Did you hear that Manchester is now home to the UK’s first ever flexible workspace for the hair and beauty industry?
And it’s now the only place in the country to sell a renowned US hair colour range.
If you’ve made your way down the city centre’s main thoroughfare at all over the past couple of months, then you may have noticed that Number One Deansgate has welcomed Phenix Salon Suites as its newest addition, after the legendary US brand has chosen Manchester as the destination for its first-of-its-kind UK hub – and it’s already proving pretty popular.
Given that it’s already a huge hit across the pond, with over 300 locations and partners to its name in the US, then it’s probably no shock that the venture is taking off here in our city, but what is it actually about?
What’s the story behind the business that’s changing the hair and beauty game?
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Bringing the concept of flexible workspaces over to the world of hair and beauty, Phenix Salon Suites – which was originally launched in Colorado Springs in 2007 by founder and entrepreneur, Gina Rivera, and was created to offer an alternative to renting a chair – gives industry professionals the chance to run their own businesses by leasing an intimate salon inside a fully-kitted-out facility.
Phenix is the first concept to offer the opportunity to become truly self-employed, and to own and operate a business without the hassle and expense of facility management and maintenance.
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Each luxury studio comes complete with high-quality equipment so that tenants can concentrate on running the business without worrying about the costs or set-up of utilities, and Phenix also offers business mentoring to help grow client bases, network, skills, and income, all in a professional setting.
Phenix Salon Suites was created to offer an alternative to renting a chair for hair and beauty professionals / Credit: The Manc Group
Having officially opened doors in our city back in October 2021, over 70% of the 29 studios in the Manchester hub have now been leased. There’s a host of double suites still available for any hair or beauty professionals looking to launch a joint salon business or to work side by side.
Tenants include hair stylists, massage therapists, nail techs, skincare professionals and makeup artists, with some of the businesses having set up shop down the spa-like corridor including celebrity hairdresser Andrew Trott-Barn, legendary Manchester stylist Mitch Woodiwiss, Joseph Snee at Joseph Patrick Hair, Ashley Longmore at Moloko Hair, Kayleigh Johnson at Kayleigh The Hair Witch, Daniel Davies at Arkham Hair Design and many more.
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Each unit has been completely personalised and decorated by its new tenants.
The new Manchester venue is now home to some unique spaces like a witch-themed salon, and a luxury hairdressers inspired by a mirror ball.
Each unit in the Manchester venture has been completely personalised and decorated by its new tenants / Credit: Phenix Salon Suites
Lucy is one of the tenants at Phenix with her business Daytime Studio.
She said: “I started doing nails at home. As I started to grow, I knew I wanted to set up my own nail salon but the thought of renting a chair or a huge space was daunting. The fact that Phenix Salon Suites was a nice little space that I can personalise to my taste was perfect!”
Luke, of Purple Rinse, commented: “What appealed to me about Phenix Salon Suites was the chance to be independent, not having to manage anybody else, and to be as flexible as I want. It’s a private 1-1 space, but you’re not alone as you still have other like-minded people around you.”
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“We know how hard it is to set up a salon from scratch,” said John Gillespie, operations director of the UK & Europe at Phenix Salon Suites.
“Even more so when it comes to finding something affordable in the middle of an incredible city like Manchester, so we wanted to make it accessible and achievable for anyone to create their own business, and [that’s why] we’ve launched the very first Phenix Salon Suites here in Number One Deansgate – maybe one of the best addresses in the city.
“We chose Manchester as our first location here in the UK as it’s already a leader in the hair and beauty industry and there are so many creatives and entrepreneurs.”
“We knew immediately it was the right home for us,” he added.
Over 60% of the 29 studios in the Manchester hub have now been leased / Credit: The Manc Group
Leases at Phenix Salon Suites in Manchester operate month-to-month, with no long term contracts to enable tenants to work with flexibility.
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Hairdressers and barbers will be provided with a backwash, styling chair and hair trolley, while nail artists or beauty therapists will be offered sink units and storage trolleys, and each tenant will also have access to a break room / kitchen space, as well as an on-site laundry room with free use of commercial equipment for fast washing and drying.
And the new tenants only have good things to say.
“There’s no competition at Phenix Salon Suites,” explains Hayley Crankshaw from Cheeky Bleach Hair Boutique.
“We aren’t competing with the other stylists. We all want collaboration. We are like neighbours more than rivals as Phenix Salon Suites is giving working class people the opportunity to have their own business, without the significant debt, which was what really appealed to me, but I also liked the idea of being able to decorate my own suite to fit my own brand.
“There are also no time limits, so I can choose how many clients I see in a day.
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“People are looking for flexibility these days and that’s what’s so great about creating your own small business with Phenix Salon Suites.”
has now become the first place in the UK to sell a new hair colour range / Credit: The Manc Group
If Phenix wasn’t already off to an incredible start as it is, as mentioned, the concept has now become the first place in the UK to sell a new hair colour range, Colours By Gina – which has already seen huge success in the US.
The Colours by Gina range is a specially-curated line of hair colour, which is designed exclusively for hair professionals and entrepreneurs, and is a carefully-chosen collection of calibrated shades that allow for beautiful results.
The PPD-free, c cream-based colours are a unique blend of specialised dye pigments, gentle alkaliser, and protective oxidisers.
Phenix Salon Suites even hosted a special free event to mark the launch of the colour range earlier this month, which included live demonstrations of the Colours By Gina 60 shade palette on real hair models, and saw all attendees walk away with a goody bag worth £50 that’s filled with haircare gifts.
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By swapping competing to collaborating, Phenix Salon Suites has created a community for hair and beauty professionals where they can create and express their love for the industry.
A huge Stanley Chow exhibition featuring inflatable portraits of Manc icons is coming to Manchester
Daisy Jackson
Some of Manchester’s most famous faces are about to get even bigger, with a new Stanley Chow exhibition coming to town this summer.
And rather unusually, the artist’s portraits will be inflatables…
The huge new MCR Made exhibition is set to take over Manchester Arndale from 3 August all the way into the autumn.
Shoppers and locals will be able to admire 13 portraits of Manc icons, which will be up to six metres in length, whether it’s Oasis legends or Suffragettes, football heroes or creative pioneers.
The gigantic inflatable Stanley Chow portraits will be suspended right across the iconic shopping centre for an art trail that celebrates the figures who have shaped the city.
The impossible-to-miss exhibition features famous faces from the worlds of music, sport, science, politics, art and culture.
Along the trail you’ll spot the likes of Liam and Noel Gallagher, Marcus Rashford, Phil Foden, Emmeline Pankhurst, Alan Turing, L.S. Lowry, Lemn Sissay, Caroline Aherne, Aitch, and a host of other trailblazers, all in Stanley’s signature and distinctive style.
MCR Made showcases the work of legendary local artist and illustrator Stanley Chow in an exciting new way, encouraging exploration through photo opportunities and a social media competition.
Stanley Chow said: “The Arndale Centre for me is my Mecca, and I’m sure it is for so many people from Manchester. I’m old enough to remember when it first opened as a shopping centre nearly 50 years ago, and I haven’t stopped coming here since.
Inflatable portraits by Stanley Chow will take over Manchester Arndale this summer
“I’m a proud Mancunian, so I was very flattered and touched to be asked to do this. Art needs to be seen everywhere, and not always necessarily in a gallery. I can’t think of a better place for as many people as possible from all walks of life to be able to see my work presented this way.”
David Allinson, Centre Director at Manchester Arndale, said: “Manchester has always been a city that outperforms and exceeds expectations. Through music, sport, science, politics, creativity and innovation, Manchester’s influence is recognised around the world, and MCR Made celebrates the icons whose talent, ambition and determination helped build that reputation.
“The exhibition feels particularly at home inside Manchester Arndale, itself a Manchester institution that has been woven into the city’s fabric for almost five decades. The shopping centre provides the perfect backdrop for celebrating Manchester, its creativity and the iconic figures behind its global reputation.”
Manchester Arndale will also be giving visitors the chance to own a piece of MCR Made, with 26 limited edition A4 prints signed by Stanley Chow up for grabs. Two prints of each icon have been produced, with winners allocated their artwork at random. To enter, simply follow @manchesterarndale on Instagram and like the competition post.
MCR Made will run at Manchester Arndale from 3 August – 24 October, and is totally free to visit.
P1 Fitness – The Manchester gym that strikes the perfect blend of PT and group-based coaching
Danny Jones
We here at The Manc team are trying to get fit; it can be hard to find time for the gym when you’re busy, not to mention staying in shape when you’ve got a food scene as good as Manchester’s, which is exactly why P1 Fitness Studio is a perfect match for us.
Maybe you’ve fancied giving a personal trainer a go, or even tried a class or two, but perhaps the schedule, the price, the location or some other factor meant it wasn’t for you.
Whatever your reasoning, if you’re the kind of person who can admit they need a bit of a kick up the backside to get their arse in gear and actually stick at this gym lark, we can assure you this is an ideal place to build the right kinds of habits.
And trust us, they’ll keep pushing to make sure it sinks in.
Top-end facilities, secure lockers, every bit of kit you’ll ever need and much more (Credit: The Manc)
Aside from the anti-ego environment in general – you won’t catch anyone staring at themselves in mirrors here – it’s also just nice to be around people with similar lifestyles.
Boasting tonnes of positive reviews online, P1 Fitness is a place for busy professionals who aren’t willing to let work and all other time-consuming parts of ‘adulting’ be an excuse to not carve out less than an hour to better themselves.
And for most people, that really is all it takes to start seeing a difference; two 50-minute sessions might not sound like a lot to some, but the effort you put in during the group workouts is more than enough to get the benefit.
They focus on quality, not quantity, making sure every day that you turn up is worthwhile, and no drop of sweat is wasted.
Better still, they keep the numbers low and even break off into smaller groups to explain and tailor workouts to suit each person.
It’s not just weekly blocks stuck on a wall that you have to stick to: everything is flexible, and they do try and give everyone as much one-on-one attention as possible from the P1 staff.
Here’s what some other members have had to say in their recent testimonials:
“The biggest difference isn’t that I’m fitter and stronger. It’s that I don’t have to think about it anymore. Before P1 I’d spend all week telling myself I needed to go to the gym, then I’d be too tired, it’d be busy, I didn’t know what to do, and I’d end up doing nothing and beating myself up about it.
“Now I just turn up twice a week. Someone tells me what to do, I get coached to do it right, then shower, go back to work and my fitness takes care of itself. It’s one less thing I have to worry about.”
Louise
“I genuinely thought I hated gyms. In fact, when I saw one, I used to cross the street to avoid it… Turns out I hated the ‘usuall’ gym experience. Wondering what I was supposed to be doing, fighting for equipment in the crowd and being self-conscious about my form.
“At P1, I simply walk in, everything’s ready – someone coaches me through the session, we have a laugh in the group, and before I know it I’m finished. I actually look forward to training now, which is crazy.
Damien
One of our very own, Lonnie, says it’s given him a sense of “structure, routine and a community” in the gym like never before, and added that “it’s become that third space where people can come together to better themselves in a fun and unique way.”
Abby is ever the hard-working, friendly face; her husband and fellow co-owner, Peter, is a ‘BFG’ who will always push you to your limits but knows when not to beast you; Ben is a great instructor with a great way of breaking down movements, and Mel is the smiling assassin who is as dedicated as she is smiley.
Then there’s Katie, who is somehow juggling a PhD and working at P1 part-time, all whilst being an absolute Duracell bunny of a trainer. All in all, you couldn’t ask for a better team.
Best of all, you can choose when to register for a session based not only on who you prefer working with, but whatever time suits you; you can even put your name down as last-gasp as you like – in fact, we’ve turned up with five minutes’ notice on more than one occasion.
It’s also great to see that they’re more than happy to roll out a mat or pick up a weight and properly get stuck in there with you.
Put simply: much like you, all of these guys have their own special traits, but one thing they do all have in common is an incredible amount of drive and passion for the work they do, not to mention the knowledge and experience to back it up.
We’re not going to give you any harder of a sell than that; all we’ll say is that we’re feeling more positive about our current fitness journey than we have in a long time, and if you want to make similar progress, P1 might just be for you.
So, if you are truly looking to get fitter in a setting where consistency, accountability and community thrive, consider this your sign to finally get serious.
You can find out more and enquire about joining right HERE.
You won’t find a friendlier team. (Credit: Supplied)
Emily Sergeant -
30th March 2022 
