Primpwithand Pamper Salon and Spa Noir SOUL | EDITOR
There is something powerful about women who work together to make a difference in our world. In an experience where you could do anything that your heart desires, it speaks of a deep internal motivation to bring a smile to others. I had the pleasure of meeting with Yasuki Noriko Holiday-Ito, owner of the Noir Brand, to chat about her inspirations, her motivations, and what drives her to provide lasting experiences for women across the grid.
Soul: Hey, sis. It’s incredible what you’re doing as a businesswoman in SL and I’ve heard so many good things about Salon Noir. Can you tell me more about it? Yasuki: Of course! Salon Noir started Jan 2019 because I enjoyed roleplay and I felt like there were not a lot of opportunities to engage around me. To contribute to the community, I wanted to make something small. Salon Noir started for myself, to engage in roleplay with sorority sisters and family members. I began my journey with the salon by renting out a small commercial space on a family RP (roleplay) sim. Not longer than a week later, word had spread around the greek SL community about the salon, and it was surprising to find that sorority sisters from all organizations were coming out to get services done. Lots of people started to come by and the business was booming! We moved out of the family RP space after two months, because there were so many people coming that we outgrew the space! I expanded our staff, starting out with my sorority sisters but then opening employment to the greater community. I started the Glam Squad, employees who make sure that everyone feels safe and receives positive interactions in a friendly environment. I try to make the experience like a rl community-based space because the in the real world, the salon is a place that women come to feel empowered. At Salon Noir, men come too for mani-pedis, treatments, and more!
Soul: That’s beautiful- your story is inspiring! I love that you started with a small market, then built from there. It’s solid advice for other women looking to start a small business. You recently moved- can you tell me about the new region Salon Noir is located on? Yasuki: Yes! We moved to Ito Tokai, a region that morphed from a family location to a roleplay experience with likeminded people who wanted to bring RP back to SL. I noticed previously we had to hunt for roleplay experiences, so I wanted a number of things to do to be on one sim. Ito Tokai is a Japanese-inspired region that consists of Salon Noir, Spa Noir, a restaurant, Phat Headz Barbershop, Verse and Vinyl Lounge, and Opium, a private, adult lounge and club. We encourage businesses owners who want to create and uphold quality roleplay experiences to inquire about inclusion in our family of businesses. One special thing about Ito Tokai is that it has a business organization where all of the roleplay business owners meet once a month to fellowship and increase engagement with quality RP experiences. I feel like that's a unique offering- we all help each other to thrive. In other sims, I've noticed there's no interaction among the roleplay businesses represented, so I wanted to make sure we centered cooperation in building quality experiences.
