The Mur Salon Strives Offer More Opportunities With Guilford Location

GUILFORD, CT — When Dee McQuade opened The Mur Salon in Branford, she had bigger dreams and goals of being a small business owner.

McQuade wants to change the salon business.

“There’s a couple of different ways stylists work in this industry. You can either be employed or self-employed. You don’t need to work in a salon to have a license,” McQuade said. “My goal is to offer all the outlets to stylists.”

The way McQuade wants to change the salon business is by first opening a second location in Guilford.

“Our Guilford location will be for commission stylists who The Mur Salon employs,” McQuade said.

McQuade said the Guilford location at 995 Boston Post Rd., Unit 2, is scheduled to be open in January 2024 and will have 10 stations and four sinks.

A grand opening is in the works for the new Guilford location, featuring refreshments, giveaways and a special grand opening service package.

“The Branford location was my baby. I put everything in this. I did use some contractors, but my husband and I did most of the work here,” McQuade said. “But the Guilford location will be my dream salon.”

The Mur Salon in Branford is located at 4 Brushy Plain Rd.

“Our Branford location will be for independent stylists, which is like self-employed and running their own business while offering an open concept salon,” McQuade said.

“The stylists at the Branford location will be able to make their schedules hours and buy their products,” Porsha Amodio, manager at The Mur Salon, said. “They are essentially renting a chair.”

McQuade said some stylists like working in a salon setting, so having both will allow them to offer more to a wider variety of stylists.

“The Guilford location is close to the hair school, which I thought would be a good opportunity for me and the students,” she said. “I would like to go to the school and introduce myself and let them know of our opportunities.”

“With students coming out of school, we are giving them an opportunity to have in-depth training rather than just the basics that they learn in school,” Amodio said. “So, they can start with us, get all the training, learn all the things, and if they decide to become independent a few years later, they can transfer over to the Branford salon.”

McQuade said she opened The Mur Salon in 2019.

“This January will be five years since we’ve been open, “she said. “I brought my business from Vernon, Conn., to the shoreline in hopes of involving myself more in the shoreline community, hoping to learn about the hairstylists out here and give them more opportunities.”

The Mur Salon is named after McQuade’s dog, Murray.

“He’s a local celebrity at the salon,” Amodio. “He gets loves of love, treats and toys from everyone.”

In Murray’s honor, they offer cruelty-free color, products and retail at The Mur Salon.

The idea of having one location be for self-employed hairstylists and the other for hairstylists employed by The Mur Salon came about because of all McQuade's experiences in the hairstyling business.

“I’ve been in the industry for 10 years and worked for corporations, franchises and small businesses. I’ve been commissioned, salaried, and now I’m finally on my own payroll,” she said. “I’ve worked in funeral work, and I’ve worked in nursing homes doing hair.”

“I’ve pretty much walked all walks of life in hairstyling, and I can see how hairstyles might get bored doing the same thing. They want multiple options and avenues and creative ways to make a living,” she added.

McQuade has been looking to expand The Mur Salon for the last few years.

“I was looking for something more visible. The Guilford location is right on Route 1 in a busy high-traffic area where people can see my sign,” she said. “For stylists who are employed and don’t have a clientele, that is good for business for them so they can build a clientele.”

“The Branford location is a little bit hidden and is better for someone who is more established and has a clientele and only needs a place to work out of,” McQuade added. “COVID did weird things to people but also gave people perspective on life, and what is important to them, and whatever that looks like, I want to tailor the stylist's career to what they want their life to look like.”

Through this endeavor, McQuade wants to allow stylists to have a career, not just a job.

“I want hairstyling to be something they can sustain throughout their life,” she said. “The more employees we can offer a 401K, health insurance, I already offer paid-time-off and paid-sick-time, which hairstylists don’t usually get. I want stylists to still have a life and be a service provider.”

“We want to balance work and personal life,” Amodio said.

Amodio said they want to elevate the experience of the hairstylist and the client by allowing the hairstylist to focus on their niche.

“We are looking to have stylists who specialize in specific things which are tailored to certain clients and make for an overall better experience,” she said.