Only You Esthetics’ welcoming sign at 94 Hawthorne Ave. Photo by Ron Rose
A dark blue orchid sits on the counter of Only You Esthetics, reflecting a painting on the wall. It creates an air of quiet serenity, just the feeling owner Tara Sheehan is hoping to capture.
Almost one year ago, Sheehan bought the Only You Esthetics spa at 94 Hawthorne Ave. She had worked there for a while and when previous owner Liz Gordon mentioned the spa might be for sale, Sheehan took a deep breath and bought it.
She has spent the past two years developing business plans and refurbishing the store’s interior.
She is quick to admit that operating a business is vastly different from working in one. With a lot of help from friends and the bank, she is learning quickly.
Sheehan and her two estheticians, Angie Hardiman and Kyla Kehoe, keep busy providing spa treatments to a brisk flow of customers.
“No two people are the same,” said Sheehan, “so we provide an individual approach for each client.”
Only You was not the place for a rush job, she added.
Tara Sheehan in the spa. Photo by Ron Rose
Sheehan said her typical client was between 35 and 50 years of age, but younger professionals and retired people were also regulars. She estimated that more than 60 percent of her clients lived close enough to walk to the spa.
Only You Esthetics offers a range of services, focusing on skin treatments, manicures and pedicures, waxing, tinting and makeup applications. Sheehan also sells a wide range of skin care products, including the Jane Iredale 100% mineral makeup, Footligix Pediceuticals, as well as the line of Dermalogica products.
She is quick to acknowledge the spa industry has suffered an image problem, particularly around safety and sanitation issues. She is proud her spa is a member of the International Pedicure Association, which sets standards for safety.
“We do not cut corners when it comes to keeping our clients safe,” Sheehan said on her website. “We follow strict guidelines regarding cleaning, sanitizing and sterilizing our equipment and tools.”
Sheehan wants her clients to be able to completely relax when they are in her spa. This is one of the reasons she has decided against adding hair salon services.
“Including salon services would add a dimension of business and frenetic activity that we want to avoid, at least for the foreseeable future,” she said.
Sheehan’s roots in Old Ottawa East go back a long way.
Her grandfather served as the beat cop for the community during the war years. Sheehan recalled a family story about her grandfather arresting a man trying to break into what was then the gas station just across the street from her spa’s current location.
She often gazes across the street towards Ballantyne Park and thinks of her Grandfather on patrol.
“It’s like a small town with a good community feel,” Sheehan said, about working in Old Ottawa East. She also feels fortunate to have a location so close to the Rideau Canal and Pretoria Bridge.
