Atmosphere

A key ingredient to a successful salon is the warmth, feel, and comfort of the space in which you gather. It is also about you. If you enter into the salon with an authentic, curious, and compassionate disposition there is no way you can go wrong. It is critical that you host in a home (even if it is not yours). (If you are gathering virtually please see note on virtual salons). That being said when it is possible, hosting in a home creates a space of community, vulnerability and warmth. We recommend gathering in a circle that can be created with a combination of a couch, chairs, and pillows on the floors to make the conversation intimate. If your apartment is too small ask friends to host in their homes. They love it and it can create a great opportunity to connect with someone that you know on a different level.

One example from a salon on “Romance” we spread rose petals all over the floor and lit candles around the room. People walked in surprised and delighted which helped put them into a different space of exploration and curiosity. Not every salon will give you the opportunity to create such a unique ambiance but the key is to make your space homey, warm, authentic, and inviting.

Avoid catering, formality, fancy cocktails, expensive wine, etc. Remember, this is about the conversation.

Couples: It is recommended to only invite the person not the couple. This may be hard in some settings but it is important to maintain that this is about what an individual brings to the table. If you feel the couple can bring that then invite both. Also, if you do couples then you only get 6-7 invites so that is challenging. We realize that this may differ depending on the context so ultimately you must decide. Our advice would be to try not to invite couples and then see if there is push back. Note: The host always has their partner join, if you are the host always nice to have someone to support and help facilitate with you.