Let's connect!
Enjoy Mill Valley
  • HOME
  • EVENTS & GUIDES
    • 2020-21 EMV Guide
    • 2020 Mill Valley Wine, Beer & Gourmet Food Tasting
    • Winterfest >
      • About Winterfest
    • Calendar
    • Special Events
  • EAT
  • Stay
  • VISIT
    • Muir Woods
    • PLAY
    • Tour
    • Map
    • PRESS
  • SHOP
    • Enjoy Mill Valley Store
    • Shopping Areas
    • Apparel and Jewelry
    • Automotive
    • Banking & Financial Services
    • Biz, Consumer & Professional Services
    • Beauty & Grooming
    • Fitness & Sports
    • Food & Wine
    • Home & Garden
    • Kids & Pets
    • Health & Wellness
    • Nonprofit Organizations
    • Real Estate
    • Specialty Shops
  • A&E
  • EMV Films
  • BLOG
  • Mill Valley Chamber
  • City of Mill Valley
  • CONTACT US
  • Subscribe
  • Advertise on Enjoy Mill Valley
  • ShopMV

Toxin-Free Dolls & Dandy Salon Settles into Historic Downtown Space

4/10/2016

2 Comments

 
PictureKatie Ezzeddine. Courtesy image.
Katie Ezzeddine came up with the idea behind the newest nail salon in town for a very simple reason: the relatively new Mill Valley resident couldn’t find a place that had what she was looking for.

Ezzeddine, who moved to Mill Valley with her husband Saied and their three young daughters more than a year ago, said she sought a salon where she could bring her children and know that both she they wouldn’t be exposed to the chemicals traditionally found at most nail salons.

But rather than lobby existing salons and search elsewhere, Ezzeddine drew on her own business background – she owns the popular 8-year-old Natural Maidens, a “green cleaning service” focusing on residential and commercial properties in San Francisco, primarily in high-rise buildings – and decided to launch her own salon.

The result is Dolls & Dandy Nail Lounge, which opened in late January at 67 Throckmorton Ave., the former home of Richard Leland’s Vintage Wine & Spirits, which moved across the street to 82 Throckmorton Ave. in January 2014.

“We’re thrilled to be here in this gorgeous space, and the community has really taken to what we’ve created,” Ezzeddine says.
​

What she’s created is a gorgeous, high design environment, featuring velvet chairs and foot rests and iPads at each station for magazine browsing. It’s also free of that traditional nail polish smell, a move that Ezzeddine says was essential to creating a family-oriented, toxin-free environment.


Dolls & Dandy is a “five- and seven-free” nail lounge, she says. “Five free” essentially refers to polishes that do not contain three common chemicals found in most polishes (Toluene, Dibutyl Phthalate (DBP), Formaldehyde), as well as two chemicals (Formaldehyde Resin and Camphor). “Seven free” goes a step further, avoiding the ingredients Ethyl Tosylamide and Andxylene. Ezzeddine also invested in chemical-free equipment like autoclave machines, which sterilize equipment and supplies using high pressure and steam.

Those two factors – design and comfort and being free of toxins – along with top-notch service, have drawn rave reviews: “The atmosphere was so stylish like I've never seen in any nail salons and the most important thing, I couldn't smell any harsh chemical nail polish when i was there,” wrote Dew T. on Yelp.

Born and raised in southern Thailand, Abou-Ezzeddine moved to the Bay Area more than 15 years ago, first attending City College of San Francisco and later San Francisco State University, garnering a degree in marketing and business management. She married Saied Ezzeddine, a vice president with Fisher Investments, and launched Natural Maidens in 2008. They have three daughters ages nine months, three years and six years.

When the family moved to the Almonte neighborhood in Mill Valley, Ezzeddine moved quickly to create the concept behind Dolls & Dandy. “I was looking for a place to get my nails done and I just couldn’t find a place where it was comfortable to bring your children and relax and know that they weren’t using toxic chemicals,” she says.

Once she found the space at 67 Throckmorton, one of the most prominent buildings in the 94941, Ezzeddine says she was sold. She connected with Evan Cross, whose Pahana known architectural firm designed the Aloha Lofts on the second floor of the building that also contains the long-vacant Tyler Florence Shop, helped Ezzeddine create the look she sought.

The building Dolls & Dandy occupies has a deep history in Mill Valley. It was built by Michael O’Shaughnessy, the noted engineer of the Hetch-Hetchy Dam & Reservoir who also helped create the found City plan for Mill Valley. O’Shaughnessy owned the building until he died in 1934, according to Barbara Ford of the Mill Valley Historical Society. It is widely known as the O’Shaughnessy Building, she said.
​

The 411: Dolls & Dandy Nail Lounge is at 67 Throckmorton Avenue. Open Monday-Saturday, 9am-5pm, Sunday 10am-5pm. More info.


Want to know what's happening around town? Click here to subscribe to the Enjoy Mill Valley Blog by Email!
2 Comments
Lisa Wilcox
4/10/2016 07:02:54 pm

THE MIST RIDICULOUSLY EXPENSIVE nail salon in my memory. What a shame for mill valley.

Reply
Erin
4/11/2016 07:59:58 am

What about a shame for humanity that we have to get cost effective manicures by subjecting ourselves to harsh chemicals that are incredibly toxic for our bodies? I will happily pay more money for a healthier product and support nail polish manufactures and local business also care about those values.

Reply



Leave a Reply.

    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture

    Subscribe to the free Enjoy Mill Valley Blog

    * required
    Click here to subscribe to the free Enjoy Mill Valley Blog by Email!

    RSS Feed

    Blog Archives

    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013

    Categories

    All
    142 Throckmorton
    Art
    Arts & Entertainment
    City Council
    City Of Mill Valley
    County Of Marin
    Depot Plaza
    Downtown Mill Valley
    Emergency Preparedness
    First Tuesday Artwalk
    Food & Drink
    Holidays
    Kiddo!
    Live Music
    Local Laws
    Marin Mommies
    Marin Theatre Company
    Miller Avenue
    Mill Valley Fall Arts Festival
    Mill Valley Film Festival
    Mill Valley History
    Mill-valley-in-the-news
    Mill Valley Library
    Mill Valley Market
    Mill Valley School District
    Mount Tamalpais
    MV Chamber Biz Buzz
    Parks & Recreation
    Philanthropy
    Public Restrooms
    Restaurants
    Shopping
    Strawberry Village
    Sweetwater Music Hall
    Tam High
    Tam Junction
    Tam Valley
    The Redwoods
    Volunteerism

Picture
   
85 Throckmorton Avenue
Mill Valley, Callifornia 94941
415.388.9700
info@millvalley.org



Copyright 2018 Mill Valley Chamber of Commerce & Visitor Center
All images used with permission and/or source attribution.
Site Design by Linda Rosso Marketing and Communications