Hair to the Throne
Columnist Siobhan Maroney takes her Style Space to a salon with its heart in design at Solarium Point in Ramsgate
Well hello there you lovely lot!
I want to start by saying happy anniversary to my wonderful ‘cene fam, can you believe it has been a year already? They say time flies when you're having fun and this is certainly a fun place to be.
If you have been following along for the past year you’ll probably know that this wonderful part of ‘cene is dedicated to all things style in Kent. If you're new, hello amazing humans and welcome to the Style Space.
This Style Space is dedicated to the one thing that I think defines your style and the one thing that you are always wearing. I think it is also the one thing most of us care about the most when we are thinking about how we look. OUR HAIR!
When I moved to Kent everything slotted into place, I found an amazing place to live, I made lots of wonderful new friends and Kent felt like home very quickly, I loved it. The one thing that I couldn’t find was a new Kent salon that got me. After many, many years of searching (and bad hair appointments) I found Solarium Point in Ramsgate. On Instagram it looked like everything I had been waiting for.
I booked myself an appointment and, just like that, I had found it, the dream salon. Wind the clock forward two years or so and Solarium Point has become my second home.
Darren (my colourist) and Danielle (my stylist) have become my hair gurus, making all my hair fantasies come true. From purple to blue, long to short, they can do no wrong. I tell everyone I meet about the salon, I have even had friends come down from London to experience it. So I thought it was about time you got to know the team and the amazing owner of Solarium Point, Anna Baranowska.
Tell me a bit about yourself?
I am originally from Berlin. I moved to the UK to study design in 2003. Since graduating with a BA (Hons) in Interior Architecture & Design in 2009, I have been working for high profile practices where I worked on residential and commercial projects.
In 2014 I graduated with distinction and was awarded top of my year in MA Interior & Spatial Design at Chelsea Art College London. In 2006, I saw a gap in the market for a good quality tanning salon. I come from a business minded family and it felt natural to just go for it.
Taking the risk paid off, Solarium Point has been an exciting and successful business journey.
I founded AMB Design Studio in 2015, a multidisciplinary company with design at its core, specialising in spatial design, business and design consultation. I help clients set up businesses from business planning to completion. Many of my clients have a great business idea/ vision but don’t know how to turn this to reality. I help them structure their new-found business path.
Outside the business world I teach Interior Architecture at UCA.
My passion is to design and create, Solarium Point allows me to create my own vision without being influenced by a client.
What made you set up Solarium Point?
Solarium Point (originally a tanning salon) was established in 2006. The business grew rapidly over 10 years, so we decided to extend not just the premises, but the services on offer, to include hair, beauty, nail art and a clinic. It was a good opportunity to flex my creative muscles and contest the usual salon formula.
I have very high standards when considering ways to promote and develop my business. I wanted to create a chic, urban salon with a creative environment.
During the design phase I looked at how clients interact with the interior and products. I designed the salon to be ‘instagramable’ but also a haptic experience.
Everything at Solarium Point has been specially designed to play a part of the overall experience, from the ‘Axial Shelves’ in the windows to the angle the paint runs across the OSB boards, nothing is random.
We were very lucky to have Kent's greatest hair talents join our team. With having no hair dressing background and being from a design background, we needed someone who we could work with but also learn from. Darren Eaton, an absolute superstar of a colourist who is part of the Afnage Global Colour Rebel Team, joined our team and from that point our hair department took off.
We wanted to create a salon that transcends from a traditional salon formula. Our salon culture is based on a group of individuals with different talents and abilities, and we work well as a team. We learn from each other and have built a great relationship within the team but also with our clients. We want our clients to feel like they are visiting a good friend and not just a salon. We encourage our staff to be creative and individual, we love them for who they are.
Why Kent?
Exciting things are happening in Kent. Thanet has been my home for nearly 15 years. It felt right to create a basis for my vision here.
So you are continuously evolving?
We constantly work on ideas how to be different and design seems to be a great tool for us to look at the business from multiple viewpoints.
In the summer 2017, we came up with an idea to use our shop front as a canvas for Heidi Plant, a local artist. She has created two amazing shopfronts for us over the year. It's a great PR tool for us.
What does the future hold?
The future for Solarium Point, is super exciting. We are looking to expand our team, (email us your CV) and keep working on establishing the greatest salon experience for our clients.
If you're new to Kent or maybe you’ve been searching for the one for some time now, give Solarium Point a visit. I promise you won’t be disappointed.
BIG LOVE,
Siobhan
As ever be sure to contact me at siobhan@justauniform.com - I’d love to hear from
you, especially if you visit Solarium Point.
Find Them: Solarium Point,
55b Queen Street Ramsgate CT11 9EJ – 01843 599 903
www.solariumpoint.com | info@solariumpoint.com
Find Anna at:
Anna Maria Baranowska, Interior Architectural Designer
www.ambstudio.co.uk
studio@ambstudio.co.uk