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April 14, 2004
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In This Issue:
-- A New Concept in Day Spas: Green Design
-- AOL for Small Business profiles a Spa Index member in a new reality column!
-- UCLA Yoga Study Seeks Breast Cancer Survivors
-- Thai Spas Going Global
-- Florida Cosmetology Jobs Available
-- NAMASTA Teleclasses
-- Women Complain of Hellish Life at Upscale Spa
-- Gaylord Opryland To Open World-Class Spa in 2005
-- New You Cosmetic Enhancement and Anti-Aging Show
-- Ventura Tan / VT SPA / VT SALON ... Sunless Beauty
-- New Faces at the Beauty Salon
-- Spa Index Career Board Spotlight: Orlando, Florida

Welcome to SpaWire (tm), a complimentary digest of spa industry news, features, and resources for the spa and salon professional, brought to you by SpaIndex.Com: Guide to Day Spas and Stay Spas.

A New Concept in Day Spas: Green Design
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Nusta Spa, a new addition to the vibrant Dupont Circle area of Washington DC, is pioneering a new concept in day spa design--"green" design! Nusta Spa is the first day spa in the United States to apply for and be accepted into the LEED for Commercial Interiors Pilot Program. LEED ("Leadership in Environmental and Energy Design"), created by the U.S. Green Building Council, is a consensus-based, voluntary rating system created to define and measure the standard for green building. (BusinessWire)

Full Story on Nusta Spa

AOL for Small Business profiles a Spa Index member in a new reality column!
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Want to know what it takes to be an entrepreneur? There's nothing like learning from others' successes and mistakes. So AOL(R) for Small Business (AOL Keyword: Small Business) is giving its members an exclusive window into the world of four startup businesses with "The Startup,"(R) a new online reality feature which started Thursday, April 8. The four (4) businesses include a cavern tour park, a spa, a salsa company and a girl's clothing store.

The spa chosen for this new reality series is Spa Index member spa Miss Celie's Spa Orleans in New Orleans, Louisiana. In less than nine months, two guys with no spa or hair salon experience have created one of New Orleans' most popular spas -- Miss Celie's Spa Orleans -- and one of New Orleans' most romantic hotels, the Olde Victorian Inn. The winning combination of luxury spa services in a romantic bed and breakfast setting is the result of dedicated work, customer service, attention to historical detail, and the brio of its owners, Keith West- Harrison and Andre West-Harrison.

The Olde Victorian Inn and Miss Celie's Spa Orleans have an exciting year ahead of them, and will be sharing an online diary detailing the highs and lows of running their charming Bed and Breakfast Inn, spa, and now, the brand new "VooBrew Coffee and Tea" cafe in the French Quarter. If that were not enough, the Olde Victorian Inn and Miss Celie's Spa Orleans will be hosting the grand-prize winners of the 2004 New Orleans Spa Getaway Sweepstakes which launches on May 1, 2004 at SpaIndex.Com (details next week!).

Please support Keith and Andre by following their spa adventures on AOL.

Full Press Release, here (or go to keyword "The Startup" on AOL

UCLA Yoga Study Seeks Breast Cancer Survivors
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Researchers at UCLA's Jonsson Cancer Center are recruiting volunteers who have completed treatment for breast cancer and are experiencing persistent fatigue to join a study to see if yoga can improve energy, mood and physical functioning.

"We are interested in yoga because there are some compelling preliminary data that suggest the practice may be associated with improving mood and energy," said Julie Bower, a researcher at UCLA's Jonsson Cancer Center and the Cousins Center for Psychoneuroimmunology at UCLA's Neuropsychiatric Institute and an assistant professor of psychiatry and biobehavioral sciences. "We are collaborating with a local yoga instructor who has worked with breast cancer survivors and is very interested in doing a study to evaluate the potential benefits of yoga for this group." Women interested in participating in the study should call Deborah Garet at (310) 267-4423 to determine their eligibility. Full Press Release, Below.

Full Press Release

Thai Spas Going Global
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Getting high-spending tourists to soak in rose-petal baths and be treated to traditional back-rubs has proven to be a masterstroke for Thailand. It is not only thriving as a hub for lavish spas - the industry helps to pull in more than 10 million tourists a year - its rub-a-dub and hot-tub resorts are also expanding at home and abroad. The top-of-the-line Chiva Som, with its high-profile spa in Hua Hin south of Bangkok, is setting up a second resort spa in northern Thailand. It is also in talks with parties in Dubai, and has signed an agreement to set up a branch in Portugal. (TheStraitsTimes)

Full Story

Florida Cosmetology Jobs Available
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Unemployment rose slightly to 5.7 percent in March, according to a U.S. Labor Department report Friday. Yet one Florida industry is begging for help. The cosmetology job market continues to thrive in Florida, with 56 percent of salon owners reporting immediate job openings, said a report from the National Accrediting Commission of Cosmetology Arts and Sciences. (Orlando Business Journal)

(See our Spa Career Board Post, below, for a spotlight on positions available in Florida)

Full Story

NAMASTA Teleclasses
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The North American Studio Alliance (NAMASTA) serves a community of yoga teachers, massage therapists, Pilates and T'ai Chi, Qigong and related mind-body professionals. NAMASTA is now offering teleclasses on enhancing your success with leaders in our fields. The teleclasses are a great and convenient way to learn the secrets of success in our field because they are information- packed and do not require prior business or technical experience - even though experienced business people benefit too you can get all the benefits of the class wherever you are - no need to spend considerable money or time to travel they are provided by experts that deal with the same issues as you do every day.

April 28th: Teleclass on PR: HOW TO USE PUBLICITY TO GET NEW CLIENTS, BUILD CREDIBILITY AND SAVE ON ADVERTISING. Many holistic professionals can't afford the cost of regular advertising or are simply disappointed with the response they get from ads in the local paper. There are, however, simple media strategies you can employ to build a regional or national reputation, and more importantly, to serve many more people with your work. If you want your work to stand out, reaching those who need your help, join us for this content-rich teleclass led by Megan McDonough, marketing expert and long-time mind-body professional.

Class Details

Women Complain of Hellish Life at Upscale Spa
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To its customers, reviewers have raved over the years, the Osaka Zen Spa is a place where New York meets nirvana. Into the wee hours, at two locations in the heart of Midtown, it offers corporate warriors, Broadway stars and savvy club hoppers alike the bliss of shiatsu-Swedish massage in the ambience of an ancient Asian monastery.

But as four former employees describe it in a lawsuit to be filed today in Federal District Court in Manhattan, working there is more like a long season in hell. (NewYorkTimes)

Full Story

Gaylord Opryland To Open World-Class Spa in 2005
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Gaylord Opryland Resort & Convention Center in Nashville, TN soon will begin construction on Relâche, the luxurious, innovative fitness center and spa scheduled to open next year. Boasting posh accommodations and unsurpassed service, Relâche, the new spa at Gaylord Opryland, will compliment the epic beauty of the property's world-famous atriums. (GaylordHotels.Com)

Full Story

New You Cosmetic Enhancement and Anti-Aging Show
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The goal of the New You Show has always been about providing information and education. Our objective is to showcase the talents of some of North America's leading cosmetic surgeons, physicians, dermatologists and cosmetic dentists. With so much talent together in one location, New You can only succeed in its goal of assisting the cosmetic enhancement, anti-aging community in educating the public on its services and roles.

The New You Show's seminar series is an ever increasingly popular feature of show. We were pleased at the 2003 show to offer over 70 seminars on the topics of cosmetic enhancement, anti-aging, beauty and wellness. The 2004 show is now scheduled for Friday May 14 through Sunday May 16 at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre, Ontario.

Conference Information

Ventura Tan / VT SPA / VT SALON ... Sunless Beauty
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VenturaTan, VT SPA and VT SALON offers you the latest innovations in sunless beauty. VenturaTan began as a new "twist" on an existing idea. The VenturaTan airbrush tanning formulation was derived from extensive research of the many airbrush solutions offered around the country. Present milestone improvements in the original formulas have given VenturaTan the boasting rights to descriptives such as "odorless", "colorless' and "non-sticky". Airbrush, HVLP and gel applications available.

For spas and salons interested in purchasing VenturaTan products, our wholesale store is designed to provide you with the highest quality airbrush tanning products, accessories and equipment at discounted prices. From any angle...it's a great tan.

Visit VenturaTan online

New Faces at the Beauty Salon
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In cities from New York to Los Angeles, customers can now get Botox injections at the same shop where they get bangs snipped and fingernails painted.

So many people seem to be Botoxing these days. Celebrities. Potential first ladies. Maybe even their politician husbands. Teresa Heinz Kerry, wife of presumptive Democratic presidential nominee John Kerry, makes no secret of the fact that she uses Botox to smooth her olive complexion. What many Botox devotees don't enjoy, however, is going to a doctor's office every two to four months to maintain their look. (Christian Science Monitor)

Full Story

Spa Index Career Board Spotlight: Orlando, Florida
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Oasis Herbal Spa and Salon in Orlando, Florida will open in July 2004, just 10 minutes walking distance from Universal Studios. Oasis is now interviewing for Licensed and Experienced Cosmetologists, Estheticians, Nail Techs and Ayurvedic Consultants. Details for applicants interested in these positions, and many others, are on the Spa Index Career Board under "Job Openings."

 

Spa Index Career Board