"It feels like just yesterday when our inaugural hair salon opened its doors," reminisces Nedelka Marin-Martinez, President and CEO of Chiquicuts Corporation. "Our vision was to establish a specialty salon, but given the novelty of the concept, developing an unbeatable strategy and crafting an effective marketing plan took some time. Our initial salon occupied a 700-sq. ft. space, featuring four fully equipped styling stations. With the dedicated effort invested in the project, I can confidently say it was all worthwhile, given its tremendous success."

In its first three years of operation, the new salon garnered multiple awards and attracted significant attention, not only from local print media but also securing television coverage—an impressive feat considering the fierce competition within the salon industry.

To accommodate its expanding client base, it was time to take the next step—expansion and creative reconfiguration.

Building a hair salon as envisioned by Nedelka was undoubtedly a challenging task. After all, the initial salon was such a success that surpassing it posed a significant challenge. She and her team had already demonstrated the success of their original concept, but now they harbored another ambitious idea: creating a fairy tale-themed salon that would set them apart from their top competitors.

The new 1,500-sq. ft. salon would be meticulously designed and planned with the children's perspective as the primary consideration. Details such as the scale of the space, decor, and even the color scheme all had to be re-imagined from the viewpoint of a 7-year-old child. To meet this challenge, a computer model was developed to accurately design the themed salon. The designer incorporated a 3D virtual camera into the software, set at a height of 4 feet, ensuring that the scale of the castle would not only be inviting to young clients but also built with proportions suitable for children's viewing capability.

As the castle served as the centerpiece of the salon, it was extremely important that its appearance reflected that of a real castle.

Following thorough research, the decision was made to design the towers inspired by the architecture of Balloch Castle in Scotland.

On the contrary, the interior of the castle was fashioned after select rooms in London's Buckingham Palace. This led to the incorporation of Victorian red wallpaper, a grand fresco, and intricate trim work adorning the walls.

In keeping with the theme, the salon's interior decor incorporates a range of medieval details, including shields, swords, emblems, and flags.

All the styling stations are custom-built and sourced from various locations, including Florida, Arizona, Chicago, and Los Angeles. Additional amenities include a small theater filled with toys, where children can watch movies while they wait for their turn.

Consistent with its unique, child-centered approach, a kiddie mechanical ride has been installed, creating an atmosphere where children will love to visit the salon and eagerly anticipate their next hair appointment.

Furthermore, the themed salon offers a Party Room equipped with an integrated sound system and pre-wired with disco light equipment. In addition to vibrant disco lights and the iconic disco ball, this equipment includes laser lights, strobe lighting, and a smoke machine—making it the only disco room available for children under the age of 12 in North America

With all these amazing innovations, Nedelka and her team have no plans of stopping. If anything, they only plan to keep expanding and getting even more creative in their approach to the hair salon and hairstyling industry. In the coming years, Chiquicuts Kids Hair Salon has already laid out its next target, and that is to deliver this one-of-a-kind salon on the national stage.

“We are determined to bring our flagship store in Ottawa to all the major urban centers in the country,” says Nedelka. “Chiquicuts Kids Hair Salon is not just your average, typical, ordinary children’s hair salon. It is a magical place. We are going to make magic happen for children everywhere.