ECONOMY
HERE AND NOW
YENTA
Hot Air
What's
New
Around
Town
New local boutiques, businesses
and brands you may not know —
but should.
L
By Lynne Konstantin
n
o cuts. No color. Just air.
That's the motto at the brand-new Arid Blow Dry &
Beauty Bar in Royal Oak. The not-your-average salon
is the beautiful brainchild of Amy Craig, who has 10 years
of cutting, coloring and styling hair under her belt at
salons including Avalon and Luigi Bruni, both in Birming-
ham, as well as continuing education classes across the
country at Bumble & Bumble, Redkin and L'Oreal Paris.
"I loved what I did, and I loved the salons I worked
for," says Craig, 35, of Royal Oak."' never really had any
interest in opening my own salon. But when I traveled, I
heard about the drybar concept. I got really excited — it
seemed like a perfect fit for me, my goals for my clients
and my own skills'
The drybar phenomenon has been gaining speed the
last couple of years in cities across the country, from
Manhattan to Dallas. When Craig realized there was not a
single drybar in Michigan — that offered only a blowdry
and style and nothing else — she jumped on it, with the
encouragement of her husband, Michael.
She did her research, created a business plan and since
Aug. 21, when she turned on the phones, women of all
ages couldn't wait to get their spot.
"It was scary and overwhelming, but it's really like a
dream. What I've always loved about what I do is mak-
ing women feel good. Now, I've created an environment
where women can come in, be comfortable, and for not
that much money, walk out feeling like a million bucks!'
For a flat rate of $35, women can be washed, blown
and styled to perfection by stylists who specialize in the
end result.
"Every stylist has her own talent — some are great at
cutting, but not so great at styling;' Craig says."Here, we
have attracted stylists who specialize in blow-outs, both
locally and nationally. We have the best of the best in this
genre
Clients sit along a connfortable"bar,"where there are
11
enough mirrors to see what's going on but not stress
about every hair being in place — and where it's easy to
form a camaraderie with other clients, if they choose.
"The goal is for the whole experience to be fun and
relaxing, a break in your day,"Craig says.
Clients can choose from pin straight to beachy waves
to smooth curls and more, and clients can add extras,
like a braid for $5 or a 10-minute scalp massage for $10
(Arid also offers styles for kids under 10 for $20, and
updos for $50). For $35, Arid also offers a light makeup
touch-up.
"It's affordable luxury, and it makes you feel great. It
really can turn your day around,"Craig says.
"When I was cutting hair, every Saturday night when I
would get off of work, I wanted someone to do my hair,
but everyone wanted to leave. At Arid, you can pop in
on Saturday evening before a date or special event, and
you're good to go."
Arid Blow Dry & Beauty Bar, 32956 Woodward, Royal Oak (248-268-2590;
ariddrybar.com).
THE BUZZ
Cause And Effect
Our favorite shopping picks
for women, men, kids,
the home and more.
By Lynne Konstantin
'uomo Vogue, the ultimate in
refined and sophisticated men's
clothing, just opened on Maple,
west of Telegraph, in Bloomfield
Hills. The boutique features the
most current
and distin-
L'Uomo Vogue
guished de-
signer lines of-
i f
4
fered in Europe
and around
the world, but
not read-
ily available
in Michigan, such as Pal Zileri,
SAND Copenhagen, Luigi Bianchi
Mantova, BYRON and Etro (248)
855-7788 ... If it's sweet treats
you're after, try Jen's Gift of Love
at 4280 Orchard Lake Road, West
Bloomfield. Formerly known as
Ginger's Coffee Connection, the
shop serves the finest coffee, tea,
homemade chocolates and baked
goods, including low-fat cinna-
mon scones, muffin tops, low-fat
cookies and bagels (248)682-5912
... You won't want to miss the Fall
Into Art Annual Group Show at
Next Step Studio and Gallery,
530 Hilton Road, Ferndale. The
show features photography by
Sebastian Sullen, beverages and
live music and runs from Oct. 5-31;
6 p.m.-midnight. (248) 342-5074 ...
The first phase of a total transfor-
mation of the passenger shop-
ping experience in Detroit Metro
Airport's McNamara Terminal
is complete with the opening of
several new retail stores, including
Detroit! — popular local products
and Detroit-themed memorabilia,
ZoZo — unique specialty gifts and
home decor, and Be Relax — full-
service spa and lifestyle center. RT
Essie offers two pretty-in-pink
shades, PINK WORKS and PINK
ABOUT IT ($8 each), in recogni-
tion of Breast Cancer Awareness
Month — a portion of proceeds
benefit Living Beyond Breast
Cancer, which provides re-
sources and support services to
women diagnosed with breast
cancer, their families and care-
givers. Available at area Nord-
strom stores (nordstrom.com ).
'141111111111 - -
'N'itryi
October is also National Bullying Prevention Month, and in support, Bon-Ton stores (including Younkers and Carson's in
Michigan) are carrying STOMP OUT BULLYING T- shirts ($12; 100 percent of net profits are donated directly to Stomp
Out Bullying) for Blue Shirt Day: World Day of Bullying Prevention on Oct. 7. Stomp Out Bullying, a national anti-bully-
ing and cyber-bullying organization for kids and teens, created in 2005, wants teachers, parents and students to wear
their T-shirts to stand up to bullies everywhere. Area Bon Ton stores (bonton.com ).
26 October 2013 I
RED THREAD
www.redthreadmagazine.com