7 years, 7 fun facts (and some throwback photos)

I always get a bit sappy on the spa’s birthday.  I’m not a parent of human children, but I consider the spa to be my baby.  Today the spa is 7 years old and I’ve spent my morning going through old photos and smiling about all the people I’ve gotten to work with over the years.  I don’t have any photos of the spa in progress when we were building out the old location, which is a shame because the transformation was incredible.

That being said, some of the things we found when remodeling the first location were so horrifying I think it is best that I don’t have lasting images.  What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger, right?

I wanted to share 7 fun things about the spa for 7 years to mark the milestone.

1. We signed our lease in September 2008, the day before the market tanked! We laugh that when you start at the bottom, there really is only one way you can go!
2. Our team grew from 4 of us in 2008 to 18 of us in 2015
3. In 2009, our first full year, we did 2649 services.  In 2014, our most recent full year, we did 10,234 services (we’ve already topped that number by a lot this year!) in 7 years, we have performed 51, 617 massages, facials, manicures, pedicures, and waxes
4. We have been voted Des Moines’ Best Spa every year since 2010!  This is a photo of our group in 2011.
5. Our employees stay with us a LONG time, but sometimes switch roles.  Our front desk manager Kelly used to be one of our amazing massage therapists.  Our amazing massage therapist Tiffany, was our first front desk manager!
6. The old spa’s location was too small, had weird restrooms, and no parking, but it did have the prettiest storefront, especially at the holidays.
7. I hit my 10 year anniversary as a licensed massage therapist this year.  While I’m mostly handing out chocolate at the front desk (trying to dodge my REAL projects) these days, you’ll still find me filling in for a shift here or there!

   

   Thank you to all of our clients and employees throughout the years who have made this a fun journey full of such wonderful memories.  Here’s to many more years!