IN THE SAME LANGUAGE By Tom White
Same Same But Different is a team of innovators, dreamers, colour crafters, all working together to make a one-of-a-kind salon, and take ‘salon experience’ to that next level. Inclusivity and equality should not be something we just talk about, it’s something we should practice. A ‘hub for the good’ is how to describe our Melbourne Salon ‘Same Same But Different’, which has been built around 4 brand pillars… Honesty, Creativity, Diversity and Community. Every move and decision is dictated by our brand pillars. If an idea doesn’t contribute to making the world better or people’s lives better, we just simply won’t do it. The pillars a great reminder every day that we are fighting to help the industry progress. Our mission with these brand pillars is to tackle all issues head on and we plan on making some big noise about it. These are some of the things we implemented straight away. Honesty - it’s about simply that. Being honest with our guests, our colleagues and more importantly ourselves. Being that open that you understand your own flaws and are humble enough to accept and improve. Being honest with our sustainability, showing how we help the environment and holding all companies accountable to their sustainable pledges. Creativity – We are always aiming to reinvent or create. Not just hair but creativity within our lives. It’s about self-expression and constantly evolving, always aiming to be your best. Finding new ways to move forward and never being scared of the unknown. Diversity – We care for everyone and anyone, we don’t judge, and we promote equality. Everyone deserves to be loved upon and cared for no matter their race or gender. For some reason there are still people out there that don’t get this, so we are here to scream and shout about the social injustices experienced within our nation, but also promoting the beauty of a multicultural society and that love is love!! 40
Hair Biz Year 15 Issue 6
Community – we are here to serve and lead our community. Hairdressing salons used to be the pillar of the community, and that has been lost. Well, we are bringing that back. We have committed to promote local business’, support, and advertise local business’ and help our guests get their business’ out there and connect them with like-minded salon guests. We are also collaborating with local artists and giving them our space for free to advertise their art. This will be covering all aspects of art. Singing, painters, indigenous artists, literally anyone can use our space. Giving each artist a platform to get their work out there without having to outlay cash for a site or venue to exhibit. We are connecting with the entire community and bringing people together. My colleagues are the most important entity in my professional life , I want all employees to have a great life. A happy work life balance. Hairdressing is renowned for anti-social work hours, so by only trading 4 days a week, this changes that! and we can still service all of our guests due to 3 late nights on Tues Wed Thurs and shutting at 6pm on a Friday. We need more young people entering the industry, they want freedom to live their lives. This goes a long way to offering that! Let us take you through who we are and why we make a great team. We aren’t just a salon; we
are a movement. We will always advocate and practice equality, diversity, and sustainability! Everything we do, every decision we make, as a collective, is to better the world and our community. We have gender-neutral pricing. This means everyone gets charged the same for a haircut, we believe in charging for time, not charging based on your gender. We have created a judgement free space where we celebrate what makes you, uniquely you. We will always deliver the same level of expertise and care in every service, for everybody, at all times. Over 90% of everything we use in the salon is recycled or a recycled material. We will keep working to find solutions for unsustainable materials as we try to do our bit to help the environment and preserve our planet. We use Salon Waste Systems, an Australian owned company, that collect all our waste, from the foil we use, the tubes your colour comes in, even the chemical wastage, and recycles or disposes of it correctly to reduce the footprint the hair and fashion industry leaves. Our salon partners, EVO, DAVINES and OLAPLEX align with our values. From evo Hue-Verse botanical colour to Davines’ reforestation programs and everything else in between, as a collective, we are all making a difference.
