Terry McKee opened Nuovo, the first Aveda Concept Salon in Sarasota, Florida, in 1986. His mission: to “make the day” of every guest who walked through the door. Awards quickly began pouring in, from “Best Hair Salon” from Sarasota Magazine to “Best Hair Salon” and “Readers’ Choice Award” from the Sarasota Herald-Tribune. Building on that success, McKee became a member of Intercoiffure and opened two more locations, including a premiere Aveda salon in Bradenton, Florida.
McKee relies on business partner James Amato to “reel him in” when needed, allowing that he and Amato, who also handles education at all three locations, have grown to honor and value each other’s perspective.
Every effort has been made in the design and construction of each Nuovo location to reduce any negative impact on the environment. All three salons run on 100-percent pollution-free electricity generated by local wind and solar projects, as well as national clean energy provider Arcadia Power. Air is purified, and the team follows strict policies of re-use and recycling on every level.
As a Green Circle Salon, Nuovo has made a commitment to environmental sustainability. The program ensures that everything from hair, foils and color tubes to paper, plastic and excess color are diverted out of the waste stream.
“That’s one of the things I like best about SureTint™,” says McKee. “We tested SureTint at one of our locations and saved $6,000 in waste. All three of our salons are Green Circle Salons so having a tool that significantly reduces waste goes hand-in-hand with being environmentally responsible.”
In the two years that McKee has been partnering with SureTint Technologies, he has found lots to like about the company, including innovation and constant improvements. “We are looking forward to their integration with SalonBiz, which is our scheduling software,” he says. “Once that happens, each formula will show up on the client’s ticket. That’s important because we do a lot of upgrades and add-ons, and sometimes they are overlooked. Let’s say a colorist adds a gloss and forgets to tell the front desk. This technology ensures that every add-on service shows up on the ticket when the client checks out.”
“I’ve been doing this for 41 years, and I’ve seen hair color explode,” says McKee. “With so many guests wanting shades of blue, purple, pale pink and lavender, even our experienced colorists are doing test strands. With SureTint, it’s a no-brainer because it measures out just a half gram of color, which would be a lot more difficult if we had to do it ourselves.”
