By Julie Davis
For Joel Warren and Edward Tricomi, education is what keeps the new Warren-Tricomi salon at The Grove a cut above
The new Warren-Tricomi salon at the Grove in Shrewsbury opened its doors to much fanfare in June. And rightfully so. It’s one of seven exclusive locations with ties to the esteemed Warren-Tricomi salon in New York City, where celebrities, luminaries and the like flock to get coifed to perfection.
The flagship salon at the Plaza Hotel in Manhattan is where you’ll find founders Joel Warren and Edward Tricomi. Warren is considered one of the top colorists in the country, if not the world, while Tricomi is beyond famous for wielding his scissors to sculpt hair looks like no other (industry insiders call him Edward Scissorhands). Both are fixtures at fashion week and on high-profile photo shoots, creating hair trends that have, much like them, become legendary.
Star power and fanfare aside, what makes the Warren-Tricomi group of salons so unique is its commitment to education. “It’s so important to Joel and Edward that all of the salons be aligned,” says Allison Friedman, senior colorist at Warren-Tricomi at The Grove in Shrewsbury. “They want to be sure that when a new salon opens, like ours in Shrewsbury, it’s the same experience you would get at every other Warren-Tricomi salon, from the way we cut and color to the way we style.”
For that very reason, they opened the Warren-Tricomi Academy in New York City, where all Warren-Tricomi colorists and stylists are required to train prior to stepping foot on the floor. “We trained at the academy for months and months before our location opened,” notes Friedman. “It was very hands-on and very intense. It was all about learning the Warren-Tricomi way.”
That way is extremely particular and incredibly detailed. Colorists are taught foiling techniques that create the most natural looking hair color (never stripy or chunky, notes Friedman), while stylists learn how to cut precision angles and shapes, and master the art of the perfect blow dry using a specific type of brush. “Our training was meticulous, down to a T,” says Friedman.
While pre-training is mandatory at Warren-Tricomi, so is continuing education. Friedman says Warren and Tricomi encourage all employees to come back to the academy at any time for further training. They offer workshops and classes, which they often teach, to keep their teams ahead of the trends. “Edward is so involved in fashion week and works closely with top designers. He creates the trends,” she notes. “At these classes, our stylists get to learn directly from him and bring the newest trends back here sooner. We know what’s hot before it’s hot.”
Commuting to Manhattan twice a week for six months has given the team at the Shrewsbury salon more courage and confidence. “We all came to Shrewsbury with a broad spectrum of experience, but training with icons like Joel and Edward has brought us all to an entirely new level,” says Friedman.
A cut above, indeed.
