At 29D Mt Eden Road, Hookd is so much more than a hairdressing salon – it is a commitment to community.

The salon has a unique set up: no staff, no employees and no traditional hairdressing “rent a chair” approach. Here, salon owner Katie Hook, plus hairdressers Tessa Burlison and Israel Bittencourt, work as independent creatives together under one roof. Katie’s name is above the door, giving her ownership of how the space looks and flows, but she is clear that this is a collective.

“Tessa and Israel and me, we are our own businesses, but we work together. Usually you rent a chair, you use your own product, there’s a real division of yours and mine. And I didn’t want that feeling or vibe. I want us to help each other, be a united front. That’s how I want to move in the world.”

Katie, 39, trained at Servilles Academy before working for 12 years at Servilles in Ponsonby. After an OE to England, she returned to New Zealand and worked for smaller salons while learning more about what she wanted from her professional practice. She wanted ownership of the look and feel of her space and to step away from the “timetables and targets of cookie-cutter salons” that she says stifle creativity.

“I’ve always worked for women in spaces that they’re creating their way. And that worked and didn’t work for me, because I wanted my own space and for it to be my own way. So they gave me the inspiration to do that, but at the same time it made me want to be on my own.”

For a while she worked alone in her own studio: four walls, a basin and one big beautiful mirror, as she describes it. She loved the experience, but it had no interaction with other creatives. 

“I adored my studio, but I missed the creative connection that you need from peers. I never wanted to have a salon or staff; that aspect is not what motivates me. Here, we all pay the same rent, the same bills and everything that we do is fair. It’s really important to me to have them succeed just as much as me, and that really gets me going.”

Hookd opened in Uptown in May 2023. “I love Uptown. It’s chill and I love that it’s kind of unknown. And there are little secrets everywhere, like Schapiro’s, and the Corner Bar for a little cocktail. There are pockets of secrets that are all really cute and cool.”

Overall, what makes Hookd stand out is the environment and community that Katie, Tessa and Israel are actively creating.

“We’re really big on inclusivity. Even though I’m a millennial, I’m the boomer of the salon. The other two are very inclusive, queer, they think really beautifully, and I’ve learnt so much from them in that space. So everyone is welcome, that’s really important to me and the people that come in. We literally have a sticker on the door. We want people to feel really welcome.”