Refresh Wellness Studio’s Trial By Fire Led To A Happy Future

 

Following an unexpected address change, Refresh Wellness Studio celebrated its one-year anniversary at its 91 Princess Street location in Saint John on Tuesday.

“We’ve had an interesting year-and-a-half,” said studio owner and registered massage therapist, Leah Ross.

Ross started her business on her own from a room on Prince William Street and grew from that location.  The business officially became the Refresh Wellness Studio in July, 2017.

The following July, a water heater on the third floor of Ross’ building caught fire, setting off the sprinkler system which overloaded the pipes.  The entire building flooded, draining into the studio’s unit on the ground floor.

“It was a terrifying time since we didn’t know where we would work or for how long we would have to close,” recalled Ross.  She considered it very fortunate to find a temporary location on Union Street that suited her business for the six months it was located there.

That’s when Elwood’s Wood Lab on Princess Street closed.  Ross later scouted the lab’s former warehouse, and could picture exactly how it could be re-imagined as a studio.  She worked with Historica to transform the space with the official reopening of Refresh Wellness Studio taking place one year ago this week.

 

 

With six licensed massage therapists on staff, the studio’s services include massage, acupuncture,  esthetician services and microblading.  She says her focus now is to grow the services which the studio already offers, but there is potential capacity to expand.

A recent addition of two full time staff is helping the studio grow into its new space.

“We are now fully staffed since adding two new full-time massage therapists and another full time esthetician within the past few months,” said Ross.

“Coming in here was a risk and a lot more work, a lot more space to fill, and its really worked out beautifully and has gone very well.”

Most of Refresh Wellness’ clientele base was, and remains, based in the Uptown Saint John area, and a decision to potentially move was not taken lightly.  “There’s a lot of people that find it very convenient coming in for appointments for massage, esthetics, acupuncture — during their workday on their lunch breaks,” said Ross.

She says her business doesn’t currently partner with local retailers to sell products at the studio, “That’s something that I would actually love to get into,” added Ross.

 

Ross says there’s room to grow in their retail area and would love to partner with local retailers to sell products at the studio, adding she loves Saint John’s uptown community and how businesses often support other businesses.

More than one year removed from her unexpected move, the advice she gives to people whose life and plans have similarly imploded is to remember that there’s a light to every situation.

“At the time, it was terrifying — not knowing where we were going to go to work, not knowing how we were going to continue our employment, and at the time it was very scary; now looking back — I see it as a gift,” stated Ross.