By Boz
•
29 Jul, 2021
When Gaby and I started the process of creating a unique and welcoming salon environment back in 2015, we wanted to give it a family feel, rather than a bunch of people renting a space together. This is where the term XAMILY was born. Originally, Gaby was tired of the restrictions put on her by her then salon, where she could only go in to the salon on certain days and only at specified times. She was then very fully committed to traveling the world with Redken, training the trainer and teaching color techniques all over the world. She would have to strategically schedule her clients on the times when she was in town and the limitations put on to her by her salon at the time were less than accommodating. In March 2015, we decided to build and open up what we affectionately refer to as XanderLyn ONE. It was a 600 square foot space in old-town Scottsdale and was perfect for Elizabeth (the first member of the Xamily) and Gaby to get away from where they currently working, saving some money and at the same time having a 24/7 flexibility in their schedules. The opening was great. There were 5 stations and Gaby and Elizabeth welcomed their clients with open arms and the clients immediately fell in love with the intimacy and to be honest the QUIET of the new salon. It wasn't long, however, before others wanted to be part of the experience. Later that year, the Xamily put together the original FIVE, all of whom are still at the salon today: Gaby, Elizabeth, Andrea, Farrah and Josh. Five stations, five stylists, all working together as opposed to some other booth rental salons, where working side-by-side can be more competition and less cooperation. If someone was sick or needed time away to take care of one their kids, one of the others would immediately step in to help and there was never any fear of that person stealing their client. They all shared their combined education and knowledge and they all strived to make each of them better and more expert in their craft. Of course, something this amazing doesn't stay quiet in the industry for long. The Xamily was growing and it was once again time to expand - thus, XanderLyn TWO was born, which was two and one-half times larger and now had nine stations and an esthetician room. We added Tiffany, Joey, Jamie, Jeffrey, Leslee, Vanessa, Heather and Alex to our Xamily and business was great! We really started to diversify our retail lines, so the customers would have a greater choice in what they could use for their hair. We were in a prime location on a fairly busy corner, but we still had the intimacy and coziness of a small salon. What didn't change is our concept of Xamily. Often, booth rental salons will advertise CHAIR FOR RENT and will basically take anyone who can pay the monthly fee. Gaby has always prided herself on making sure that anyone and everyone who joins the Xamily is a good fit for the team, not just someone leasing a space. The interview process is pretty intense and everyone in the salon has a voice when it comes to who we will bring in next. I can always tell when someone is a good fit because you can feel an intense buzz and positive energy in the air. XanderLyn TWO was great and we even tried for a while to bring XanderLyn ONE back, but issues with parking and having a salon in an older building started to take a toll on us. January 2020 came and we found the new space that we are currently in. Updated building, great parking, easy access location and now 12 stations and a beauty room. We added even more amazing stylists to our team, some from XanderLyn TWO moving on and the new ones coming in. I should note that the ones that did move on, many we still consider part of our Xamily including Jeffrey, Joey and Alex and they are some of our closest allies. They just found their destinies in other places (even Alex moving back to New Jersey) and we could not be happier for them. At our new location, we added Gabby, Anna, Kandi, Kenzie and Niki, all of whom were immediately embraced by the Xamily and have all expressed their love for their new home. We LOVE LOVE LOVE our Xamily and it will continue to grow, but only with those people that actually feel like part of our family and those that feel XanderLyn is their home.