Soothing and Smoothing Business: Brooks and Butterfield
By Melissa Harris, The Valley Business Outlook

The first, second, and third time has been the charm for two Northampton entrepreneurs, Lenore Brooks and Pat Butterfield. Their love of cosmetology brought them together over eight years ago. Little did these two women know that their initial passion would lead them down a road towards one successful business venture after another.

Growing Roots
When Lenore, an instructor of cosmetology, and Pat, a student enrolled in the school, f ormed a partnership to take over ownership of Chameleons School of Hair design from Michael Martin in 1996, they embarked on their initial mission to create an "outstanding name in education for technical and creative skills." With Pat's administrative and marketing background, added to Lenore's wisdom and experience in the cosmetology industry, the venture proved to be a success as their hard work brought about growth in both the student base and reputation of the school. Satisfied with the results of their first partnership, a second business came into the foreground, one aimed at establishing a school for esthetics in Western Massachusetts. Just three years after their first venture, the two took another risk, setting out to create what would become the Chameleons School of Aesthetics, conveniently located next door to the Chameleons School of Hair Design.

It was natural that the third business venture should follow, an enterprise that not only offers pampering and relaxation to the cosmopolitan town of Northampton but also serves as a practice for their own private stock of premier students. "We wanted to create a truly upscale day spa," explains Butterfield, who recalls the idea behind Brooks and Butterfield (The Day Spa) that first opened its doors October 9, 2001.

A Premier Spa in the Premier Location
Northampton was not only a perfect location due to its proximity to the Chameleon Schools but because the two businesswomen felt that Northampton, being "the jewel and the crown of all Western Mass," deserved a truly upscale day spa. While there are other spas located in Northampton, Brooks and Butterfield has set itself apart as a "true day spa," due to its total focus on the skin, body, and nails, and not hair. The design of the spa has also helped set it apart from others in the area. Butterfield cited the design as one of the biggest challenges faced by the duo upon conception of the businessÑthey found it difficult to translate their ideas into a reality. The outcome is a modern layout of blue cues, a fantasy of soothing curves, and tranquil sounds that make patrons feel like they are on cloud nine.

Employee-Based Success
Both Brooks and Butterfield attribute the success of their business to the spa's "extremely competent, knowledgeable, skilled, and caring staff." It is no wonder that they are so confident since, after all, it is their own hard work and efforts that have made their schools and therefore their best employees so highly skilled and exultant. While both are fully aware of everything that is going on in the spa, and both are involved in setting goals and making decisions, they leave the primary care of the spa to their highly skilled spa manger and the 15 other part-time and full-time employees. Butterfield and Brooks have made a strong commitment to offer a place to their employees that is pleasant to work in, provides tools to help their staff succeed, and creates an environment where employees can pursue their passion.

A Luxury Had By All
Butterfield says that the best part about having the business is the ability to help people learn the importance of keeping up the health and appearance of their skin. She feels that by offering their services, Butterfield and Brooks are able to make a difference, educate people, help people look good and therefore feel positive about themselves. Butterfield gets a good feeling knowing that she can help people "relax, de-stress, put the craziness of the world behind them for an hour or whatever it may be." The spa offers a vari ety of di ffer ent servi ces, such as their signature collections, Aromatherapy treatments, make-up application, specialty bridal services, microdermabrasion, hair removal, body treatments, hand expressions, best-foot-forward services, massage therapies, and spa packages.

Butterfield points out that day spas like hers should not be considered a luxury, but that everyone should indulge from time to time to promote better health for both the inner and outer body. Brooks and Butterfield caters to people of all income levels, ages, and sexes. Many students from local colleges patronize the spa, along with locals, tourists, and others from out of town. According to Butterfield, a growing number of people are realizing the benefits of caring for their skin as a measure to avoid more abrasive and severe procedures in the future.

After just over two years in business, Butterfield says that the retention rate is still growing and they are working on ways to expand their clientele and bring in new business. Never self-satisfied, they are always striving to raise the bar and hope that in the future the spa will "reach its full capacity as a successful, profitable business." Still, it is a young business in the making. A new menu, coming out at the end of November, will provide new services along with some old favorites in order to deliver the critical elements. Also, a new line of toxin-free polish will be added to their line for manicures and pedicures. One thing is also for sure. They will continue their mission to "provide a really memorable experience for all our guests, along with superb customer service."