Flint, MI—Downtown Flint’s Refinery Hair Company has placed in the top 100 best decorated salons in behindthechair.com’s One Shot global hair competition.
With over 300,000 submissions across the competition’s 14 categories, Refinery competed against some of the most stylish and elite hair salons across the country and the world.
Refinery owner Dan Bucilli said he didn’t find out Refinery had placed in the top 100 until a few days after the initial announcement. According to him, it was when the congratulations from friends started rolling in that Bucilli learned of the accomplishment.
“It was funny. They had actually announced the winner two days earlier and I honestly had no idea. So it kind of popped up on social media and I was looking at all the photos of the salons that were nominated and thinking to myself ‘Okay, I don’t think we got it, that’s cool’ and then toward the end I saw our photo collage,” Bucilli said.
By that point, the submission was a year old, as the contest had been postponed in 2020. Behindthechair.com included both 2020 and 2021 submissions for this year’s awards.
Refinery’s style, which Bucilli described as “a mix of boho mid-century feel and modern farmhouse,” is complemented by an abundance of natural light coming in from the studio’s lage-panel windows and patio. Accents of natural greens from hanging and potted plants dotting the building’s two floors provide a contrast to the red light fixtures lining the ceiling.
According to Bucilli, he is constantly updating the space with new decorations and often times, customers notice.
“I try and make small changes just to keep things exciting. I’m always moving stuff around just to try and make each client’s visit just as special as their first one. We get reactions from clients all the time where they’ll be saying, ‘It’s so nice here. It’s so cute it’s so comfortable,’” Bucilli said.
Bucilli added he believes ambiance and comfort are an important part of the salon experience. For him, making sure clients feel at ease is what makes them want to come back.
“I think the ambiance, the feel, the vibe is honestly equally as important as having a good service overall,” Bucilli said.
Over the course of the coming months, behindthechair.com will continue narrowing down contestants until only five are left. These will be announced at the One Shot Hair Awards Awards in Austin, Texas on Aug. 22.