The day before Joyride nail salon opened in Vancouver’s Kitsilano neighbourhood, owner Claire Mandell was, to be blunt, freaking out.
Scrambling to set up the space in time, she and an employee were frantically unpacking, placing, cleaning, rearranging. Suddenly, a large truck carrying the missing link—Joyride’s house line of skincare products—pulled up in the back alley, dropped 6,000 pounds’ worth on the ground, and drove off. Of course, right on cue, it began to rain. “It wasn’t even a moment where we could pause and be like, ‘Oh my god, we’re so screwed,’ because we didn’t have time,” Mandell recalls. Without a breath, the two of them lugged every rain-soaked box inside.
Walking into Joyride now, none of the sopping wet chaos of those final preparation hours is apparent. Instead it’s all crisp whites, lush purple chairs, and a bright Endeavour Neon sign that is “so glad you’re here”. The journey from business plan to working salon was swift (only about half a year, in fact), but Mandell’s vision was clear from day one: keep things clean and simple. She’s not out to tear down existing salons, though. “I don’t want to throw any of these [other] nail salons under the bus, because I went to them for many years, and I respect the hustle,” she says. “It’s hard work, this business.” What Joyride presents is an alternative; Mandell’s goal is to be transparent in every aspect, from how tools are cleaned to what ingredients are in the house products (which are all-natural, organic, and made in Canada).
In the age of knowing where your chicken breast was raised and who picked your carrots, Joyride’s approach to beauty products is a natural extension. “I wanted to make sure the line was all inclusive and really simple—I don’t ever want to put out 30 different types of bubble bath,” she says. “I just want it to be really basic stuff that both men and women can use. I want the ingredients to be kept to a minimum so that consumers can understand what they’re putting on their skin.” For the nails themselves, the salon carries coveted polish brands including New York’s Deborah Lippmann and Los Angeles-based vegan line Ella + Mila.
It’s all about cultivating the purest and easiest experience for guests—who can fill out a short questionnaire and find their favourite Glory Juice Co. flavours or fancy coffees waiting for them upon arrival, along with an iPad loaded with their favourite magazines. “I just don’t want the client to come in and have to think about anything,” explains Mandell. A lot of thought goes into nurturing this thoughtlessness—allowing patrons to sit back and, well, enjoy the ride.
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