People are Turning to Spas to Escape Hectic Daily Life

Centretown News, Winter 2006

As cell phones, laptops and demanding schedules are diminishing personal time, more people than ever are visiting spas and making sure that they take the time to put their feet up and relax.

Most recent statistics from the International Spa Association (ISPA) are revealing that spa revenue is increasing. In Canada, it has far exceeded $1 billion annually.

In 2004, there were 2,063 spas operating in Canada, a number that has risen dramatically from 1,300 in 2002. This translates into 62-per-cent growth in two years.

“People are looking for a retreat within their own community,” says Doug Coburn, director of aesthetics at Bodé Spa, which caters to Ottawa men.

“When we’re busy with families and with our jobs, we’re looking for a tiny escape to shut off the noise of the world,” he says.

Donna Holtom is the owner of Holtz Spa in downtown Ottawa. She says in today’s high-paced society, people have less personal time than ever before, drawing them to spas for an opportunity to relax and to reflect.

“Everybody is living a faster-paced life,” she says.

Both Coburn and Holtom agree that the desire to diminish stress is related to an overall increasingly health-conscious community.

“The baby boomers are getting older,” says Jack Morrison, president of Leading Spas of Canada, which is a national organization focused on supporting development within the spa industry.

“If we’re going to live longer and work longer people must be more (health) conscious,” he says.

Holtom says the spa experience has gone beyond simple pampering.

Many clients are also visiting spas looking for advice on nutrition and services such as holistic treatments and skin care.

“Spas have become more accessible and mainstream, especially for preventative health reasons,” she says.

ISPA reports that 46 per cent of spa users are new consumers who are experiencing what the industry has to offer for the first time.

This includes an influx of health-conscious and active men, who make up 29 per cent of spa-goers.

Bodé Spa, located in Sandy Hill, is aimed at professional, urban men.

“We call our class of client the metrosexual,” says Coburn.

He defines the term metrosexual as a man who is very modern and is looking to take good care of himself.

Bodé is located in the basement of a former Italian embassy building. The spa combines modern décor with the unique architectural characteristics that the embassy has left behind.

This includes the renovation of a former vault into a massage parlour, where bare stone walls are dimly lit by candles.

This creates a refuge for men — and occasionally women — to relax.

It also includes a stream of soothing classical music in the background.

“A lot of the barriers that were there for men are coming down,” says Holtom.

She says she believes that most men have been hesitant to visit spas in the past. Holtom says she thinks that this is due to primarily feminine décor and the negative social stigma that surrounds the ‘vanity’ of spa use.

She says she has found that more men are learning that the spa experience is less about feeling beautiful and more about feeling healthy.

“Women are very in touch with their bodies,” says Coburn. “For men, it’s a learning curve.”

Coburn calls spa visits a very social experience for women. Men, on the other hand, are more likely to prefer quietly enjoying a body massage or facial in silence.

Coburn says that most of his regular clients are men who visit Bodé for various services. These services include waxing, pedicures and various skin treatments.

“There are all these things women are looking for and men are realizing that they’re important,” he says.

With Valentine’s Day just around the corner, Coburn says couples massages are becoming increasingly popular at Bodé Spa.

He says they allow couples to enjoy a retreat together that falls within their own community. Coburn is optimistic that increased spa usage is not a shortlived trend, in particularly for men. He predicts new and returning consumers will continue to support the growing spa industry.

Local Merchants Report Strong Holiday Sales

Centretown News, Winter 2006

Ottawa businesses have disassembled their Christmas trees and packed their colourful lights into storage for another year. Though official reports analyzing the revenue for December have yet to be released, the community’s retailers are optimistic, hoping it is followed by a steady January, as consumers redeem gift cards.

Lori Mellor, executive director for the Preston Street Business Improvement Association says Little Italy was “catching fire” this year with many excited shoppers lining the streets.

She says it was the street pageantry and decorating that reflected the season that drew customers to the area’s restaurants and shops this December.

“Our store was definitely busier than last year,” says Jean-Richard Dextras, store manager of Elgin Sports on Bank Street. “Our December was very good,” he added, saying that sales figures reflected a lively buying season.

Dextras says customers brave finding a parking space downtown during the year’s busiest season to visit shops that offer gifts that can’t be found at local superstores.

“We try to have products that people will go out of their way to come find,” he says. Canadian shopping patterns are heavily monitored by Statistics Canada, creating a buyer profile of what shoppers are looking for, where they find them and how much they spend.
In December 2004, Canadian shoppers spent a total of $34.5 billion in retail stores, a 6.9 per cent increase from 2003, reported Statistics Canada.

Mellor is optimistic that sales will continue to rise.

“I’m getting positive reports back from businesses,” she says, calling 2005 a very good year for some of the city’s smaller, independently owned shops.

These small stores must secure a niche offering for consumers, who otherwise may visit large department stores or big box chains, where statistics show the average consumer spends the most.

During 2004’s holiday season department stores ranked number one in dollar sales, bringing in a total of $3.2 billion, according to Statistics Canada.

“It’s a challenge (to compete), but we attract people who are willing to pay a little more for the experience,” says Mellor.

She adds that Christmas shoppers benefited from the more intimate relationship they can have with the business owners of smaller, specialty shops, especially when it comes to receiving more advice and customer service.

Amina Akhtar, owner and manager of the Boutique Le Papillon on Bank Street, agrees. She says that most of her shoppers keep coming back because of her customer service.

While the streets have grown quieter since last-minute shoppers rushed to purchase their final gifts and ornaments, Mellor is surprised to see that restaurants and shops still seem to be flourishing.

“I think gift cards have something to do with it,” she says.

In 2004, 68 per cent of stores offered gift cards during the Christmas season, considerably higher than the 53 per cent of retailers offering them in 2003, according to Statistics Canada.

Most businesses do not record gift card sales upon purchase during the holidays, rather they count towards a store’s sales when they are redeemed, energizing January results.

Eyes Drawn to Artguise Exhibit

Centretown News, March 2005

German painter Florian Fiebig says he is enthralled with the “social twilight zone” of public transportation.

In 2003 he would sit on subway trains in Germany and sketch the faces of passengers, inspired by the neutral expressions of everyday people. Now Fiebig has transformed these caricatures into colourful and mysterious portraits that explore the veiled human emotions behind everyday life.

His figurative series, called Faces and Figures, is showcased at Artguise, a gallery on Bank St. from March 4 to 30. Fiebig draws from his love of animation and oil painting to create characters that seem to jump from the canvas, expressing layers of emotion and mood.

“I am very interested in capturing movement. I like to show that in my paintings,” says Fiebig, stressing the importance of creating personality and depth in his characters. Faces and Figures is one of 11 solo series that Artguise is sponsoring this year.

The gallery prides itself on the intimate dynamic of doing a show for one artist at a time, says Brandon McVittie, co-owner of Artguise. “We’re excited because this is his first Canadian show,” he adds. Fiebig was born in Berlin, where he cultivated his love for art.

After travelling to Canada in 1997 and creating a studio in Montreal, Fiebig hit what he calls the peak of his animation career: animating the character of Bruno in the acclaimed film the Triplets of Belleville. The film broke new grounds for Canadian animation, garnering recognition at both the Academy Awards and the Cannes Film Festival.

“The Triplets of Belleville has expanded the horizons of Canadian animation for viewers who grew up with Disney films,” says Chris Robinson, artistic director for the Ottawa International Animation Festival. Though he says the bar for animated feature film in Canada is relatively low, the film’s story and animation is worthy of the attention it has received.

“The artist combines elements of both animation and his painting background,” says McVittie, who praises Faces and Figures as unique, compelling and often humourous.

“All of the arts, whether it is dancing or music, are connected,” says Fiebig. “This is the same with animation and painting,” he adds. Fiebig’s creativity has led to work at both Dynomight Cartoons and Disney.

“Art work is how he makes his bread and butter,” says McVittie.

Fiebig’s work is a part of the Artguise mandate to make visual art approachable and affordable to members of the community, while opening them up to varying subject matters and flow, says McVittie. Artguise opened in 1997 as a way to bring something to the Ottawa art community that had not existed before. The gallery is both a retail store that caters to professional artists and a venue to present new and emerging artists.

“We look for bodies of work that are a little bit different,” says McVittie. He adds Fiebig’s work is appealing because it dares to be edgier and more flavourful than what viewers might be used to. “We’re trying to expose people to what they might not have seen in a commercial gallery,” adds McVittie.

The series employs a wide range of emotion, from dramatic themes exuding raw energy to clever glimpses into the silent thoughts of strangers.

“So far the reaction has been tremendous,” says McVittie, who says he is very pleased with both the sales and the response. “It has gone very well,” says Fiebig.

He says that the chance to speak to students about his work and to inspire people has been more overwhelming then expected. He is pleased that the sketches he drew two years ago in Germany have transformed into inspiration for others. Fiebig’s artistic work has brought him all over the world, but he says Canada has always treated him well along the way.

“Who knows where my art will take me,” says Fiebig, who anticipates a long career ahead in capturing aspects of beauty, insight and the strength of human emotion.

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