Classic Beauty Therapy owner set to open first hair salon at Northpoint Shopping Centre in Toowoomba
While other Toowoomba businesses were contracting their operations and workforces during COVID-19, Kate Ruijter decided to expand — and she’s ready to open her most ambitious project to date.
Business
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The owner of Classic Beauty Therapy parlours in Kearneys Spring and North Toowoomba will launch Classic Hair Lounge, a salon and blow-dry bar, at Northpoint Shopping Centre today.
Mrs Ruijter, whose business was named the best beauty therapist in Toowoomba by Chronicle readers, said she wanted to offer residents something they hadn’t seen before.
“I’ve put on a team of amazing hairdressers, so it’s a great complementary service (to our beauty salons),” she said.
“We have a green ceiling (in the hair salon) of artificial plants, and we’re using biodegradable gloves, towels, we recycle the aluminium foils we use.
“This is also a blow-dry bar, so you can walk in, get your hair blow-dried, have a champagne while you wait, and walk out.”
The launch comes just a few months after Mrs Ruijter opened her second Classic Beauty Therapy in Toowoomba, also at Northpoint.
Now employing nearly a dozen locals, she said the COVID-19 shutdowns gave her the opportunity to assess the business and make aggressive moves.
“We’re at 11 employees, pre-COVID there was a team of four,” she said.
“It’s been a tough year, but we’ve seen some amazing growth and enjoyed so much support from the community.
“We were closed for seven and half weeks (during the shutdowns), so that was tough, but we did so much work to plan ahead.
“The support from the community has been amazing, and my advice would be to know what your business is and believe in yourself.”
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