an interwiew with Gene Juarez

A passion for the details.

We continued our conversation as we walked through the hair cutting area of the salon. Gene's design philosophy was evident everywhere.

"You notice the arrangement of the stations," he gestured."If they were all the same wall units, that would be boring. Even as we arranged the location of the stations "along the wall or in the center of the floor "we have broken up the orientation. Some of them are parallel or perpendicular to the line of the room; some are angled. The visual offerings are not static. There are wall fabrics that are changed four times a year with the seasons. And the art changes regularly. In every instance, the materials represent quality."

Listening to Gene describe the layout, I came back to the thought that this was a very large space that could handle many clients simultaneously and yet it had none of the factory or assembly line feelings that many large spas and salons wind up with when they expand. Gene devotedly pointed out the beautiful artifacts that give each station its own unique feel within the overall harmony of the space.

As we moved through the salon from the hair area to the body care area, there was a noticeable change in the materials and the lighting and yet it all seemed like an integrated whole.

"I think you have to come back to functionality when you're choosing materials. For example, in our tech area, it's not a question of 'if' you're going to get color on something; it's a question of 'when'. So the durability and even the washability of the materials like stainless steel becomes important. In the spa, the materials are more organic. We used primarily bamboo wood floors. There are waterfalls. We use softer colors and lighting as a means of creating an quieter atmosphere."

It starts with the flow of people.

A passion for the details.

A feast for the senses.

The balance of energy.

The client experience.