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Hybrid Salon Mixes Nails With Handicrafts
Melissa Myers is the owner of Yes, M.A.M., a combination nail salon and gift shop that features her handmade creations.
by Staff
January 13, 2016
Melissa Myers
2 min to read
The salon portion of Yes, M.A.M. comprises about 40% of the overall space.
Melissa Myers describes her Martinsburg, W. Va., storefront as a “one-stop-shop for ladies.” Myers is the owner of Yes, M.A.M., a combination nail salon and gift shop that features her handmade creations. “I have always been a crafter,” she says. So in 2005 she launched her first business, Mel’s Smells, selling hand-poured soy candles and handmade lye soap. In 2009, she opened the first of several gift shops. “The last location I was in was small and I didn’t have very good exposure to foot traffic,” she says. “My husband and I learned of another space that would be available in January 2015 that would put us on a prime block for foot traffic.” She jumped at the chance, not only to expand her gift shop, but to launch her new career as a nail tech. “I was enrolled as a nail student at the time, set to take my state boards in May.”
The gift shop features a variety of offerings, such as jewelry, wreaths, aprons, sewn items, and refurbished furniture, and includes consignment items from local crafters.
Myers’ new 2,600-sq. ft. space is mostly open, with the nail salon situated in back and separated by a half-wall. Myers divides her time between nail salon and gift shop duties. “I’m usually at the shop at least an hour before we open so I can get my accounting and ordering done,” she says. “I find time in between nail clients to make my less-involved craft items. Then I block time off in my schedule to make the more detailed, time-consuming items.”
Melissa Myers
From her perch — a raised platform in the work area — Myers can see everything going on within the store while she creates her candles, soaps, and other scented items. “This also allows the customers to see me working, without seeing the mess involved,” she notes. True to the handcrafted theme within the gift shop, she also incorporates homemade products like sugar scrubs, lotions, and foot soaks into her nail service as much as possible.
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