Changes are afoot in our Leeds city centre nail bar, and we’re excited!
Co-founded by Abra and Erene, Pastille opened in 2013 to fill a gap in the Leeds beauty scene. To this day, Pastille is loved by thousands of clients who know they can rely on us for the perfect gel mani and hand-drawn nail art.
After seven incredible years, Erene has taken a step back from Pastille to set up her own therapy practice, which got Abra thinking about what the future of the salon could look like – both for its clients, and for our talented team of beauty therapists.
There’s no one better to tell you all about the plans she’s got in place than the founder herself, so, over to you Abra!
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“One of the things I am most passionate about in the beauty industry is increasing the opportunities for beauty therapists and their careers. So often therapists are low-paid and under-valued by society and, unless they are able to open their own salon and employ a team – which can be a huge financial and emotional risk – their career progression can often be very limited.
“In the last few years, I’ve seen a significant rise in the amount of women opting to work on a freelance basis – turning their backs on a traditional 9-to-5 job, and instead building their own businesses from passion and talent. I want to give my team, and hopefully others, that same opportunity.
“The journey to The Beauty Assembly really started when I approached Lia (a Pastille nail technician of five years) with the opportunity to go self-employed within the salon. Together, we worked on what this would look like and the best way to approach doing it. Lia took the leap in May 2019 and has completely thrived. Her new position has allowed her to feel a new sense of ownership over her business and her work. Her clients are now her own rather than the salons, and she is able to both pick her own working hours and what she wants to earn.
“Hoping to build on this success and offer it to the rest of the team, I began dreaming of a co-working space for beauty therapists. I knew this was a booming industry for tech, creatives and the media and thought, why can’t this work in the beauty industry? Fast forward to now, and I am so proud to be launching The Beauty Assembly!
“The Beauty Assembly will be a space for freelance beauty therapists to see their clients in a prime city-centre location – without the commitment of long-term leases or unaffordable overheads. For clients, it is an opportunity to support women in a very direct way, and also benefit from the increased level of service that comes from dealing with someone passionate and responsible for their work. We’re very excited!”
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The Beauty Assembly was due to launch on April 1st 2020 in line with two more of Pastille’s employees taking the decision to go self-employed, however, due to the outbreak of Covid-19 the launch was delayed and the team will remain employed until the industry has settled.
It will take more than a global pandemic to stop us though, and we’ve decided to go ahead with the launch and rebrand of Pastille – but, crucially, taking a more gradual approach to the team going self-employed to ensure they are protected from the uncertainty in the current climate.
Clients can rest safe in the knowledge that their experience of the salon will remain the same – our team, high-end products and customer service aren’t going anywhere! – but we’re making positive changes now so that, one day soon, we’ll be able to grow our Leeds neighbourhood beauty bar into a beauty co-working space that works for all involved. And, who knows, perhaps this will even see us expand out of Yorkshire…
