Welcome to Hickstead, home to both Seven Oak Stables, and Blue Acre - two rival stables. Both offer opportunities for their clients to reach the highest level of excellence. Each stable differs from the other, so choose wisely and never forget, loyalty is everything... Meanwhile as the stables battle it out, there's trouble brewing at the university. Be careful, if you don't pick a side you may get caught in the cross-fire...
This is an chilled out rpg with a super friendly and relaxed atmosphere! Remember to sign up with your characters full name in all caps and don't forget to do your claims! Thank you and Welcome, we've been established since 10th March 2009 but unfortunately have had to close guest view of our boards due to multiple sites ripping off our hard work, such a shame! Come chat to us in Discord before joining if you like!.
The salon owner stood behind her chair, finishing off a cut and color. Her client happily chatted away, giving her the latest gossip at one of the local schools - which is where she taught. Hope nodded, listening as best she could over the loud sound of the hairdryer. Using the round brush, she gave the brunette a blow out - turning off the hairdryer as soon as she was done.
She seemed ecstatic with her new hair - standing up and playing with it while Hope put down her hair tools. The two women headed over to the front desk, Hope picking up the debit machine and punching in the amount - passing it over to her client. The woman quickly paid and left, waving goodbye to Hope before the door closed behind her.
"Phewf, only a few more clients to go before the day ends." She was glad that Tom was off helping Lindsay with some trees that needed trimming, but he was usually pretty good at keeping himself busy if she was working. With quick work, the area around her salon chair was cleaned up and the brushes were back in the barbercide.
As if like clockwork, the front door bell rang. The blonde turned around from putting the broom and dust pan away to see who she assumed was her next client. "Hi there, are you Yuliana?" She didn't want to assume, though with a quick glance at the clock - it wasn't rude of her to think that's who had just entered the salon.
Yuliana wasn’t one to pamper herself perse, but she liked being in a relaxing setting. She, for the most part, did her own hair, braiding included. But she saw Scout for anything color related. Her nails? That was a different beast. While Yuliana loved the idea of being able to do her own, cute little nail art – she didn’t have the patience for it. But today, she wanted to make them look nice and a bit more manageable. She hadn’t been to a salon in a long time, as Scout could travel to and from. Also, her wig work was done at home too.
She trusted Scout’s word, going to her partial employer’s place for nails. Yuliana wasn’t expecting anything spectacular but would pay for good work if it was indeed good work. She had mulled over the ideas in her head but decided to keep it boring. A gel overlay with maybe a small flower design on the ring finger. If she liked the service, she would do something more intricate later.
A hand opened the door of the salon and the bell went off, a bit louder than she expected. A woman, the owner she guessed, greeted her. “Yeah, that's me. Just here for a mani,” Yuliana responded matter of factly. She slipped off her coat and hung it on the coat rack near the door.
The woman headed over to the manicure area, glad that it was usually kept in order by herself and her staff. "Perfect, welcome to the salon. Make yourself at home, would you like something to drink before we start? Hope pulled out both chairs which were across from each other before bringing over the color samples over. She made herself over to the mini kitchen, filling her water bottle with water from the tap after she realized it was empty.
"What were you thinking of doing today? A solid color or did you want some nail art as well?" She set her bottle on the floor beside her chair, wanting to have it on hand in case she was thirsty - knowing she hadn't had enough water to drink during her busy day. Hope turned and made sure she had her nail tools and brushes before sitting down, knowing she would have to get up to pick the colors out for her client. "Whenever you are ready, have a seat and we can get started." Doing nails was something she was getting better and better at - she was happy to get more practice in as most of her clients were wanting a haircut or color of some sort.
“I’ll just have water, thanks,” Yuliana said, taking a seat at the station. She thought for a moment about the color and design aspect. “Honestly, I’m not much of someone that gravitates to anything flashy,” she added with a slight laugh. “Ideally, a nice neutral – gel if you do that.” It was a bit boring, Yuliana knew that. But there was something about having a neutral look that made life easier. She wasn’t someone that could commit to a color like neon green for three weeks or until how long it took for her nails to need maintenance.
"Tap water or would you prefer sparkling, I have both on hand and cold." She tended to keep a variety of drinks on hand - never knowing what her clients or staff wanted to drink or eat. There were a few clients who brought their own drinks and snacks, even a select few who brought her coffee or tea as a thank you. The blonde organized her nail brushes, setting them off to the side before folding a smaller towel and placing it by Yuliana for her wrists. "Alright, I'll bring the neutral samples over and let you pick. Maybe a french tip kind of look?" It was the most basic kind of nail she could think of - though people made it their own in various ways.
Hope got up and brought over the sample ring from a counter nearby, setting it on the table in front of Yuliana. "Oh, I'm Hope. You probably knew that from booking the appointment with me. You usually see...Scout, right? I think I've seen you around before." The woman was thankful for her staff - they did a great job and brought all kinds of people in. She walked over to the mini kitchen and pulled out a glass, waiting for her new client to give her the answer about what kind of water she wanted.
“Sparkling please,” Yuli smiled softly, taking a look at the rings. “I could do French…if the color wasn’t white. I’m willing for a small floral design on the ring nail.” She knew she was being a bit particular, but she was paying for a good service, wasn’t she? There needed to be some trust built here, and Yuli wasn’t on to give it willingly.
Truthfully, it took Scout a few appointments for Yuli to trust her. And it was over the course of a year and a half. Some would call that too long, but Scout proved herself great – probably because the young woman had a lot of experience in various hair types.
“Yeah, I see Scout. She does great work. She recommended you for natural nails, and Jules for extensions or builders. You have quite the group of people here.” She didn’t mean that in a rude way, and hoped it didn’t come across that way. Yuli finally landed on Madam Glam Dove. Two coats would suffice, she thought.
The blonde nodded and pulled out the bottle of sparkling water from the fridge and pouring her client a glass. "Alright, coming right up." She quickly put the bottle back in the fridge and carefully carried over the glass of water - setting it beside her client before taking her own seat on the opposite side of the table. "I'll let you have a peek at the colors and I can defiantly do that for you."
Hope got herself ready, pulling out her nail file first and setting it on the towel beside her. "Did you have a specific flower in mind? We could do a daisy?" She suggested, nodding as the topic switched to her employee. "That she does, I do enjoy having her around. She usually enjoys a good chat with me between clients." The salon was starting to become busier, which was something Hope had always wanted.
"Why thank you, I honestly wasn't expecting to have this big of a group when I first opened the salon. I'll have to thank Scout for recommending me. Have you been coming here long then?" She knew how picky people were with their hair - finding a stylist who understood the wants and needs of their clients was important. Hope smiled when Yuliana decided on a color. "I do like that color, let me go get it. Going with something brighter to bring on the start of Spring?" Hickstead Winters were different than what she was used to - though they didn't seem as long as they were back home. She had expected Snow her first winter in the UK and was in for a slight shock when there was only rain.
Bright wasn't exactly what Yuli thought of it, but it could be a brighter nude in someone else's eyes. Mainly of the light pink and warmer hue to it. It wasn't the cooler tones for fall.
"Ah, kind of. I tend to keep more of a neutral palette in general. It tends to fit all seasons, I think. It's nice though, having solid staff. Though I know Scout is often busy with her other job too." Yuli kind of envied the young woman's job on occasion. Traveling around to make a fake body look like it had been murdered. But she also knew the job was demanding, and the hours weren't for her.
Hope got up from her chair, walking over to where the gel colors were. She was always thankful she numbered them all, putting the corresponding number near the sample as well as on top of the bottle. It kept everyone on the same page, though there were occasions where the colors didn't match up. "I do understand that. You'd be surprised that I have a few clients who insist on having the same color every time they see me." She herself loved a good change every three weeks - currently she was rocking her Valentine's Day nails, happy for the opportunity to practice her nail art. "What is your favorite color for your nails anyway?" The blonde would have to guess pink, but everyone had different tastes.
Once the color was chosen, she grabbed the base and top coat before carrying it over. She set the three bottles down before sitting back down on her chair. "Yes it really is. It's also nice having a variety of personalities too. Makes things fun around here. Do you know if Scout is off working a movie set now?" The blonde was usually pretty good about keeping track of her staff, though recently there were too many clients that wanted to see her - on top of all the new people that moved to Hickstead recently and wanted their hair done.
"Did you want them shortened? And what shape did you want?" The woman folded a nearby clean towel and placed it on Yuli's side of the table, acting as a wrist rest for her. She picked up the electric nail file and ran her hand down the cord, plugging it in to the machine.
