Brit Chambers, a former Los Angeles stylist, has gone on a lot of house calls where the client invites her girlfriends over and the appointment turns into a party, complete with cocktails and multiple coiffures. These events inspired her to create a similar scene at Fluff (1516 Wazee Street), the new bar/salon she hopes to have open by mid-October.
Chambers sees the spot as not just a beauty studio, blow-dry bar, chic lounge and upscale champagne bar, but a combination of all these elements that takes the beauty-bar concept to a new level. Fluff will open for hair appointments at 9 a.m., and an in-house barista will serve espresso and coffee drinks during the day, but in the evening, it will transform into a pre-party spot where women come to get done up before a night on the town. Fluff will have no set closing time; demand will dictate when the party is over, Chambers says.
The 2,000-square-foot space was designed to look and feel like the inside of a jewel box, with fine crystal, white stone and exotic leathers. "We really wanted the entire space to not feel like a salon, but to feel more like a very high-end, sexy bar," Chambers says, "a place where people can gather and socialize and hang out and get dolled up or handsome-ized for the evening and have a few drinks." There will be a bar in front, where most of the styling is done; it will be serviced from a back bar, where the focus is on cocktails and wine by the bottle rather than hair. Chambers brought on master sommelier Brett Zimmerman to design Fluff's wine list, as well as mixologist Tyler Marshall to create signature cocktails and a rotating seasonal roster of drinks.
While Fluff obviously caters to the ladies, Chambers wants the place to be gender-friendly so "a husband, boyfriend or single man would feel comfortable coming into the space and watching a game and having a beer or really great cocktail or glass of wine while they wait for their girlfriend or wife getting their hair done or pick up on a single chick," she says. "They could also get a shave or scalp massage, or they can get their hair styled as well."
Club scout: A chunk of the ceiling fell onto the stage after Doug Kershaw's show at the Oriental Theater on Friday, September 23; since then, the circa 1927 building at 4335 West 44th Avenue has been closed for repairs. Scott LaBarbera, the venue's talent buyer, says the Oriental should reopen by this weekend, pending two inspections by the city. "It was just a freak occurrence," he says. "I'm glad nobody was hurt." And that the roof did not cave in.
