Being unique all part of their style
[attach]5099[/attach]Sonia Anjos and Amber Fairlie have a unique approach to hairdressing.
“What makes us a bit different from other boutiques is that we do specialize,” Anjos says. “So you’ll see one person for your colour and another for your cuts so you’re getting the best possible of both worlds.”
During the grand opening party for The Manor Boutique Salon, located on Mt. Pleasant Road between Eglinton Avenue East and Davisville Avenue, they also raised money to benefit women with ovarian cancer.
“We sourced donations and then we sold tickets for those prizes,” Anjos says. “So we’d like to thank our local business neighbours for their support.”
Fairlie, who focuses on hair cutting, styling and extensions, says she also works on locks for patients undergoing chemotherapy.
“You can personalize a wig to somebody’s head, which is pretty cool because you can help people who are going through a difficult time in their life,” she says.
After spending five years working in Yorkville, the pair decided to branch out on their own because they wanted to maintain high quality service but in a more intimate and comfortable setting.
“We wanted the place to feel like you stepped into our home,” Anjos says. “We went antiquing for a lot of the pieces. It has a really vintage but at the same time modern feel to it.”
Fairlie says the antiques including a 100-year-old couch at the front of the salon inspired the rest of the décor, which they purchased before deciding on the name The Manor.
“The name didn’t come about until the guy who was helping us with our logo told us to stop thinking about it and when we stopped thinking about it I was driving up Mt. Pleasant and saw the manor,” she says. “We already had all of our furniture so it fit the idea, the ambiance, so it worked.”
The full-service salon also offers airbrush makeup services, paraben and sulphate-free products and a selection of fashion accessories and jewellery. Anjos says they plan on entering hair competitions to be recognized for their work.
“We’re constantly upgrading ourselves and staying on top of industry trends and innovations,” she says.
Anjos says they picked their location partially because it was central and easy for their old and new clients to get to.
“People appreciate the specialty stores and we fit with the neighbourhood being a specialty boutique,” she says.
“Everything’s a boutique in the neighbourhood like specialty chocolate stores and flower stores so that’s what really drew us to the neighbourhood,” Fairlie adds.
She says they also recently participated in the Mount Pleasant Fall Fair, which made her realize how strong the sense of community is.
“That was pretty exciting, seeing how much the neighbourhood actually comes out and supports, that was pretty cool,” says Fairlie. “Being in Yorkville you don’t see that so coming into a neighbourhood, it’s nice to see.”
