Indulgence: A Spa With A Difference

                                                    

By Kaaren Valenta

When Jean Watkins decided to move her nail salon into a larger space where she could also offer spa services, many of her clients protested.

“They told me ‘We don’t want to go to a spa. We want the relaxed and friendly atmosphere we’ve always had here,’” Ms Watkins said.

With that in mind, Jean Watkins launched Indulgence: The UnSpa. Located in the Village Square shopping plaza at 43 South Main Street, just a few doors away from where she operated Wendy’s Nails for the past five years, Indulgence is a spa with a difference.

“We offer spa services — nails, facials, therapeutic massage, Reiki, body wraps, waxing — but we never want to lose the feeling that this is a welcoming, friendly, relaxed place and that we are having fun at what we do,” Ms Watkins said. “Someone told me that coming here reminds them of the old general store where people gathered to spend the day just talking. Someone might come in [to Indulgence] for a 15-minute [nail] polish change and wind up spending two hours here.”

The space that formerly housed a deli was completely renovated for the new spa. Paintings, framed photographs, and decorative accessories contributed by the spa’s clients and family members accent the walls. Just inside the front door, for example, is a large framed photo of Jean Watkins dancing with a tuxedo-clad youth. Both are beaming.  “He’s the son of one of my clients and I promised him the first dance for his prom,” Ms Watkins said. “So on the day of the prom, he came here first and his mom took this photo, enlarged it and framed it.”

The spa features a comfortable waiting area that opens onto a large nail area with three stations, plus three private rooms at the rear for other spa services. There is also a kitchenette where coffee, tea, and other refreshments are prepared.

In addition to Ms Watkins, the spa professionals include Diana Corrarino, an advanced Reiki practitioner; Diane Murphy, a licensed massage therapist; Lisa Dismont, a licensed esthetician; Trish Cianci, a nail tech who soon will be a licensed esthetician; and two part-time nail techs, Lisa Stanton and Jamie Reed.

Lisa Dismont formerly owned Envisage, a skincare and makeup boutique in Sandy Hook. She specializes in aromatherapy facials and is also a makeup artist and image consultant.

Diana Corrarino is a nurse who became interested in Reiki about five years ago. “I took the classes at Naugatuck Valley Community College,” she said. “I believe this is truly what I wanted to do when I entered nursing.”

Reiki is a Japanese technique for stress reduction and relaxation that also promotes healing. Completely noninvasive, it is done by a gentle “laying on of hands.”  “Everyone has a vital life force of energy that flows through and around the body,” Ms Corrarino said. “Reiki clears the pathways and balances and centers you.”

Diane Murphy, the massage therapist, specializes in deep tissue work, problem areas, and trigger-point release. She is a nationally certified member of the American Massage Therapy Association.

While both Reiki and massage therapy are available in hour or half-hour sessions, some clients like to have a half hour massage followed by a half-hour of Reiki, a combination available for $70.

Trish Cianci joined Jean Watkins at Wendy’s Nails, a business owned and operated by Wendy Mezzanotti of Trumbull until Ms Watkins bought it nearly five years ago. Wendy’s was located next to the hair salon Shear Image, just two doors away from where the spa is now located.

The fact that Indulgence still feels as welcoming as Wendy’s Nails is partly due to the extended family involved in the two businesses. Jean Watkins is related, by marriage, to Beverly and Ann Watkins, who own Shear Image. Jean’s sister, Carol Kaimer, is a stylist there. Carol’s framed nature photographs are displayed on one wall of her sister’s spa; her Beauty Control Cosmetics are sold there, as is a product line sold under the Indulgence name. The spa also utilizes a soy-based wax for sensitive skin that, because it is heated to only 98.6 degrees, never burns

“It’s the best new product on the market,” Ms Cianci said.

Jean Bircher Watkins graduated from Brookfield High School and the Katherine Gibbs school, and became a secretary. She got an advanced degree from Katherine Gibbs, and worked in the plastics industry for ten years at the former Tenax Corporation, where she met her husband, Keith Watkins.

“Two local people started that business and ended up selling it for millions — a real success story,” she said.  But after Tenax was sold, the local operation closed, and she wound up working for ten years as a cashier at J.K.’s Texas Hot Weiners on South Street in Danbury.

“One day Beverly [Watkins] told me that Wendy’s Nails was moving into the small spot next to Shear Image,” Jean Watkins said. “She told me that she thought I’d be good at doing nails. So I went across [South Street] to the American Academy and signed up —  and the rest is history.”

When the Rountos family, which owns the Village Square, decided to open a diner there and close their deli, Jean Watkins decided it was a good opportunity to expand her business. Moving into the deli location also would leave an empty space so that Shear Image could expand, a renovation process that is currently underway.

“I really wanted to expand, but it was a very big step,” she said. “I might not have done it except that Keith made me promise I’d follow my dream no matter what happened.”

Her husband was already ill from what would eventually be diagnosed as cancer. He died three months later, in August, at the age of 51. A photograph of Keith Watkins with his classic Model A Ford, a 50th birthday present from Jean, hangs in the salon.

  “My clients have been wonderful — so supportive,” she said.  “I appreciate everything they have done for me. I spend so much time here that if it didn’t feel like home, I wouldn’t be comfortable.”

“We have fun,” she added. “It takes a village to make a really good unspa.”

  Indulgence is open Tuesday through Thursday from 9 am to 7 pm; Friday, 9 to 5; and Saturday, 9 to 3. Reiki and massage therapy appointments also can be booked for Sunday and Monday. For more information call Indulgence at 426-3555.