Renovation Revolution at Fashion Focus Hair Academy

Photos: Celebrating 30 years as one of the region’s leading hair styling education centers, Fashion Focus Academy owners Richard and Aaron Weintraub decided to elevate stylist education to a new standard nationally with a revolutionary renovation that has now made the Academy the leading cosmetology facility of its kind. Orchestrated by leading salon designer Leon Alexander of Eurisko Design, new color, styling, pedicure, retail, classroom and barber areas emulate those of actual high-end salons, bringing a more real-life education experience to stylists making them better prepared for salon positions.

Being at the forefront of hair styling trends as co-owner of Yellow Strawberry Hair Salons, Richard Weintraub has made it his life’s mission to step outside the traditional salon experience and bring unique features, in-salon energy and comfort to clients.

So when it came time to update Fashion Focus Hair Academy, of which he is a partner with nephew Aaron Weintraub, it was only fitting that they decided to revolutionize and bring a new, one-of-a-kind teaching experience to Sarasota.

In partnership with leading Sarasota-based salon designer Leon Alexander of Eurisko, they created a vision with two primary objectives: design a state-of-the-art space that emulates the best service and retail locations in the beauty industry, and offer an education experience that sets a new industry standard.

What resulted was a revolutionized academy design that now mirrors the real-life, higher end, in-salon experience. As Alexander states, “You can’t design the future with legacy thinking.”

“Fashion Focus had set the bar very high for their students and Richard wanted to ensure students were educated to the highest possible standards in the best environment. While students were getting ‘trained’ at academies, they were not acclimated to a modern-day salon experience. So there was considerable culture shock when they started working at a salon,” Alexander added.

To address this, the Weintraubs gave free design license to Eurisko who worked with Sam Holiday of Siebert Architect to address and incorporate the emotional needs of the client/student while factoring in the functional needs of the salon/academy experience. This emotional/functional approach exemplifies current trends in high-end salons across the country, of which Eurisko has worked with the top 15 percent. Fashion Focus Academy is now the first school of its kind to incorporate this kind of design technology.

State-of-the-art features of the re-designed Fashion Focus Hair Academy include:

• Space expansion from 4,800 sq. ft. to 5,500 sq. ft.
• Styling “zones” featuring digital content
• Design elements that create a feeling of both relaxation and energy – a place people want to come
• Color accents that “pop” to draw students/clients into the space
• Eco-designed furniture with LEED lighting and green commitment to replanting a tree for every tree cut
• Bluetooth monitors
• New barber certification program to existing training and certifications in cosmetology, hair, skin and nails
• Exclusive regional agreement with Pivot Point International, the most highly respected and recognized teaching methodology in the world

About Fashion Focus Hair Academy

Located at 2184 Gulf Gate Drive in Sarasota, Fla., Fashion Focus Hair Academy was founded in 1988 by partners Richard and Aaron Weintraub. Together, they have built one of the leading hair academies in the country, which has served as the high-end salon cosmetology training ground for thousands of stylists. The most respected master educators from Pivot Point Difference, utilizing a proprietary Mindful Teaching professional development product, train students, elevating their skills to the highest level of artistic creativity. For more information, visit fashionfocusacad.com.

About Eurisko Design

Headquartered in Sarasota, Fla., Eurisko designs high-end salon and spa furniture to embrace the needs of the salon and spa professional and their customers. Eurisko believes in planning for success, and designs furniture and interior spaces accordingly. A salon or school designed by Eurisko is crafted using the best-proven retail and service practices to maximize the potential of each salon or spa and position it as an image pioneer of the industry. For more information, visit euriskodesign.com.