Mid-Week Mugging: Ladies, pamper yourselves at this unusual location (4 photos)

When SooToday visited Guy’s B&R Collision Centre for last week’s Mid-Week Mugging, we were told a spa and hair salon are situated on the second storey of Guy’s new shop at 1044 Great Northern Road.

At first, we thought ‘really?’

A spa and hair salon under the same roof as an auto body shop?

Well, the building’s two businesses do in fact take care of two types of bodies, auto and human.

Melissa Iannelli owns and operates Bliss Spa on the building’s second floor, employing friend and fellow esthetician Stephanie Wilson and two hairstylists in a hair salon in the space next door to the spa.  

So, with that discovery, SooToday paid a return visit to Bliss to chat and drop off some SooToday mugs.

“Steph and I both went to school together (in Sault College’s Esthetician program, graduating in Aug. 2014). I worked out of my home for two years while Steph went on to work at Lifeforia. Then after they built the new body shop, the space was available upstairs and my father-in-law (Guy Iannelli of Guy’s Auto Body) said ‘why don’t you locate there?’ And we thought what a great opportunity to open up a shop on Great Northern Road,” Melissa told us.

“Having hairstylists helps bring in customers for us, so we’ve been in business here since May 2016.”

“Steph has brought in clients from Lifeforia, and word has started to spread.”

“It’s nice to work together again. We know each other and what good quality service we provide to customers,” Stephanie said.

“Manicures and pedicures are very popular, pedicures especially in the summer months, then a lull, then at Christmas it picks up again, then when people start to go away for the winter months they’re looking for those services again, the pedicures, the waxing (to look their very best when in their bikinis),” Melissa said.

Apart from manicures and pedicures, Bliss offers eyebrow and eyelash tints, eyelash perms and tints, express, advanced and anti-aging facials, acne treatments, unwanted hair removal from brows, lips, face, chins, bikini lines, legs, arms, back, shoulder and chest, Fake Bake spray tans and 30 and 50 minute relaxation massages (in addition to hairstyling next door).

All for women, right?

Not necessarily.

“That’s the word we’d like to get out there,” Melissa said.

“It would be nice to get the gentlemen customers up here. It’s only the two of us, Steph and I, it’s not a big spa, it’s not like they would be sitting here with a lot of women.”

“Depending on what men do for a living, if they work with dirt and grease, they want their hands to look nice (with a manicure), and as for the feet, let’s face it, it’s good to get your heels cleaned up (with a pedicure).”

“They (men) don’t realize until they’ve tried it, how fantastic it feels, how their feet feel afterward,” Melissa said.

“So many women don’t take care of themselves and just take care of everybody else. To have an hour, or even half an hour, to come and sit and have someone take care of them is really nice for them. I like making people feel good," Stephanie said.   

“I love talking with people. I was a Personal Support Worker for seven years before being an esthetician, so I loved working with people. But I thought I’d do a career change. It’s nice to have my own business, I love it,” Melissa said.