By Jessica Schluter
Emily Corray didn’t have plans to end up where she’s at now.
The St. Joseph-Ogden alum was adamant about the fact that she would never own her own business. Now, she is the owner of Bare, a waxing studio in St. Joseph.
Corray attended one semester of Parkland, but she wasn’t happy there. Then, she went to cosmetology school and got a job doing hair, but that didn’t make her happy either.
“I went to Parkland for like a semester, but I hated it. I actually went to cosmetology school first and did hair for three months, but then I realized I also hated that.
“And then, I just decided one weekend that I was going to move to Peoria. I moved there within two days and started school.”
Corray attended Tricoci University in Peoria to become an esthetician. She opened Bare after graduating in February 2016.
She saw a need in St. Joseph and decided that Bare would be the perfect place to fill it.
“There wasn’t really anything here for waxing, you had to drive to Champaign. And even people from Danville have to drive to Champaign.”
Services offered at Bare include full-body waxing, eyelash perms, eyelash extensions, and spray tans. In the future, she looks to add other services.
“I’m looking to add volume extensions, and intimate bleaching. A lot of people ask about that.”
Her first location was at the mini-mall in St. Joseph, but now Bare shares a building with Mercantile Antiques, which is owned by Corray’s mother.
In high school, Corray wasn’t sure what she wanted to do but she knew that she didn’t want to be a business owner. Coming back to St. Joseph wasn’t in her plans, either.
“I definitely thought I would be long gone. I was always adamant that I would never open my own business, because I saw how hard it is.”
Between watching her mom run Mercantile Antiques, and her uncle run the pet store that he owns in Charleston, Corray has seen firsthand just how hard owning your own business can be.
For Corray, the hardest part about owning your own business is “everything.”
“I am the only person running my business, that there’s no one else to rely on. Which I also like. I don’t want to work for someone else. But it’s all on your shoulders all the time.”
Corray has received a lot of advice from her mom and uncle. Ultimately, she is happy with where she is at even if it isn’t where she expected to be.
“I have fun, I get to take off time when I want to, and no one can tell me what to do. I get to make up my own rules.”
For Corray, doing hair wasn’t nearly as satisfying as what she is doing now.
“Doing hair wasn’t the instant gratification that I wanted. And some people are super picky, and people yell at you.
“I love what I’m doing now. My favorite part is waxing. It gets a lot of anger out of you.”
But mostly, Corray loves that she can help people feel better about themselves. She wants everyone to feel comfortable coming in to see her, and she wants to help people feel confident about their bodies.
“I’ve always just wanted to help people feel better about themselves. It’s always what I’ve been about. That’s why I went to hair school first. But I feel like with this you get to know people more, I mean you’re up in their business most of the time.”
For some, getting waxed might be an uncomfortable situation. Corray tries her best to help her clients feel at ease.
“I feel like its very judge-free here, its super calming. I feel like I’m not super uptight, people have told me that I’m relaxed so they don’t feel like they’re scared to be around me which I’m glad.
“I just walk people through every single step I’m going to do. Especially if you’re half-naked in here, it can be scary.”
She is passionate about helping people of all shapes and sizes feel comfortable in their own skin.
“I do full-body waxing for anybody, female or male or anywhere in between. Your weight doesn’t matter, anybody should feel comfortable to come in here. I know some people are nervous about that, but ‘too big to get waxed’ doesn’t exist.”
Corray is happy to have created a place where anyone can come in and get served without judgement. She doesn’t like hearing that people are afraid to get waxed because they feel like they are too heavy or embarrassed.
“It hurts my heart. I just want people to feel comfortable getting waxed, and to have a place to come where they feel comfortable to get waxed.”
Corray might not have predicted this, but she is happy where she’s at and she plans to stay here.
For a full list of services, prices, and booking information, you can find Bare on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/BAREthewaxingstudio/.
