Crafting Confidence: Simon Simoudis' Vision for Men’s Grooming

For years, Simon Simoudis has been working as a carpenter. He specializes in making cabinets, although he is excellent at shaping wood in any form his customers want. He has earned a reputation for himself, for his quality, punctuality, and good behaviour. He has customers lined up not just from our town but all over Victoria. His craftsmanship is appreciated by the people for whom he has worked. They say he has an eye for aesthetics; his designs are beautiful, in sync with the settings of the room for which he makes the furniture.

Therefore, when I heard that he is planning to create a men’s grooming brand, I wasn’t surprised. Although it did occur to me that his steady income stream for years would be disrupted. He had given many good years to making cabinets, and all that experience would go in vain. And when I revealed my doubts about his new profession, he smiled and told me that perhaps I couldn’t see the connection between these two professions. Both are related to beauty enhancement. The only difference between the two was that till now, he had been building things for spaces, but now he would be making them for people. This made sense to me. 

Simon Simoudis had been toying with this business idea for quite some time, although he hadn’t revealed it to anyone. He was waiting for the right time, when he had a proper plan in place.

And he told me that it’s not just about business, he was not happy with the way men in our town and Victoria in general care about their personal hygiene and grooming. He always felt men neglected themselves; they didn’t care about themselves or their looks. And this neglect was especially glaring in the working class, and Simon wanted to bring about a change. He wanted to create a space for them where they can indulge themselves. He imagines a place where men can unwind, have conversations without pretence, while getting themselves groomed. 

Recently, I visited Simon’s workshop to meet him and get an update about his beauty salon. And I was happy to see the progress. Simon had replaced the cabinet-making tools with men’s grooming and beauty products. But I could still feel the sawdust in the air; its smell mingled with the scent of sandalwood. It was then that Simon Simoudis told me about his grand plans of having a chain of such beauty salons across Victoria. This was only the beginning. And his purpose was simple: to make men feel good about themselves.