It’s a beautiful thing to step inside a space that’s the true manifestation of a shared dream. And when you leave the space either more good-looking or more enlightened than when you arrived, it's a space you’ll want to return to again and again. This much can be said for A Studio: the stunningly designed hair-salon-turned-meditation-space-turned-creative-workshop turned-venue in the heart of Darlinghurst.
Founded by partners Gareth Martin and Mark Treviranus, A Studio is a creative space that combines beauty, mindfulness, and design in a way that reminds you that a business can be anything you want it to be. Down a quiet, urban laneway just steps away from Oxford Street, you’ll find the door beneath a small, quietly-cool illuminated sign. Hardwood floors will lead you up to a light-flooded studio – exposed brick walls are lined on one side by mirrors, on the other by one simple, clean shelf adorned with A Studio’s very-own hand-poured candles. The room is almost intimidatingly cool, but the staff – warm and lighthearted – will put you instantly at ease.
This first floor is Gareth’s domain. The New Zealand-born hair stylist trained in Auckland, then moved to Sydney in 2014 to begin practicing as a stylist. After opening the first iteration of A Studio in Potts Point back in 2022, he moved to the larger Darlinghurst space in early 2024, and it’s no mystery as to how he’s built a fiercely loyal clientele. Gareth’s skill spans way beyond the product (though I can affirmatively say that my hair has never looked better) – it’s in his easy, warm energy. As he transforms my unruly locks, he tells me how the space came to be, and about his and Mark’s plans for the future. There are plans for dinner parties (they’ve already hosted a few, setting up a long banquet table down the centre of the room and inviting a careful curation of interesting guests), design workshops and haircare masterclasses. And it’s all divinely possible because, despite officially being a hair salon and meditation studio, this is a space that “refuses to be categorised”.
Up a steep wooden staircase, you’ll find the meditation room where Mark runs breathwork and meditation sessions focused on accessibility and inclusion. Drop in for a one-off workshop (generally held on Sunday mornings, check the website for exact dates and times), or develop your meditation practice through a three-week course.
Beyond the mediation space, a small, sun-soaked room is home to A Studio Objects, the collection of hand-made, modernist candles and table objects designed by the A Studio team and made by hand in a local, eco-friendly studio. Designed to complement the space, the candles custom-designed taper candles lace the air with a blend of pink pepper, violet, sage, exotic woods, vanilla, and amber.
In its multidisciplinary format and in its approach, A Studio is refreshingly playful.
"The idea came to us during Covid," Gareth explains. "We asked ourselves: what if we could create a brand and space that could encapsulate all our interests? Why choose one lane when you could create your own?"
You can learn more and book over here.
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