A distance of 118 miles and 15 years separate Birmingham-born Adee Phelan from his successful Covent Garden salon and his new venture at The Cube – a skyline-changing building in Birmingham’s Westside district.
“I’ve always wanted to open a salon in my home town,” he says. “But I knew it had to be something different, and so I had a long wait to find exactly the right location. Then one day my friend, [the chef] Marco Pierre White, rang me and said there was some amazing space in the lobby of The Cube that I had to see. Within a week I’d signed the contract, and plans for a salon had begun.”
The 500sq ft space has been given the Phelan stamp with plush interiors and a sleek feel that perfectly complements the luxurious style of The Cube. Adee enlisted his regular collaborator, designer Ryan McElhinney, to help with the interior. “I wanted it to look like a Tate gallery,” says Adee. “A very open space, with glass windows all around, using the lake outside as the backdrop.”
The salon furniture was sourced from antique and vintage stores in London, Paris and Milan, as well as more unusual spots – the cupboards come from the Houses of Parliament! “The pieces work with the floor and décor to give the place a really classic, sexy feel with a modern twist,” says Adee.
However, even these are eclipsed by the true focal point of the salon – an 8ft tall gorilla. “It’s my favourite piece by a mile – it’s just something you would never see in any other salon,” grins Adee.
The salon incorporates a lot of artwork by local artists: “It was important to me that the pieces were by Birmingham artists and that all the staff should be local people, too. It’s good to give something back and create jobs,” he adds.
Using the space to its full potential, Adee plans to host gallery nights for local artists twice a month. “It’s the biggest project I have ever done, and I’m immensely proud of it,” he says. It shows.
