Beauty LaunchPad - November 2013 - 46

Conversations/Salon of the Month
BUTTERFLY LOFT SALON
AND SPA
17401 Ventura Boulevard, Suite B19
Encino, CA 91316
butterﬂyloft.com, 818.386.1100
"We're a green-certiﬁed salon,"
enthuses David. "We designed and
installed a custom-exhaust system
that removes harmful chemical
fumes, and we have myriad other
procedures that reduce electricity
and water consumption."

A CutAbove

Talk about lofty goals: When David and Alexis Thurston converted a
vacant space into an upscale Ventura Boulevard salon, their eco-friendly
vision took ﬂight. -MOLLY KOSSOFF

David and Alexis Thurston, owners of
Butterﬂy Loft Salon and Spa

46 | BEAUTY LAUNCHPAD | NOVEMBER 2013

David created this wall art by hand-cutting
128 butterﬂies out of recycled soda cans.

Details,
Details
Haircare lines:

Alterna, Level6,
Loft, Sebastian
Professional
Color line: Wella

Professionals
Number of staff: 51
Clients per week:

2,000+
Salon space:

4,300+ sq. feet
Education: For
locals looking to
beneﬁt from the
Butterﬂy Loft's
wealth of knowledge
and inspiration,
the salon holds a
variety of education
events-check out
the website to learn
more!

The shampoo stations were
imported from Italy.

BUTTERFLY LOFT SALON AND SPA

even years is a long time for a space to remain empty. But in half that time,
some deftly applied imagination and ambition can turn a blank slate into a
fully realized dream. Just ask David and Alexis Thurston, owners of Butterﬂy
Loft Salon and Spa in Encino, California, whose 2010 transformation of a secondﬂoor commercial space into an upscale, urban loft-reminiscent salon has been life
changing.
"For the past decade, I developed a salon-exclusive product line," recalls
David. "It allowed me to go into thousands of salons and educate stylists. I enjoyed
meeting such creative and inspiring people, but I didn't like how my relationships
only lasted for the few hours I was in the salon. Opening a salon has allowed me
to form deep, meaningful and lasting connections." David's wife Alexis brought
her 15 years of hairstyling experience to the table, and their shared business
values and ethics gave way to a resoundingly successful collaboration. In 2013,
Butterﬂy Loft was recognized by Wella Professionals for its eco-friendly procedures,
implementation and design, and the salon-which employs a custom exhaust
system and a variety of other energy-conserving measures-is currently being
featured in the brand's global campaign for salon sustainability.
But for all of its technological prowess, Butterﬂy Loft boasts an energy that's
anything but clinical-and the secret's in the design. "We're able to walk the line
of being funky, hip and cool, but also highly professional, by turning the salons into
different zones," David explains. "The cutting area is a party, the front desk area
is like a luxury hotel where it's very professional and the spa area is peaceful and
quiet." Clients are greeted with high, exposed ceilings, polished concrete ﬂoors
and ﬂoor-to-ceiling windows that offer picturesque views of the Encino hills above
and bustling Ventura Boulevard below. And with the list of services including the
standard hair offerings as well as facials, waxing, makeup, lash extensions and
more, it's clear the sky's the limit.

Beauty LaunchPad - November 2013

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