blo me at the bar

Ever walked out of a salon and wanted to burst into ‘I’m coming out’, Diana Ross style? That, ladies, is the result of a professional, thorough blow-dry.

The act of blow-drying ones hair is more effective than one thinks. It enhances a well-cut shape, embosses freshly washed hair and gives you a silky-smooth finish. That’s all well and good; it’s just a shame that the reality of our D.Y.I. blow-drying routine is an attempt to flip a brush and blow dryer in unison like a pro, finishing off with a fantastic arm ache and mangled hair.

Introducing Blo, Canada’s first and only concept blow-dry bar, where the stylists are called Bloers, the training camp is at the Blo U(University) and the clients come for a Blo on the go. Yes ladies, it’s that simple. “BLO ME NOW, BLO ME DRY!” I hear you scream. In this day and age we have little time for the leisure we love, so anything that delivers it efficiently like Blo is a godsend. “Judy and I were able to identify a gap in the market, where women needed a consistent, convenient and affordable way to have great hair every day,” says Devon Brooks, who Co Founded Blo in 2006 with her mother Judy Brooks. “It was right at the time when nail bars were huge and the public had finally started to depart completely from salon nails, and flocked to the faster, more price-conscious nail bars. We felt the world needed a Blow-Dry Bar service too.” With a mother, boss and friend who sits on the business advisory board for Young Women in Business And a General Manager who is an author on the subject of compassion in the workplace, 23-year old Devon Brooks can focus on her role as Franchise Manager and Brand Team Manager. “I specialised in PR at the London College of Fashion and developed the business plan for Blo in my second year at University. Now we just opened in San Francisco, California and we are starting to filter through all of the franchise requests we have received for the USA. In other words, the North American roll-out plan is under-way.”

At such a young age Devon is able to see her dreams come to a reality. Although she is currently enjoying the fact that she has been able to purchase a gorgeous flat in Vancouver’s heritage district, she admits being your own boss comes with a lot of responsibilities: “Working for yourself means you are the person who is liable for everything, and you carry the risk. Being an entrepreneur is about making the choices that most people would be too afraid to make. The funny thing about being your own boss is: you are never really shareholders, all of these people are like lots of bosses – you have to please them, manage the relationships and meet expectations. Being your own boss is more of a state of mind. There are always rules, there are always expectations and realities – but I decide what I want what I am willing to do. To me, that is being your own boss.”
Catering to all hair types and textures for 30 minutes, around 30 dollars with no cuts and no colour means you’re ‘not actually cheating on your hairdresser’ and the bars offer 7 fabulously themed blow dry styles to choose from ‘cause you can’t blo yourself’.

Since its inception, the response from women and the media has been phenomenal. So you never know, there may be a Blo coming to a town near you soon. For more info visit: www.blomedry.com

-Complexed Magazine, Pages 20-23, June 2010.

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