Sarah Sobanski
Walking into Lotus Spa and Esthetics is as comfortable as stepping downstairs in your own home. It’s an atmosphere owner and esthetician Terri Carmichael has cultivated intentionally, rating client comfort as her number one business objective followed closely by providing the best products and services.
Terri Carmichael stands with her Lotus Spa and Esthetics spa sign along the wooden fence outside her home on Ballyduff Road, in keeping with her country-chic-antique spa theme. Photo: Sarah Sobanski
It all started for Carmichael when she worked in a spa through Lindsay I.E Weldon’s Co-op Program, which set her on a path to Niagara College where she became certified through its dual year Esthetics program. Since then she has worked, trained and taught, traveling to different spas across the province to pick and choose her favourite services which she brings home to her clients at her very own spa. Opening full time this past June – thanks in part to Carmichael’s number one supporter fiancé Brett Hanna and proud mom Pam Stinson, who gives Carmichael the space for her practice – Carmichael is already busy with loyal and returning clients.
“It’s bigger than I ever thought,” says Carmichael, who now has over a decade experience in the industry. She wondered how busy she would be because the spa is outside of the city, not the typical place for a spa. Now however, she’s ambitious and increasingly excited about sharing her passion, which is making people feel good.
Self-described as a social helper, always lending a hand to her friends and family, Carmichael aims to bring the same attitude to her business. She tells of a client who came in on the verge of tears, stressed and anxious due to the highs and lows of life, and by the end Carmichael was able to get her to a calmer place, relieved and radiant. Another client, who made Carmichael nervous because she was a frequent spa-goer, ended up so relaxed she was snoring by the end of her treatment.
Manicure by Lotus Spa and Esthetics. Photo: Supplied.
“Just because you’re small doesn’t mean you’re not qualified,” says Carmichael who is gratified when her clients have such experiences. She loves her spa because it is more personal than a bustling strip mall spa, more intimate. According to Carmichael, many larger spas are owned by business owners instead of estheticians, which results in a focus on the efficiency of spa services instead of the quality of them. Owning her own spa allows Carmichael to personalize each spa treatment for her clients and provide them with privacy. It also gives her the time to walk through the services with her clients.
“Clients will ask if they can come in for a gel [nail] fill, and then come in with acrylic nails, only to find out after they aren’t gel,” says Carmichael. “It’s just you and me, I can walk you through step by step.”
Lotus Spa and Esthetics offers a variety of services from nail care, to make-up for all occasions, to massages and facials. Appointments are available by appointment Monday to Friday at 905-259-3078.
