Downtown Powell has become a new focal point in the beautiful city of C-Bus. With its antique look and feel, it offers a homey place for locals and visitors alike to frequent its streets. One of the main attributes that the beautiful land of Powell has added into the scene is the charming beauty bar known as B/Rose. No matter what your beauty needs are; B/Rose has the beauty experts to assist you.

The Vibe

B/Rose hair For me personally, after having recently moved back from the East Coast, I’ve been to my fair share of beauty salons. Out of all of the various lands that I have been to from the East to the Midwest, B/Rose is bar none my favorite place. Not only is the atmosphere one of a kind, the women who work there are highly trained, talented and fun-loving girls. The character that they have built the B/Rose model around only brings the best of the best in their craft, as well as girls who are so fun that you can’t help but want to hang out and have a beverage or two with them.

B/Rose atmosphere

Upon entering this idyllic beauty salon, you can instantly feel the lively and unique vibe that greets you at the door. The team-oriented spirit of the crew radiates from the positive energy of every single stylist. Not only is it welcoming, it’s encouraging; especially when you’re about to entrust these ladies with one of your most essential attributes– your hair.

 

B/Rose Salon

Then & Now

B/Rose

I recently had a chance to catch up with Rebekah Keller and Andi Silhanek, the owners of B/Rose Beauty Bar. Two women who were both inspired to become a part of the beauty industry for different reasons, but came together to build the B/Rose brand. These two women opened their doors four years ago on February 15, 2011.

Their beauty bar started out with hair styling essentials including the color bar and the hair cutting land. But fast forward to February 3 of this year, they have expanded not only their floor space, but the services they offer to all customers. So, why the expansion if a small thing was working?

“With any business, when you are opening your doors for the first time, you want to make it work in the smallest amount of space that you can possibly find using your own resources.” said Andi Silhanek. “After having our first four years be the success that they were, we felt we had made it through that phase and were then ready to take it to the next level and add a little bit more luxury to the brand itself.”

She couldn’t be more right. With the expansion and added services, B/Rose is now competing with leading beauty salons in Columbus as one that offers a full-menu of beauty services to clients at a one-of-a-kind quality experience.

 

The Signature Experience

When new places come into the limelight in a big city like Columbus, what makes their experience stand out amongst the competition? The answer to that is a main element that sets them a part from the rest.

B/Rose offers a special signature experience that I personally look forward to every single time I go. Before you get your hair washed, the stylists will take you to get parafin dip on your hands. Once you’re taken over to the bowl to get your hair washed, the girls put a warm towel on the back of your neck and give you a brief neck massage to ensure you’re relaxed. But wait, it get’s better. The wax on your hands that has been setting while you’ve been getting your hair washed has been softening your skin without you even realizing it. Once your hair is done being washed, the girls remove the wax, and offer you a hand massage with a lotion of your choice to further your relaxation. Sounds pretty groovy, right? The best part? Every client gets the same treatment.

Another one of the focal points of B/Rose is the color bar. Reason why? I’ve never encountered a salon that separates hair coloring from the rest of the treatment. Usually, salons bring the mixed ingredients of colors to the clients who are sitting at their stations waiting to get the change they’ve been searching for. At B/Rose, you can watch the stylists prepare the color, and be in a spacious environment at the salon so you don’t feel overcrowded.

“When we decided to expand further, we knew we needed to have a room dedicated to our color bar because it was a struggle for us to keep up with the demand with the amount of space we had for it,” said Silhanek. “This is one of the most important rooms in the salon because we now have the room to fully celebrate color.”

 

Behind the B/Rose Philosophy

The growing success of B/Rose is most certainly grounded in their unique philosophy.

“The main concept that we focus on here at B/Rose is teamwork,” said Silhanek. “Our salon is small and intimate, but it still feels high end.” Adding, “It isn’t high end in the sense that as a hairstylist and a customer you’re just a number; instead, we focus on offering that family-like feel to everyone.”

There’s also a reason behind why teamwork is so pertinent to this salon– assurance. Both Andi and Rebekah wanted to open a salon that taught Paul Mitchell tactics, with their own special B/Rose touch.

“We thought there was a mid-level missing in the hairdressing industry in Columbus,” said Keller. “There wasn’t a boutique middle ground and we wanted to fill that void and create a really awesome guest experience with really good quality hair and education everytime.”

Not only does B/Rose offer a philosophy behind its brand, there’s also a lifestyle that’s attached to it for both stylists, and customers alike.

“Because everything we do here is team based, we train better for our guests so they can visit with any stylist and still get that consistent quality of work around their schedule instead of having to work around our individual availability,” shared Keller. “It creates a less competitive work environment and its a better work and life balance than those of our industry.”

Motivation on the Job

Both Keller and Silhanek find a lot of motivation in being stylists and owning a salon.

“There are always exciting things to learn, shared Silhanek. “In this job, you can help people feel their best and express themselves every day.”

For Keller, making people happy is a driver. “It’s the instant gratification of seeing my work truly make someone feel good about themselves,” she said. “The personal relationship and bond that happens when someone trusts you with their hair is amazing.” 

Keller shared that grew up in a family of hairdressers and always loved doing hair, but admits that she never thought of it as a career until she went to school and decided she was passionate about it.

“Originally, I wanted to be an engineer because I’m analytical, and I’m strong in mathematics. Although hairdressers are creative and artistic, cutting hair is very mathematical in the approach of it, at least for me. Most people wouldn’t think that hairdressing could be compared to things such as engineering, but it’s great to know that there are truly so many parallels between the two.”

With a love and passion for their craft and a drive to create a unique experience for their clients, this pair’s vision for B/Rose is what sets B/Rose apart from others in the industry.

Training Program

Translating that approach to stylists is very important to the success of B/Rose. Every stylists that comes through has to be taught the ‘B/Rose way’ to ensure that all stylists are on the same page, and will offer every guest the same experience. Keller and Silhanek know exactly what they are looking for in a stylist.

“All stylists that are hired are required to be certified in all services before they can offer them to the clients,” said Silhanek. “Everything from the B/Rose signature shampoo to a beautiful blowout to hair color; all of these have to be certified. This guarantees that no matter who performs the service, the client will attain the same quality results.”

Keller added, “Our training program creates consistency and quality services. Because of our team-based culture, guests are encouraged to visit with any or as many stylists as they would like. Consistency is important so that no matter who performs the service, the guest will receive the same quality results. It is a progression of training so that the stylist and the guests get comfortable with each other and its not such an abrupt jump into offering services.”

To get more familiar with the B/Rose training program, I asked current stylist-in-training, Mindy Mosbarger what her experience has been like.

“Going through the education program at B/Rose is a good experience because while you’re training, you’re learning the way in which B/Rose does things, while getting to know the staff and the clients,” she said.

At B/Rose, team-oriented work is essential in providing every component of their signature experience to each and every client that comes through the door. Passion for B/Rose isn’t solely defined from a hair standpoint; they look for those stylists that have the inner drive towards the beauty industry as a whole. Bottom line, though, teamwork is the most important component of what makes B/Rose work.

According to Keller, “To build a strong team culture and a healthy company, we need stylists who understand the importance of ‘we’ and not ‘me.’”

“We look for passion and someone who can work well with others,” added Silhanek. “We can teach technical skills, but we cannot teach passion. They have to be willing to put the work in to become a successful stylist and team player.”

What’s Next for B/Rose

With the success B/Rose has seen in its four years, what more can we expect from this charming salon? Expansion to other lands? For now, it doesn’t look like further extension from Columbus will be happening any time soon. With the unique atmosphere that B/Rose offers, it’s becoming a stand alone brand that stands out amongst the competition.

“Our goal for B/Rose is for this salon to become well-known in the Columbus area for offering the best quality and experience for guests that sets a new standard of professionalism and business practices in our industry,” said Keller.

Silhanek added, “We want B/Rose to be a brand recognized in the Columbus area for being the best. The best quality and experience for guests and stylists.” 

Whether you’re looking for a drastic change or just a trim; the girls at B/Rose have you covered. With their philosophy, their work ethic, and their experience– there is nothing these girls can’t do. If you are in the market for a new stylists and a one of a kind experience; look no further than the ladies at B/Rose. There isn’t any other land of stylists that I would trust my beauty needs with, and no place else I could ever imagine going to. Cheers to that!

Ever been to B/Rose Beauty Bar? If so, what was your experience like? Leave us some comments below!