Recently checked out the new beauty one stop shop in Sandton and I was impressed. Let’s just say the blowdry I did with the lovely Victoria is still straight 5 days later, a first for my ‘Coloured’ hair.
It speaks classy, private yet affordable.
The owners pride themselves in our extensive knowledge in the beauty industry and are very specific with their standard and quality of service. Everything is carefully curated, from the products they use to the level of service, they make sure to pay very close attention to detail.
I got to chat to the two owners, the mother and daughter-in-law duo who took me on a tour of this latest offering to the Sandton beauty landscape.
How do you ‘curate’ the Korai space that sets it apart from other establishments?
We want to create an entire world around beauty. When you walk into our space, we want you to leave everything else behind and just focus on you.
Let’s walk you through! In the way the space has been divided, we’ve taken into consideration for the nail area to be positioned as the hang-out space, while keeping the hair salon section within that fun space. The beauty rooms are hidden behind the main area, intended to keep a tranquil feeling to a busy space. For the barber shop, we have included a men’s beauty room and a mani and pedi station for the gentlemen who would like to have their privacy within the salon.
Why did you opt for such an extensive and comprehensive offering? And how has this been impacted by Covid?
We wanted to offer our clientele a full-rounded service with head-to-toe treatments in one place. We believe that remaining in one salon is more comfortable for the client rather than traveling to various places for different treatments. It has certainly been convenient for clients during these times. Covid has been a bit of a challenge, especially for a new place where such close contact between people is necessary, therefore rough patches were inevitable. We continue taking precautions within our space, team and clients and are thankfully operating successfully.
Do the beauty professionals go through specific ‘Korai’ training to ensure standards are consistent?
Most definitely! We have developed our own techniques in different areas of the salon and take our training very seriously. Quality control is a big part of Korai’s offering and standard. Our professionals go through the training and start carrying out treatments once they’ve been signed off as ‘Korai Ready.’
The combination of a Mother and daughter-in-law has been an old and stereotypically problematic combination, how did you two come together without having any personal differences or family relations hinder your success?
Firstly, family love is what brought us together, and love is a strong and important thing to maintain. No matter our differences, we overcome them through mutual
love and respect. Everyone has their differences, through respecting them, we have learnt to compromise and come to mutual agreements and understanding in order to create and maintain a successful business.
Take us through he theme and design elements within the space
Korai carries a neutral and calm colour palette to achieve contemporary tranquility. With a splash of copper here and there, as the ‘O’ in Korai, we wanted to use it as an accent colour that was earthy yet rich. The space features many ‘O’’s, to emphasise the emblem in the name, however, it remains subtle in the interior decor. For example, the retail space features a double ‘O’ accent in copper to represent our emblem.
What is your dream, ambition or next phase of the business
We dream for Korai to be ‘The Place to Be,’ and we are currently in the process of discussing a possible expansion. This of course will be only happening next year.
8. What has surviving Covid taught you or validated within you as business professionals with a 360 degree offering, especially within the beauty space?
Any place for beauty is quite intimate as therapists get into touch contact with the clients so we always keep our sanitising standards high and monitored. We hope to keep surviving Covid as it is the most challenging thing in the beauty service industry at the moment. We thank our clients for trusting us with our level of hygiene and cleanliness.
What is something we don’t know about Korai which you’d like to share?
Korai is a space where luxury meets affordability! We are always expanding our offering and services. We have some interesting treatments coming soon so stay tuned!
Do check them out and you can thank me later
183 Rivonia Road, Sandton
