Tribeca Citizen | New Kid on the Block: Hale Organic Salon

New Kid on the Block: Hale Organic Salon

February 23, 2012 • Services

In what had been the Rogan showroom at 91 Franklin, Joe Murray has opened Hale Organic Salon, a “clean-air salon” without ammonia and all that toxic stuff that tends to get sprayed around salons. “On the rare occasion that we have to use hairspray, like with brides,” he explains, “we have a dedicated ‘fume room’ with its own vent and filter.”

The 2,200-square-foot space is generally airy: There are 16 chairs, but Murray says only eight stylists will be working on the busiest days. The salon is an unofficial offshoot of John Masters Salon in Soho, which closed its salon to focus on organic products. “Four of us come from John Masters, and a bunch are coming from Aveda,” says Murray.

Besides keeping the brick walls exposed, Murray used repurposed materials for everything he could. That means the floor is made from wood from 200-year-old barn walls, the dividing panels come from a 19th-century rectory, and the closet doors are from a Tastykake factory in Philadelphia. (The front desk, it bears mentioning, is a piano.) As for why Murray chose Tribeca, he says he sees the salon as a bit more of a destination, so it didn’t need to be someplace like Soho: “I was looking, and I thought Tribeca was super, super expensive. And it is! But I liked the feeling of the neighborhood—it’s very community-oriented. Even before the sign went up, people have been stopping in to say hello and make appointments.”