Our Complete Story

“My wife and my Mom-in-Law went out for groceries…and came home with a Spa.”
– Mark Almeida (my Son-in Law)

That’s about how it happened. At 11am, I stopped in at my daughter’s house, after being away for a business trip. Alynn (my daughter), her friend (Aislyn) and myself (Cheryl) decided to book an appointment at the local spa, only to find out that it had closed.

During this exact moment, Aislyn received a text message from her friend, Victoria, stating that she had just left her job as an Esthetician in Duncan. So, we invited Victoria over for coffee.

I asked Alynn if she wanted a spa (assuming the location must be up for lease). We chatted for a bit and decided to go take a look at the vacant site. It was LOVE at first sight! – We knew it was perfect for us.

After we agreed to take over the spa, we invited Victoria to join our team and Alynn contacted her lash technician, Alicea to see if she was interested in joining us. The timing was perfect for her as well.

I reached out to Susan, the Director of Student Assessments (at my Esthetic and Nail Technician trade school – Mirage Spa Education), and asked if she would like to provide nail and lash services… and she accepted!

Within only two hours we had leased a beautiful Spa and hired the staff! We just knew it was meant to be.

On September 15th, we received the keys and started our re-design! Two weeks later we were open for business and have had an excellent response from the community.

Timing is everything and when an opportunity like this presents itself, you cannot deny that it’s meant to be. It came together like magic.

I am so very thankful to the amazing help and support from my team of ladies who cleaned and painted, and cleaned and painted some more, 24-7 (great bonding time), to get the spa ready for our opening on October 1st:

– Alynn Almeida – Spa Director
– Victoria Hill- Esthetician/ Body Therapist /Nail Technician
– Alicea Ferguson – Lash Technician / Body Therapist / Reflexology

To put a complete business together in 2 short weeks from ground zero – you need to have a team of fabulous people working together. So, a special Thank-you as well to all the other people in my life who came together to help make this happen:

– My advertising agent, Carolyn, from Victoria “What’s On” Magazine, who worked tireless hours and weekends to get us into as many media posts as possible, even after cut-off. She was amazing.
– Greg, my web designer, from “Black Chip Marketing” who instantly picked up the ball and began building a web site for us.
– Karen, who handled all the admin and put out many fires for me.
– Sarah for getting the Social Media posts out and active.
– The “Sign Pad” in Langford- who within a week had outdoor wall signage, window signage and a sandwich board.
– “Harlequin Nature Graphics Ltd”, who got our clothing order together and to us within a week.
– Of course, Dean, the site manager, who helped get the lease together quickly.

There are so many others who have played a part in putting this together; I want to thank you all. Especially my son-in-law Mark, who did what he could to help in so many ways.

I have been in this industry since 1981, and I have owned several spas and schools. This one, because of such a wonderful team effort, is absolutely my favorite.

Thank you to everyone for all the love and support we have been given to make this spa possible.

On a final note, each October (Thanksgiving) we will be donating a percentage of every service we sell throughout the year to the BC Children’s’ Hospital. My granddaughter, Avalon, had open heart surgery at 3 years old, and is with us today because of the wonderful people and excellent care provided for her, and we are excited to give back.

A few nights ago, Avalon said to me:
“My Mind is full of math,
My Heart is full of Love
And My Soul is full of Kindness”

What a beautiful young spirit she has – and when I told her of this donation in her name, she became so excited and asked, “Can I give them the BIG CHEQUE like they do on TV?” … Of course, you can – it’s from you! … And it’s our way of giving back.

So, thank you all in advance for your love and support in this great opportunity; we will strive to provide our best to you.

There is no better time to open the doors then on Thanksgiving weekend. Thank you from the Spa One Team!