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If it’s long been a dream to walk into a salon get you hair done, all while your pooch is next door undergoing the same pampering, then this new Strathalbyn venue is what you’ve been missing.
Located on the outer edge of the Adelaide Hills, Bonce Hair Boutique and Hounds of Strath, come together creating the ultimate doggy day resort and hairdresser.
Within the former Strathalbyn ambulance station, an old vehicle bay has been transformed into polished concrete floors, backlit mirrors, green plants and salon chairs. Look across to next door and that’s where the dogs get settled in for daycare, with a groom room and indoor and outdoor play areas to keep the pooches entertained.
While the buildings are connected Bonce clients and Hounds of Strath pups enter through separate areas. Bonce Hair Boutique isn’t new to the area though, with veteran hairdressers Vincent Saunders and his wife Emma, bringing the former Dawson street venue into the new spot on Rankine street.
Vincent met Emma while they were both working as hairdresser. They moved from Sydney to Adelaide about nine years ago, and opened a salon, Bonce, in Strathalbyn around five and a half years ago.
“I originally thought what I would do is pivot from being just a hair salon for humans and being a hair salon for dogs as well,” Vincent said.
This meant starting to renovate the salon on Dawson street, but he soon realised the location wasn’t the right match and from there the hunt was on.
“I’d been looking at other locations around town, which has been a bit of an up-and-down process,” Vincent said.
“Finally, just before I was going to finish it all and collapse it, I just thought, ‘Nah, I’m done, It’s too much hard work,’ I found this ambulance station, which had been sitting here doing nothing for years.”
Before and after of the old ambulance station
The idea was sparked by Rufus, Vincent and Emma’s much-loved salon dog, who became a fixture at Bonce Hair Boutique and showed them how much calmer and happier a space could feel with a dog around. From there, Hounds of Strath was designed as more than somewhere to simply leave your dog for the day, offering a professional indoor-outdoor space where dogs can socialise, exercise and be washed before heading home clean, settled and tired.
While people are excited for a doggy daycare option in town, for Vincent it means something a little more for his hair clients.
“You can just see people change when there are dogs around. People’s personality lightens. Their anxiety lessens. They feel safer.”
The doggy day care resort already has many four-legged friends regularly part of the program like Teddy the Whippet, Trippy the German Shorthaired Pointer and Reggie the one-year-old Dachshund.
The dog grooming services range from, washing, drys and nail trimming to de-shed treatments and ear cleaning. Different packages, come at different costs and features just like you’d find at Bonce.
While the concept is playful, Vincent is clear that Bonce Hair Boutique is not intended as a gimmick. The salon, he says, is still its own high-end hair destination.
With Hounds of Strath open since the beginning of June and Bonce 2.0 taken up residence this week, it’s all coming together just how Vincent and Emma envisioned.
“It’s emotional. It really has been, especially for my wife and me. We’re through it together, and I think we just can’t stop staring at it.”
Hounds of Strath and Bonce Hair Boutique
Where: 1/3 Rainkine Street, Strathalbyn
For more on Bonce, click here.
For more on Honds of Strath, click here.
