Help support Lavanda survive through the pandemic

Aim

I have set up this project to fund the running costs to help my salon survive and to come out the other side of this pandemic.

THE STORY

Hi I’m Danielle, I’m the owner and founder of  Lavanda Beauty and Massage.

I opened Lavanda nearly 3 years ago now, after my previous business partnership broke down and I was left with nothing. Being a single mum at the time, I knew I needed to move fast and bring in an income for my son. I had nothing in the bank as I had invested my savings in to the previous partnership. I am very grateful that family and friends came together to support me, with both financial help and getting their hands dirty too.

I found a room to rent in a local sports and leisure centre in the East end of  Newcastle upon Tyne called Blue Flames. The room was just a shell. Well actually, it was an unused changing room which was currently being used for storage. But, I could see past all of that and could vision the space as a lovely treatment room for my clients. And the management at Blue Flames were very supportive and soon welcomed me in to there space.

Fast forward a month and my little slice of haven was created from blood sweat and tears, including removing a wall too. I loved it and couldn’t wait to get it open for clients. But first I needed a name. I wanted something that symbolised relaxation and something that would stand out. As I was tucked away in Blue Flames. Lavender is the flower and scent of relaxation, Lavanda is the Spanish translation, and the word stuck and seemed to roll easy off my tongue. For my logo, I was inspired by various images on Pinterest, especially ones with Mandela circles, as they symbolise peace, so I sent them to my graphic designer and she made me a beautiful logo. The branding colours have had a refresh last year but the logo has stayed the same.

I opened for business in May 2017 and by the summer I was struggling to take on anymore clients and started to plan to employ my first apprentice, but I knew that would be a struggle in one small room. In November 2017, my first apprentice joined the Lavanda family and we set to work to expand the space. With a little bit of imagination and a lot of hard work, we transformed an old toilet/shower room in to another treatment room and converted the corridor outside in to a reception space, adding a door at the end to allow us to have our own little salon space, we even had our name above the door. 

Fast forward another 2 years and we are no longer at Blue Flames and our team has grew to 4. Beth completed her Apprenticeship and I now employee 2 new apprentices, Molly and Gemma. We are now based inside The Cutting Company, a hair salon in Longbenton, Newcastle. And we work alongside a team of Hair Stylists and a female Barber too.

So what has kept me driven and continue to grow Lavanda? That would be my amazing team and our equally amazing clients. We serve a variety of gorgeous women, of all ages and backgrounds. From young professionals, working mothers, douting grandmother’s and all women in between. And something we learnt over the years, is that a Beauty Therapist is just that. Some may say we just make women look good, we say shut your faces. We do so much more than that, we help make them feel good too. We put a lot of emphasis on the word “therapist” and offer support not just a treatment. There is one thing that breaks my heart, well there are many things. But when it comes to our beautiful clients and other beautiful women we meet along the way, is their lack of self love and belief. So many women carry around low self esteem and guilt. Guilt of taking time time for themselves and putting themselves first before others they love. 

That’s why we love what we do so much, we get the chance to empower these women, give them confidence, give them a place to care for themselves, a place to talk and open up, a safe place to be themselves. We don’t treat any client the same, because none of them are. We have a colourful array of individual clients (just like our collection of Gel Polishes ????), yet they all have something in common. And we love them all, we look forward to our catch ups, through the ups and the downs. They are so much more than just a client, they are friends. And it’s awful that we won’t get to see them for quite a while and we miss them all already.

WHAT OUR CLIENTS HAVE TO SAY

Colleen Hogarth: "Well I for one have found the best salon  and I've been to a few Danielle is so friendly she's not just a great nail technician /beautician shes my friend as well she's worked so hard in the last few year's she good to her staff and has brought much so far this is definitely our time to give some kindness back xx"

Stephanie Paxton: "I’ve never felt more welcome in a salon before. Every time I go in I’m made to feel like I’m catching up with old friends. I’ve never had a bad experience in 2 years of visits! It’s obvious how hard Danielle has worked to make the business the best it can be, from how amazing she is to her staff to how amazing she teaches them to be to the clients! I genuinely hope they come out the other side of this, because losing the salon would be a huge loss to so many people."

Lianne Bruce:"Only been here a couple of times but both times found the staff to be really friendly, was in with molly the first time and Danielle the second and both were very professional but welcoming. Very accommodating to as I had my little one with me and they allowed for that, giving extra time. Hope we can help Danielle to stay afloat during this very difficult time xx"

Elizabeth Stewart: "I absolutely love this beauty salan I always have a good laugh, they always make me feel important and they always make me feel better I have had a few bad months and speaking to Dan and getting looked after like I do it's brill x x  I never feel rushed when I'm getting my nails done, alwaya takes their time and they come out perfect x x Anf they do massages which are to die fot x x x x x"

Margaret Smith: "Great service, I have had lots of treatments. Danielle is so lovely, she makes you feel at home, best salon by far .... molly is a wee gem and a credit too the company. Gemma is so lovely too, highly recommend best place I have been for treatments thanks all xx"

THE AIM

Now you know the story behind Lavanda and why we love what we do, let me tell you why we have started this crowd fund page. 

Like many other small businesses we had to close our doors to help stop the spread of Covid 19, which is the biggest priority at present. But, with this brings us a time of uncertainty for Lavanda. As I rent my space in another salon, I am not entitled to the grants, as my business does not need £25,000 to survive, I do not qualify for the Business Interruption Loan scheme. I applied for a standard business loan, but due to the reduction in turn over, due to the closure, the lenders turned me down, as they don’t see it as affordable lending. 

However, I’m not going to take this lying down, I want to be here ready to serve our beautiful clients and more than anything I want to give my team a place to return to, to carry on treating our clients. I want to offer them reassurance that Lavanda will still be standing at the other side of the pandemic.

So, I wiped away my frustrated tears, I pulled up my big girl pants and straightened my crown, and decided to turn to the clients that have supported Lavanda over the last 3 years, and put the idea of a crowd fund to them. The feedback was fantastic, so here we are. 

I'd love to not only survive but thrive at the other side of the pandemic. And achieve my goal of opening a wellness centre for womem across the North East and build my amazing team, giving more fantastic women the opportunity to achieve their career dreams and help build the confidence of more amazing women across Newcastle. This is something that I had started the motions of, but it is now on hold too.

I fully understand that many other people will be financially unstable too, but if you have the income to spare, and you would like to support us, we thank you from the bottom of our hearts and appreciate it more than any words could express. 

Donations start small and every little helps. 

Thanks for reading. 

We hope you are all keeping safe and well. 

Love Danielle and Team Lavanda xxx

This project successfully funded on 29th April 2020