If you recently poured your time, sweat, stress and budget into a new salon/spa buildout or salon/spa renovation, SALON TODAY would love to see the results and share it with our readers.

Each June, our annual SALONS OF THE YEAR competition names the most beautifully designed salons and spas, and the 2015 application process is now open at salontoday.com. Applicants are encouraged to share statistics and write a few brief essays about their design choices, then give our judging panel a closer look by providing up to 10 high-resolution images of their new space.  The stories of the top 20 salon designs will be shared in the June 2015 issue, with the grand-prize salon gracing the magazine’s cover.

This year, the editors made an executive decision to expand the competition’s eligibility window. “Traditionally, only salons and spas that were opened or re-opened from January 1 to December 31 of the previous year were eligible,” explains Editor Stacey Soble. “But we were finding that salons and spas that opened right before a busy holiday rush were finding it challenging to have a professional photoshoot of their interior completed in time for the January 31st deadline. For that reason, this year salons or spas that opened between January 1, 2013 and December 31, 2014 are eligible.”

For owners considering entering their salon or spa design, here are a few photography tips:

  • Hire a professional photographer who has experience shooting interiors. Salon mirrors and lighting are just two challenges to capturing the ambiance and impact of your beautiful new space.
  • Review the space prior to the shoot and make sure there are not people, products or clutter in the shots, especially at the stations. Retail should only be visible in shots of the retail area.
  • If applicable, please remove any protective, plastic covering from the chairs.
  • Make sure there is are no holiday decorations in your shots that may date your images. (Should you win, it would be odd to see holiday decorations in our June issue.)
  • Make sure to schedule your shoot far ahead of the application deadline. You will need adequate time to review and edit the images and compile your application.

Click here to access the online application or download SALON TODAY’s printable app.

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