Beautifying the co-working space

The Design Hub is the first known beauty industry co-working space in the country. Similar to co-working spaces for tech startups, the business rents out professional working spaces for startup entrepreneurs in cosmetology and design fields.

The 800-square-foot space offers four hair stations, two manicure and pedicure stations, a private nail station and an office space that can be rented out for $20 for two hours. Individuals can rent out the nail and hair stations by the day, week or month.

“It intermittently brings all the creatives to one space,” Patricia Sennert, the founder and owner of The Design Hub, said.

Sennert became inspired to create a collaborative space for entrepreneurs in the beauty industry after talking to a friend and cosmetologist told her how challenging it can be to find and rent space for professionals who are just staring out.

She visited other tech collaborative spaces, such as the Reno Collective, and set out to create her own co-working space.

Sennert found the location at 927 Haskell St. in Midtown in January 2015. The building previously housed a cleaning service business. Sennert spent four months renovating the space to create a hub suitable for the needs of cosmetologists. The Design Hub opened for business April 2015.

The hub caters to recently graduated beauty school students, past salon business owners who retired but still have clients as well as beauty school instructors.

The cost to rent a hair station is $55 for the day, $169 for a week and $499 for a month. The cost to rent a nail station is $35 for the day, $125 for a week and $399 for a month.

Individuals must present a beauty and business license to rent space in the hub. From there, they are given a key code so they can easily access the space.

The Design Hub is more than just a space for beauticians and designers to work.

“Each girl gets a custom designed business card if they are there for more than a month,” Sennert said. She also offers services to help entrepreneurs build their social media presence and to create custom websites.

The ultimate goal is to provide entrepreneurs in the beauty industry with the resources and business tools they need to start their own hair or nail salon.

The business is currently in the process of renovating the garage adjacent to The Design Hub. The new 600-square-foot space is scheduled to open in April.

“This area will be used for tech type individuals to work on projects and meet clients, but it will also be for classes such as SEO (Search Engine Optimization), hair classes by local salon owners and stylists and a kids class for graphics,” Sennert said.

Sennert is a graphic, Web designer and small business developer. She graduated from the International Academy of Design and Technology in Sacramento and is certified in SEO.

For more information, call 775-338-8701 or visit www.thedesignhubreno.com.