Thursday, January 7, 2010 Dedham Transcript wickedlocaldedham.

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Sisters build sanctuary for beauty

After 10 years, salon owners look toward future in Dedham
By Andrea Salisbury
STAFF WRITER

If you go
Keldara Salon and Spa Where: 650 Washington St. Phone: 781-251-6600 Web site: www.keldara.com

itting across the table in a conference room at the Keldara Spa and Salon, Eileen Casey decided her sisters hair need one minor adjustment. She quickly moved to re-part Jeanne Gianinos bangs, smiled and then sat back down. Casey, of Braintree, is the stylist half of the duo of sisters who own the Dedham Plaza salon, and they would have it no other way. We are just lucky, I dont do what shes good at, said Gianino, of Peabody. I couldnt do this alone. The salon would be all beige. Casey added with smile, We dont let her near a chair, and I like it that way. What started as one sister helping out another with the business side of hairdressing in the 80s quickly evolved into a partnership, a move and the expansion to a 15,000-square-foot salon and spa. Back in 1985, Casey explained. I had an 800-squarefoot salon in West Roxbury (K.C. and company) and Jeanne would come in once a week to do payroll. Gianino filled in a small detail: I would come down to pay the bills. Casey continued, I was widowed young and Jeanne came to help out with the business. Eventually, as nearby stores closed and the sisters bought up more land, the West Roxbury salon expanded. Even then, the space wasnt enough. In the late 90s, we knew we needed to leave, Gianino said, We needed more space and more parking. With their new salon, Gianino said they were looking to build a sanctuary, so Casey headed to Dedham Public Library. After hours of searching for the perfect name, Casey said she came across the word cill-dara. As the story goes Saint Brigid founded her abbey in Kildare. According to the salons Web site, Kildare derives from cill-dara, which means the Church of the Sacred Oak. The sisters said they wanted the new space to be a sanctuary for beauty and restoration, but they also wanted people to be able to pronounce the salons name. So, using a bit of creative

DEDHAM TRANSCRIPT PHOTOS BY ERIN PRAWOKO

Keldara Salon owners Jeanne Gianino, left, and her sister Eileen Casey, right.

womans face taking into account the shape of her head. The resulting looks are soft, sexy and feminine. This method is taught to all the stylists and assistants at Keldara, Casey said. The stylists are required to take a number of classes every year in color and cuts. Casey says the salon only uses Aveda products, pointing to a label stating Aveda coloring products are 97 percent plant-derived. That way, Casey said, the hairdresser isnt breathing in toxic fumes. Colorists receive continual training from Aveda and have traveled to New York City and The Aveda Institute headquarters in Minneapolis, the sisters said. For many of the girls, once they used Aveda color they dont want to use anything else, Casey said.
The future of Keldara

I always wanted to do something creative. Hair dressing gives you immediate fulfillment. And 45 minutes later you can say, look at what I created.
Eileen Casey

(This) is a motherfriendly place. We are both mothers and we know what a mother faces with these issues.
Jeanne Gianino

license, in 1999 they opened the 8,000 square-foot Keldara Salon and Day Spa with 24 employees in Dedham Plaza. As the client base grew, so did the salon, with the acquisition of the tuxedo rental shop next door in 2008, Keldara became what it is today: A 15,000square-foot salon and day spa with over 75 employees. Dedham has been a great move for us, Gianino said with a big grin.
The Keldara difference

Keldara Salon owner Eileen Casey.

Keldara Salon owner Jeanne Gianino.

Keldara is perhaps the only salon with indoor front porch and a gazebo gift shop. Keeping with its Cape Cod theme, rooms for shampooing, nails and hair are separated by rustic windows. Down a hallway is where the true sanctuary lies. Massage and facial rooms are

in the quiet area of the day spa. In heels, Gianino admits she was violating the noise rules of that area, but on a slow Monday, there werent any clients in the back area. Most days, however, Keldara is hopping. Gianino estimates the salon sees over 1,200 clients a week. Keldara is open seven days a week and offers a variety of services from a 15-minute eyebrow wax to a full body message, Gianino said it is easy

to rack up that many clients and they come back. Casey said she has had some of the same clients since she began working with hair in 1985 in West Roxbury. If they dont come to me, they come to someone in the salon, Casey said. But they stay with us. Gianino added, We have wonderful clients and an extraordinary staff. At Keldara, the sisters said,

education in different cuts and colors is essential. Casey at first would only say shes been a hair dresser for a lot of years, but later admitted it was close to 43. She received her training at the Mansfield Beauty School in Quincy. I always wanted to do something creative, she said. Hair dressing gives you immediate fulfillment. And 45 minutes later you can say, look at what I created. But even after years in the business, Casey said she discovered the French technique of hair styling about 10 years ago through the Atlanta-based salon Jamison Shaw Hairdressers. The French technique, according to Jamison Shaws site, uses the hair to frame a

While most of their friends are planning for retirement, Gianino said, theyve signed a new lease for the salon and have plans to expand. Gianino said she would like to add locker rooms with showers to the spa part of the salon. And as they expand their stylists, the sisters would like to rent additional space at Dedham Plaza to open a new talent salon. This would provide the place for new stylists to train. Another pie in the sky goal, Gianino said, is to buy a nearby house and open a full day care center for the staff. (This) is a mother-friendly place, Gianino said. We are both mothers and we know what a mother faces with these issues. For now, the two sisters are happy just being together. I cant imagine never doing this, Gianino said when asked about her plans for the future. Casey was quick to add, We like working, we like being together.
Dedham Transcript editor Andrea Salisbury can be reached at 781-433-8322 or by e-mail at asalisbu@cnc.com.

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