salon furniture

[pinkys]

First of all big hello to everyone , this is my first thread. I have only been a member for 4 weeks lol .
I am opening a Salon shortly and would like to buy salon equipment , reception desk , waiting chairs (stylish) ect , i have been on lots of search engines but can,t seem to find a good site , so please if you no a good salon furniture place, let me no.

 

[bimbogeri]

Well I know that Ellisons and the Beauty Book have quite a lot of stock in, and some very lovely looking stuff, but I just can't shake the feeling the manufacturers are charging an arm and a leg just because the stuff is especially for nail techs. For example, I've seen a tech's workstation which is just a plain rectangular desk with three drawers, not even nice built-in ones, but plastic ones that just pull out, and it's £115!!! You could buy a better computer desk in exactly the same style and nicer looking for £30. I love one of the desks that has a set of draws which pivot out from a metal workstation - admittedly it has a built in air filter, but it's £600, and the workmanship and materials that have gone into it.. well, it's silly. If it didn't have the "nail technician's" part in front of it you wouldn't retail it for more than £300.
Obviously if you are opening a proper salon you have more to spend, but think what else you could buy that would make great finishing touches if you can save yourself a coupla hundred quid on your desks and workstations.
For reception desks and waiting chairs, don't limit yourself to a salon supplier, try an ordinary office supplier or even places like Homebase, Argos and Ikea. Have in your mind what you are looking for in terms of size, colour, finish, etc and do a lot of shopping around. Finishes that are traditionally thought of as being expensive, such as frosted glass or metal and seen so much more often these days in 'ordinary' furniture, I'd be suprised if you can't find something you like. I think the Argos Extra catalogue (must be the Extra one, as can't find it online) has a fabbo glass workstation for about £300 which would make a pretty flash reception desk, and both they and Index (and probably everwhere else going) sells suede or leather 'tub' chairs which would look good in a waiting area for about £80-100 each.
HTH, anyway, good luck in your hunting, and have fun! Can't wait to start working on my home salon for all the Laurence Llwellyn-Bowen style fun
Lol x

 

[pinkys]

Thankyou very much for your reply , you have great ideas for looking around. i live in malta , and miss so much the flexibility of going to shops looking for ideas
, cheaper versions . i will look on argos , as they do post here , thanks again.. i will keep you informed x

 

[Little Angel]

Hi

IKEA!

 

[Supertalons]

Hi

I came accross some stylish stuff on http://www.capitalhairandbeauty.co.uk and also Ellisons aswell, but I do agree with looking at non commercial suppliers too (ikea, argos etc..) prices are much better, not out to rip us off!

 

[geeg]

Hi

I came accross some stylish stuff on http://www.capitalhairandbeauty.co.uk and also Ellisons aswell, but I do agree with looking at non commercial suppliers too (ikea, argos etc..) prices are much better, not out to rip us off!

I just want to make a comment on the 'rip off' phrase.

As a former supplier I SO take exception to this notion that suppliers are out to rip everyone off.
I am making a general comment, not to Supertalons herself!! So bear with me.
I do not think that most nail technicians have any idea what is involved in designing, custom making, and supplying salon furniture, so to make comments like the above is very unfounded and frankly ignorant.

People like Argos and Ikea etc buy cheap furniture in huge quantity and can pass those prices on to you the consumer. Fine if that is what you want.

Suppliers like Designer Nails, provide salon furniture that is hand made by craftsmen (the best in Leeds) to your specification of colour and design. Each desk is a one-off made exclusively for you the buyer. Each one is a special order. Then the Vapex D ventilation is fitted to the desk by a skilled electrician and made to order for the desk it is going to be fitted into. The desks are a beautiful piece of furniture that is also functional and effective in providing a safe atmosphere in which to work, and can no way be compared to what you would get from Ikea. It will outlast a mass produced desk by years and years and is a bespoke item.

There is nothing wrong with Ikea and I myself started with a desk from MFI at 25.00 ... buy what you can afford by all means. Just please do not assume that because a nail technicians desk has that label on it that it is the same and you are being ripped off ... because it is not the case.

 

[bimbogeri]

I agree with you Geeg that items such as those custom-made by designer nails are something special and the price reflects the workmanship. I wouldn't put them in the same category as the kind of furniture that can be bought 'off the shelf' by any means.
However, when you see some items in catalogues that must be mass-produced in order to be sold this way, it does kinda make you cross the prices they charge.
I'm not trying to dig at a specific manufacturer or seller here, but have to use this as an example: in the beauty book there is a 'basic nail station' on sale for £150 ex VAT. It is supplied flat pack and is basically a work top, with a wood sheet with castors on the bottom as one 'leg' and a drawer unit as the other 'leg'. The draw unit isn't solid, it is four plastic trays that pull out.
Argos sell a 'basic computer desk' for £30 inc VAT which has a set of shelves as one leg (the shelves face outwards rather than facing the front, if you see what I mean) and a drawer unit as the other leg. These are solid drawers with a closed front.
So why is there a difference of over £120 between these two items? Just because one is a 'nail' station? If the more expensive one had features that make it nail specific, such as an arm rest, built in bowl, air filter etc then it could justify that price and label, but it really is no different from an Argos computer desk... IMO it's not as good as the drawers are open.
It's that kinda thing that makes me cross - with designer nails you're getting what you pay for, with this you're paying for a label, and that's what I don't think is right.

 

[ALEX]

All of my furniture has come from Ikea and I love it as do my customers!

 

[Supertalons]

My previous comments are not referring to custom made salon furniture but general pieces that seem to have ridiculous price tags because they are labelled as "Nail Stations" when they are clearly poxy desks with a cheap plastic draw attached as pointed out by various other geeks! ( I speak from experience having purchased one of these desks myself and being less than happy with it) so my comments are NOT unfounded and NOT ignorant.

I think people would of course pay for finely crafted salon furniture if that is what they are looking for, but when faced with pictures of items looking very similar to those featured in Argos & Ikea etc that are double the price why shouldn't we feel ripped off?

I fully understand that you get what you pay for but suppliers do also buy cheap furniture in huge quantity and give their items glorified price tags.

I have had lots of furniture from beauty suppliers and have been very happy with most of it but sometimes to go to non commercial places for certain items is just as good and easier on the pocket.