DevaDave Salon is a full-service salon that offers everything from massage to full aesthetic services such as waxing, facials, skin care, manicures, pedicures, and makeup. The business will be celebrating its 1st year anniversary this August. The owner, Dave Richards, brings in a rich background as a stylist and makeup artist having been established for over 8 years.

“Of the 8 years, I have worked six years here [in Calgary], and the other two were spent in Germany. A lot of my background came from my spa experience as a manager, and the services I had to train myself on – not just as an aerobics instructor, but the ongoing massage treatments and specialty treatments.”

“I like using the best of any product. You will see some of the caviar shampoos and conditions we have in here, and the white truffle shampoos, so you see any of the products we have are high-end. We live in Calgary; we have a unique weather system that dries you out. You need to spend your money on the deep products and rich products – you can’t compromise that.”

One of many things that really stands out is the extensive presence of new and interesting artwork hanging on the walls throughout the salon.

“We have a lot of wall [space] for young artists’ work. All the work that is in here is for sale, and the artist gets 100% of that. Most of the galleries are pre-booked, so when they come out of school or are producing work, there is no place to showcase it. We have great traffic in here so, a lot of the work sells right away. It is quite affordable because it is not subjected to the gallery mark-up.”

Richards likes to make the Salon interesting for his customers by changing things up from time to time. Whether it be moving around the artwork, repainting the walls with new colors, or even removing the ceiling tiles to take the edge off the acoustics in the room.

“I like reinventing the space, so that when clients come in, they say ‘oh my god, what did you do?’ It has been very strange because a lot of the clients ask, ‘what paint color is that?’ People take a lot from this space and go home with it, which is to me a great compliment. [We removed some of the ceiling tiles] because the sound would come right back down on our heads when we spoke and we found it a bit too much. We opened up the ceiling to let it up, [and decorated the inside with ferns]. We are quite lucky; with all of the windows open we have this amazing cross-breeze in here. A lot of clients fall asleep because it is so relaxing. You don’t hear the street traffic at all.”

Another thing that makes DevaDave Salon so unique is their on-site wig boutique.

“We also have on site a full wig boutique, which is quite unique for a salon in Calgary. We not only do consultations for clients with Alopecia or Cancer survivors, we do full fittings just for the sake of getting dressed up. [For some, it it important to find wigs that look very realistic.] A lot of them have a natural scalp. If I am standing close to you, I can’t tell you’re wearing a wig. They don’t have too much hair like a cancer wig would have. They are very natural and very realistic, but they are synthetic! Technology has come so far that you cannot tell.”

Richards is not just about personal aesthetics. Aside from the Salon, he runs an event planning service, which puts his many other talents to use.

“We do weddings, event planning for dance parties, graduation ceremonies, and bridal showers. We do full weddings from beginning to end, where we do the sourcing of the vendors, musicians, florists, caterers, and location. On the wedding day, I personally work as the bride’s personal assistant, and I do her hair, as well as her makeup. I follow her the rest of the day, for the entire event. So, very ‘Jennifer Lopez,’ but more reality in terms of the budget.”

This year’s dance for Apollo Western Cup was an example of DevaDave’s event planning abilities.

“We go to the clients or the clients come here. We do a full consultation. We discuss what they want – their ideas, the theme, what inspiration they have for the event – and so it’s my job to create the realization of that actual event. In the case of Apollo Western Cup, they told me what the event was for, how many people they were accommodating for that evening so, my job was to create a party to fit in not only the sports theme, but incorporate as much of the community as possible.”

With recent developments in Canadian politics, we asked Richards the burning question – does he do event planning for gay weddings?

“I have been asked that question quite a bit. I have always said ‘no’ in the past because the whole idea for me at that time, getting married was just to push buttons, and that did not work for me. You need to get married for the right reasons, And now that we have a law in place, now that we have people who realize how hard they had to fight to get that law, I would gladly do gay weddings. But, it has to be a union that represents that couple, who they are, and not to show off to society. I don’t do in-your-face, up-yours events.”

By far, Richards’ favorite part of event planning is the food.

“I’m all about food. I’m from the Caribbean and we like food. The heart of every celebration, be it a wedding or a funeral, or hell, even just passing an exam, it is all about food. Consequently, my events revolve around great food and great service.”

Whether you are looking for a relaxing afternoon of pampering, or professional advice on getting a fabulous event off the ground, DevaDave Salon is your one-stop shop!

“It’s all about the glamour, darling…”.

DevaDave Salon
1304 4th Street SW, 4th Floor
(403) 290-1973
www.devadave.com

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