Meet the women behind Leeds salon success story

Pastille Beauty Bar, based at Granary Wharf in Leeds, this week celebrated their success that they have gained since their launch in 2013 by giving their salon a makeover of its own.

The salon, which is owned by friends Abra Wynn and Erene Wynn Hadjiioannou​​​​​​​, has seen huge success over the last four years. Without any salon experience, the two women took the risk of opening their own business in one of Leeds most sought after areas.

You had no salon experience, so what made you want to set one up?

​​​​We actually fell in love with the space & Granary Wharf before we decided we wanted it to be. It took a few days to decide that this part of Leeds was majorly lacking a really good beauty salon and we felt this was an industry we could feel passionate about, being obsessed with all things beauty ourselves, then we just went from there! We took inspiration from salons all over the world to create something we thought we’d love to visit if we were the client.

Pastille salon in Leeds – Photo credit: Joanne Crawford

How successful has the salon been over the last 4 years and what feedback do you receive?

​​​​​​​The salon has grown and grown since opening in 2013 both in terms of our client base and our team. We now find ourselves fully booked most days and have an exceptionally high volume of returning customers, which is vital for any salon to succeed. Our most commonly received feedback is just how friendly and relaxed the salon is which is always so lovely to hear.

Clients know they can count on us for perfect treatments carried out in a social yet calm setting. We’re also super careful with our timings which means we don’t leave clients waiting for their appointment. This is appreciated by so many of our clients who are working professionals and who only have a set amount of time out of the office.

How important was it for you both to have your own business and what advice would you give other women?

As university graduates ourselves, going into the world of business wasn’t something we’d considered really until the very end of our education so initially it wasn’t of huge importance, however now I don’t think we’d have it any other way. You get such a huge amount of satisfaction building something from scratch and also having the freedom to move in the direction you feel is right.

We would definitely recommend it to anyone who has an idea that they truly believe in and are passionate about. It’s a cliche but the saying “find a job you love and you’ll never work a day in your life” certainly stands true for us.

Pastille salon in Leeds – Photo credit: Joanne Crawford

How has the salon changed since your makeover and what made you want to spruce it up?

We actually haven’t done anything major to the salon since we opened so just like it would at home, things were starting to get a bit cluttered and tired looking. We felt that coming in to spring in our third year was a great time to have a bit of a revamp so we have completely removed our our reception and waiting area as this was taking up far more room than it needed to and instead have just opened up the whole area by having a reception that is now totally open plan. This also meant we could create some clever storage set above reception so now things are kept as minimalist as possible. We have of course stuck to our pastel colour scheme though with lots of mint and grey accents dotted around and have brightened things up with some new lighting in the window.

How does your location work for the salon and your clients?
The location is actually the whole basis of our business! We’re so lucky to be within a 2 minute walk from thousands of working professionals, meaning they can pop in during their lunch or on their way home from work without having to go into the centre of town. Saturdays are actually one of our quieter days because people don’t want to be spending their weekends in salons anymore, they’d rather schedule treatments into their working week.

The new South Leeds train station entrance is also literally outside our door so it’s very handy for our clients who get the train in and out of Leeds. Aside from convenience though we absolutely love being situated in Granary Wharf – it’s such a gorgeous space with so many great places to visit, especially in summer when we can spend our lunch break sunbathing by the canal.

The team at Pastille in Leeds – Photo credit: Joanne Crawford

What have you both learned the most since opening?

We would say the thing we have learned most is to go with your gut instinct. When we first opened we were so quiet as we had no client base to rely on at all and there were days that you start to question whether things would turn around but we knew deep down that we had something that people wanted and it would just be a matter of time.

We stuck with it and now we had a client base of several thousand people. If your gut is telling you that you have a great idea, then you probably do.