Inside one of Melbourne's Boutique Skin Clinics - House of Maxx Armadale
Q. Tell us about House of Maxx
A. House of Maxx Boutique Skin Clinic opened its doors in August 2015. Our vision from day one was to provide clinical treatments for skin and gut health in a luxurious space; we wanted clients to walk in, feel calm and important and leave with hope and confidence.
Our clientele range mostly from 25-35 and are predominately women with gut related skin issues that have had no success with other skin clinics. They initially come to us for our Health Consultation and customised skin treatments but we have also become known for our brow and lash services.
The staff at House of Maxx are not referred to as staff or team, instead we call ourselves a family, communicating on a daily basis (even weekends) and have hour long weekly meetings to discuss business and personal goals, hurdles or visions.
Myself and Jenny are the owners. I have 10 years’ experience in the beauty industry, am a skin therapist and oncology esthetician whilst also having my whole life experience in gut related health issues and food as medicine. Jenny is our Health & Nutrition advisor (as well as my mum) with a background in Integrative Medicine and again, my health concerns growing up.
Allena has been with us from the start, she came into House of Maxx as a skin therapist and is now an Oncology Esthetician also. One of Allena’s best qualities is her hunger for knowledge, throwing herself into the gut health side of things to help her clients. Our newest member Corrina has dealt with a lot of health issues in the past also, and she has a background in makeup which makes her the perfect Salon Co-ordinator/Front of House and is in charge of our makeup consultations.
Q. How long have you stocked jane iredale and what is it about the brand that you value most?
A. We have stocked jane iredale for roughly a year now. Our clients invest so much in their gut and skin health; it just wouldn’t make sense for them to undo that hard work with makeup full of mineral oils, parabens and a whole bunch of other junk. So why wouldn’t you take your skin care that next step and use a makeup that will benefit you?
Q. How do you incorporate jane iredale into your services?
A. Allena and I look after our clients when it comes to their skin treatment, products and facials, but we will ask the client if they would like a makeup application after their service, most of the time this is a big “Yes!” considering we are in the middle of High Street Armadale. This is when Corrina steps in, she does a makeup application whilst explaining the benefits and writes a makeup prescription. We always finish the sale by asking if they would like to purchase anything today and reassure them that we will keep a record of what we have recommended.
Q. How do you incentivise and motivate your team?
A. I believe the biggest incentive or motivator for our family is them knowing how valued they are and that we truly rely on them and need them for our business to run. We are open and honest about our figures, this gives the girls a sense of personal responsibility, as if it were their business to make sure House of Maxx succeeds. We also genuinely love everything we stock, and if we didn’t it would just sit on the shelves.
Q. Do you organise anything special for your VIP clients for Christmas?
A. All of our clients are VIPs regardless of what they spend with us. We like to hold a little Christmas party that has complimentary skin and makeup consultations with a store wide discount, goodie bags, yummy treats and a chance to mingle with staff on a personal level.
Q. What is your merchandising plan for the upcoming holiday season?
A. I don’t like my marketing to seem obvious, we all wear the products we sell, are genuine about what we want our clients to use and offer consultations to all of them. We keep our front of house neat and tidy so each brand can be seen and shine!