Add a Topper Bar

By Lisa Ferestad, Owner, Cura Hair Solutions, Marietta, Georgia

Are you looking to create a new stream of revenue in your business? Perhaps you are you looking to create a new interest in something you already carry in your studio.

If you are working with top pieces, you might consider creating a topper bar. Not only has it been a wonderful new addition to our space, but it has been a topic of conversation while generating new business for the studio and revitalizing a piece of the business that has been on our back burner. Our Topper Bar is also giving the studio new content across all of our social media platforms.

After we had been in our new location for a year and a half, there was one last space needing a new identity. The space is 7.5 feet by 12 feet and is an extension of the hallway adjacent to our treatment rooms. The space was too small to close in and we were not interested in adding a waiting area for clients, since we have kept Covid protocols of keeping our front door locked and letting our clients in one at a time.

The concept came to me one day, because we have a lot of toppers in the studio but they were sitting in bags and no one was seeing them. It is also common for our clients to want to bring a friend with them for a consultation, so creating a space where they could do this comfortably was also something that was important to me. I thought the topper bar was a space to have a little fun and get creative. If you’re looking to create a topper bar in your own space, it does not need to be large. It could be a small wall where you have one styling station and a space to display a few top pieces. We looked at the area measuring 12 feet across and figured out that we could add two styling chairs and a station in the center. We added a dark wood bar that runs the length of the wall and two styling chairs in the same style as our existing chairs, but a different color. We chose deep green to bring a pop of color

into the studio. The two new mirrors bring more light into the space. We also added a fun wallpaper to give the area a finished look. We used an industrial pipe to hang the toppers on.

Adding a topper bar to your studio can be a great topic of conversation for current clients and also will help to attract new clients. This new space will also allow us to host events where we can have clients schedule a styling night where they can learn to do updos, perfect working with their tools, and practice blow dries, all while having a curated cocktail along with a theme for the educational events.

When you are showing your space and featuring new top pieces, your social media content can be endless. We have started a new segment across Instagram and Facebook, where we feature two new toppers every Tuesday. “Topper Tuesday” is now a new feature across all of our platforms. Talking about the pieces you offer in your studio can give you an opportunity to get in front of the camera and let your potential clients start to get to know you and also learn a little bit about what products you carry in your studio. If you are camera shy you could always show a top piece on a stand and do a voiceover and describe the piece that you are featuring. Visit our Instagram and Facebook pages to grab a few ideas for what we are doing to promote the new area in the studio and also bring new life back into the toppers that we carry.