Small businesses are the living, beating heart of the economy. In the UK, large chains are been rushing to close stores, reduce capacity, renegotiate with landlords and generally cut costs. It used to be that bigger was better. Not in the current economic climate. In The Netherlands, it feels like people use their local shops and services more. We support local businesses and especially those that really go the extra distance in terms of service. As we emerge from the intelligent, it is the perfect time to give trade to the smaller independents. In this series, we will do regular interviews with local businesses that we think have a great service and a great story to tell. La Maison Hair Beauty on the Rozengracht is certainly one of these. A family owned and run business. Brigitte and Martin have a beautiful salon and a great team of kind and professional staff. The whole effect is quality meets cosiness and service. That is a fine balance and when done well, it really stands out.
We recently dropped into the salon for a haircut and took advantage of being there to ask a few quick questions to Martin, as Brigitte was busy with clients. Martin kindly made us a delicious coffee and we had a chance to talk.
So Martin, How long have you operated the business and why did you choose this sector?
Brigitte has been in the industry for 30 years ! In the past I also had other businesses in the Amsterdam area. I help Brigitte with the salon, do products research and partnerships. She is the driving force. It is a pure pleasure for Brigitte to run La Maison. She gets to know customers better and better as they return. It makes things very enjoyable. And of course we are in Amsterdam. This is our home city and we love it
Please tell us about your products and services.
At La Maison Hair and Beauty, we are happy when our clients are happy – that is our simple motto. On that basis, we endeavour to do our best to make that happen. The client is important to us and we love to give the client what they want. To make them look and feel better when they leave the salon. We do that by having excellent team members that are the best at what they do. The best at styling, the best at beauty care and we make sure they are trained in all the latest techniques. You can book directly on the website.
The same is true for our products. We choose the best because they give the best results. You can see the products on our website . The Nanokeratin range are fantastic and we really love that range. We do hair and beauty, so the other services are skin care, facials, eyebrows, make up. Many clients leave here transformed!
I see you have have changed things upstairs. What happens there now ?
We still have a space for styling, extensions and overspill when the ground floor is full. The extra space you notice is for our cosmetic beauty services. We have new machines and new services. In particular, the Thermage solution is really amazing. It uses non invasive radio frequencies to tighten the skin. We are the only beauty centre in the Netherlands to have it. It treats loose skin on the face, around the eyes and anywhere on the body. The benefits last for months and the treatment only takes one hour. There is a great video about Thermage on our website.
Which nationalities are your clients ?
Of course, many of our clients are Dutch, but that is changing. We have expats and internationals using the salon. We really have such a very varied customer base. There are more and more clients that are internationals living in Amsterdam and more of them are coming to La Masion. But then again, our staff is very international. We have team members that are English, French, Italian and many more ! We hear different languages every day in the salon and we love that.
What is your proudest moment at work ?
You know, we get lots of warm feelings everyday when clients leave with a big smile on their faces. There was one very memorable moment that none of us can forget. We were asked to use all our talents on Barbara Streisand. That was such a thrill and a great honour. But in general terms, I know Brigitte and her team get a lot of pleasure every day seeing how happy their clients are with the results.
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So there you have it. Thank you Martin and Brigitte for giving us some insights into your business. If you would like to meet the team at La Maison Hair Beauty, simply make a booking using the number below.
La Maison Amsterdam,
Rozengracht 215,
1016 LZ Amsterdam
020 330 3120
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