: Handsome Freaks / Hair by Sister Joan
“People come here and want something different; they are ready to experiment”
Not many salons have a merch stand… scratch that; not many salons would be able to pull off a merch stand. But Sister Joan can.
Born out of the passion for colour of its creators, the salon has become a fountain for follicle frivolity among the the creative swell of Northdown Road, Cliftonville.
The androgenous punk adorning an pirate-esque eye patch logo has quickly become synonymous with the area and helped Sister Joan announce its intentions to cut loose in a sea of salons and hairdressers.
“I guess, we felt like it [merch] would work with our brand, our logo and our name,” says Roxane Attard, co-founder of Sister Joan. “It is something that we would wear. And with our backgrounds in fashion and music; with clothing and merch for bands, it just happened.
“We just did it for fun really, to make it more than just a salon. We enjoy the design and we like to add those fun things.”
A hint of 80s icon Pete Burns, a touch of Siouxsie Sioux and a pinch of The Distillers’ Brody Dalle (look them up kids); the Sister Joan icon tells you all you need to know about the salon.
“People come here and want something different; they are ready to experiment,” says Roxy. “If someone says, ‘I'm thinking of shaving my head’, I will say ‘yep, let's do it, i think it will suit you’, And sometimes people just need that. That dialogue makes a huge difference in whether a person is ready to take a leap, have that transformation, experience and journey. If someone wants to really do something, we will encourage it and have fun with it.”
MARGATE CALLING
Sister Joan is focused on its goal to make the world of hair a more colourful place. But to understand Sister Joan, it is best to go back to where it all began - Bleach London, the world famous salon known for putting colour before the cut.
Roxy’s background is as a session stylist working internationally alongside the fashion industry’s top hair stylists backstage on fashion week shows in New York, London, Milan and Paris and her work has been featured on the covers of several magazines including, GQ Style, Numero and Clash, as well as in numerous music videos and high profile shoots.
Long-time friend and Sister Joan co-founder Keziah Stilwell has a history including training at Sassoon’s and Taylor Taylor, Shoreditch – one of London’s most stylish, independent salons. Later, she became one of the original team member’s at Bleach London honing her creative colour skills and experimental techniques with one of the most innovative hair brands to date.
While using the environmentally conscious Bleach London products at their Margate Salon, the pair are also joined in-house by a stylist spectrum of Bleach London alumni.
Kezi, as she is known, moved down to the Thanet coast first, to start a private hair studio here… but also to write and release an album with new wave outfit Black Gold Buffalo - whose top track ‘Magnets’ has garnered an impressive 300k plays on Spotify.
When Roxy arrived from Hackney, the pair set about making their ‘start a salon together’ chats, a reality.
“Originally, we had some friends that had moved here, i would come down to visit a couple of times and really liked it”, says Roxy. “Margate felt so real. There is space for people to do what they want to do. If you have a good idea, the community is really supportive and you can try things.”
Stumbling across their now premises in mid 2017, the pair had to look past the cladding and fake pine lino that had been the backdrop to a pet shop, bridal shop and furniture shop… and my they are glad they did.
An extensive renovation project uncovered the original ‘dream’ tiled floor, tiled walls and stained glass windows of a former butchers .
“It had no gas, so it was freezing and there is apparently a basement we haven't been able to get into which may have old meat fridges in it,” says Roxy. “We had to make it comfortable.”
The salon is split into two parts; the open, light front shop with a room-length mirror and plenty of space for a party; and the more relaxing back room, which is dimly lit and relaxing, complete with fully-extendable massage chairs for those looking to take a load off and get slowly kneaded while having their hair washed.
There is a huge amount of thought put into each of the elements of the salon, from the vegan friendly sustainable products by Bleach London and Davine to the gold swan tap (probably the most instagrammable tap in Cliftonville) to the name of the business.
“Kezi’s grandmother was called Joan and she was a hairdresser,” explains Roxy. “She worked in a salon in Bond Street before she moved out and set up on her own. During the renovation Joan just kept coming up in our conversations. We would say ‘oh, Joan is on board with this’. We are also on the corner of Crawford Gardens (a reference to actress Joan Crawford). So we wanted Joan to be in the name.”
A distinct theme runs right through the heart of Sister Joan’s, from the logo, through the merchandise and into its hair menu.
“There is definitely a masculine and femine image in there,” says Roxy. “We are definitely inspired by the 80s new wave.”
Unafraid of a bit of eye-liner and hairspray, the likes of Adam Ant, Eurythmics and The Cure have almost certainly had an influence on the pricing structure of the ‘gender neutral’ hair menu.
“Traditionally, men’s haircuts and women's haircuts have a very significant price difference, with it being cheaper for men,” explains Roxy. “But now, men have long hair and women have short hair, and we felt it was really unfair. So, when we opened, we made a price list based on short hair and long hair. It's just gender free.”
The team’s mantra is to create ‘an environment where clients can feel inspired and secure to experiment’. Their focus on colour and imagination, not to mention their skills, have made them sought after.
“The brand and the aesthetics lend themselves to that style,” says Roxy. “People come to you because you have the punky creative style, and that you aren't afraid to do it.
“The beauty of hair, as a form of body adornment, is that it is temporary; it changes, it grows, and even if you get the perfect hair that you love, it doesn't stay like that.”
