FINALLY!! BLO/OUT Rittenhouse is Open! I Need a Vacation!!

It's been months since I had a chance to sit down for a minute and update everyone on what's been going on, sorry!

This morning at 7am our Rittenhouse location opened its doors and let the hordes of BLO/OUT deprived ladies come in and bask in all of its glory! :-)

 
After months of hard labor, stress, physical, mental and emotional breakdowns, it's open! With its large open spaces, super high ceilings, wainscoting, chandelier overload, iPads, BLO/Me Mosas, BLO/Me Ritas, Champagne, Doggie treats, tufted leather, the most awesome reception furniture ever, sky lights, and the coolest feature: the BLO/OUT Roof Top Deck, this place is unreal.

With the backing and support of some affluent Philadelphia investors including Raymond & Megan Giroux BLO/OUT is well on its way to taking over the Philadelphia area! Rittenhouse is open, we're negotiating Washington Square & University City all the while bringing on some of the Philadelphia's finest salon talent!

The past few months have been unreal! I have been working from early morning to early morning every day. I did however get to perfect my painting, caulking, and trim cutting abilities. I love construction and I helped the guys out as much as possible.

The stress of dealing with the current BLO/OUT location, staff (which thankfully has been pretty good due to my assistant manager and team!) , budgets, landlords, licenses, inspections, bills, bills, contractors, plumbers, bills, investors, etc… has been weighing down on me. Thankfully I love what I do, I love who I do it with, and I very much love those who support and motivate me.

So... last night we celebrated Christmas the only way we could, Chinese food, tequila, good friends and family. I had a great buzz going and it was an awesome time. 5am this morning I awoke, spent a few minutes cuddling with the love of my life, then a few more with my other love (my dog Cash), got dressed, walked the dog and headed down to Rittenhouse to open up to the public for the first time. 

The stylists came in early just as I was putting some finishing touches to the door, the music went on, the chatter began and we waited. About 3 hours into our day the phone started ringing, the door opened up and some lovely ladies came in, although they didn't get BLO/n they scheduled some future BLO/OUTs. Then a beautiful young lady came in and became our first Rittenhouse BLO/OUT! Upon completion she purchased a 20 BLO/OUT package! Yup, we're doing something right! 

Friends stopped by bearing gifts, clients called, appointments were made, tweaks and touch ups were done and we're all still working. I have to admit, all the hard work, long days, short nights and pain was worth it. What I built is beautiful to the eye and even more beautiful to the hair. 

Now on to more tweaks more fix ups more touch ups, our next locations and a huge deal in the works that will BLO this industry OUT of the water! 

Stop by when you get a chance and see what I'm talking about!

Yours,

Avi.

The Blo/Out Grand Opening Party Was Awesome...Someone Was Missing.

On Friday the 13th we celebrated our Grand opening (although we have been open since March 4th). We figured we deserve a big ass party with lots of drinks, music, funny pictures and all the people we love. Almost all. 

The party was also the venue for the first episode of BLO/OFF // A Stylist Elimination Reality Show. The show went great, not without hitches and errors, but was definitely fun, entertaining and productive since it yielded us an awesome new Blolita: Heather!

In the last minute we decided to bring in a ShutterBooth photo booth with all kinds of silly items to have fun with while being photographed, that thing was a total success! Everyone loved the pictures and as the drinks kept flowing, the pictures got better and better. 

The party was MC'd by our absolute favorite DJ Jonathan Silva (Resident DJ at Chelsea Hotel, Zee Bar, G Lounge, etc...). The music was unreal, the dancing was fun and funny at some point. The Blood Orange Blo/Me Mosas were being consumed quicker than we were making them. The food provided by Arugula Ristorante next door was absolutely delicious! The young male models we had serving the food were fun and handled all the mental undressings they were getting from all the women around very well. 

Our unbelievable team of Blolitas who worked their asses off were able to raise a total of $920 for The Healing Consciousness Foundation! The selflessness of every member of our team is beyond awesome! We stayed late cleaning, drinking and then went on to our seperate after parties. 

Everyone who I've spoken to said the party was great and they had an awesome time, that was all we wanted to do! 

Although I don't remember much about the later part of that night I do remember my anger. Throughout the party although having a great time, laughing, hosting the BLO/OFF episode and socializing, I was angry. Strange right? I'm not an angry person and never have been, I'm usually the leading spokesperson for the "I Don't Give a Fuck" club. 

Why was I angry? Let's get personal. 

On March 24th of this year, exactly a month ago yesterday, I lost my mother and best friend. My mother passed away abruptly without any prior notice. I'm very comfortable with the circle of life and the fact that we are born, live as much as we can, do as much good as we can, and finally die. My mom was cool as hell, she was Blo/Out's biggest fan and one of our most frequent client. She definitely was an awkward immigrant and it was visible in some of her actions and comments, but she was funny. 

On Friday the 13th I was angry that the woman that supported me from day one of every single venture I've ever endeavored on, was missing the best party yet. I finally built a business she can take advantage of and she is no longer here to enjoy it. 

I'm angry everyday that she no longer comes in to grab a cup coffee and have a cigarette outside or criticize the stylists auditioning for a position with Blo/Out on Monday nights. 

I know Anna Shenkar was excited to see women walking out of Blo/Out looking beautiful, hear women talking about it at dinner, and receive the random calls telling her about how great an idea it is and how awesome some woman's hair looked. She was proud. 

So the party was awesome, I was angry and that's that. I don't mean to be depressing, just figured I'll share with all of you.

I will continue to work my ass off to make sure we provide the best quality, best service and the best atmosphere at every Blo/Out location we operate. I know my mother would be pissed if I didn't. 

For pictures of the party check out the Gallery or our Facebook Album

Yours,

Avi Shenkar