Pony Professionnel by Mana Dave

Recently, Urbis featured five designer spaces that have successfully transformed the salon experience, but it wasn’t until the latest issue (#70) hit shelves that we discovered this chic newcomer, Pony Professionnel, in Auckland’s Newmarket.

Launched by award-winning stylists, Mana Dave and Kate Smith, Pony Professionnel puts the ‘cut, colour and style’ experience to one side and focuses on treatments, hair advice and on-the-go styling services (as made popular by its little sister, Pony Express).

Inside the salon, the eminently stylish influence of interior designer Katie Lockhart is evident throughout. Starting with a foundation of calm, neutral tones and pastels, Lockhart infuses inspiration gleaned from 1960s French coiffeurs and rural Japan. “I think combining these two influences gives the interior a certain amount of unexpected interest,” she explains. Hexagonal patterns flow from the signage to the floor tiles, and rough-sawn blocks of wood and bonsais, illuminated by low-hung pendants, give the effect of mini installations on the merchandise stands. Salon products in a considered arrangement of colours bring additional interest to the interior wall spaces.

To see the other Urbis salon spaces, check out issue #70 in stores now.