But St. Joseph’s Kendra Pence learned the heart of focus at a young age.

“Growing up, I watched my parents and grandparents work hard at everything they did and show generosity and kindness to people,” Pence said. “I was incredibly lucky to have their example.” 

It was a snapshot that Pence brought into everything she did as an adult.

“Todd and I have always tried our best to follow the lead of both my parents and his to pass the importance of those things onto our children,” she said. “I hope our kids have seen and understood the value of working hard and making sacrifices, of developing genuine relationships and finding ways to give back and of learning from mistakes made and sticking with it, no matter how hard it sometimes seems.”

Pence said that today, in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, there is a lot of “hard” all around. She has experienced it, too. With a compromised immune system and a photography business, Pence was poised to go into the spring and summer months with her camera ready to capture all of the joys associated with seniors and families capturing their family’s bond.

As March came to a close, Pence saw that the likelihood of ceremonies and rites of passage that Americans know so well were blurred. Following social distancing guidelines, Pence saw that she could use the tool she’d relied on to build her business to help other focus on the goodness in the here and now.

For families who live in her neighborhood, or those who live in more rural areas, Pence asked those who wanted a picture to step onto their front porch for a photo.

Photographers all over the country were participating in the “Front Porch Project” as stay-at-home orders came down state-to-state.

“I loved the concept and what I was seeing,” she said.

“I wanted to do something unique and special for my neighbors, and at the same time, still be able to follow all the guidelines that were being put forth.

“It was important to me to start a project to give back and to give me something fun and positive to focus on, but to stay on my own street or out in the country, where I was comfortable.  

“It’s been such a fulfilling project for me, for those five minutes I’m with a family, standing out in the street taking pictures of them on their porch and watching them snuggle and laugh, it’s like my world is normal again for a few minutes!”

“And I love that many years from now, they’ll have those images to help tell their story of this time as it’s something no one will ever forget.”

Senior proms and graduations are also supposed to be an unforgettable memory. While St. Joseph-Ogden continues to work on plans to honor the Class of 2020 graduates, Pence wanted to capture them in the formal wear they planned to wear during last weekend’s prom.

“I feel so bad for the high school seniors, they’re missing some big events, so it was important to me to find some ways to help celebrate them,” she said.  

“I have a son in high school so I’ve gotten to know so many of my seniors personally through being involved with events and activities at the high school, and honestly, there are some pretty incredible high school seniors out there and we all need to make sure they feel all the love we can throw their way.  

“Just think of the stories they’ll be able to tell their kids one day…and I’m hopefully giving them images that can help tell that story!”

Pence’s photography story began when she was a bit younger than a graduating senior. 

“I got into photography almost 16 years ago,” she said. “I’d never really done photography before that point because we didn’t really have access to cameras then like we do now, but I knew I wanted something where I could be around people and have something more flexible than teaching and coaching with our increasingly busy schedule.”

When her youngest son, Ty, now a freshmen at St. Joseph-Ogden was born, she reached out to a college teammate who had started a photography business.

Pence was immediately hooked.

“I got in the car and told my hubby, ‘Umm, I’m doing that!’  I still remember that moment and the chuckle he gave me.  

“He knows how determined I am. In typical Todd form, always supportive, he said, ‘Well go for it!’”

A young couple with three young children at home, finances were tight. As Pence looked for a camera online, her husband asked her if she thought she might be able to make the money back through work. 

“Hard work for me is never an issue, so I went for it,” Pence said. “I knew nothing about it, so one of the first things I did when I got my camera was grab everyone I could to practice.”

Later on, the Pence’s made an investment in a 3-day training that changed the way that she operated. 

“I still try to invest in my business by training with the best,” Pence said.

The role of mom and business owner wasn’t always an easy ride, though. Pence admits that she struggled finding the work-life balance, but, a new neighbor helped make an impact in the trajectory of her success.

A few years after kicking off Kendra Pence Photography, Michelle Jacob ended up at Pence’s door, saying that she had worked for another photographer before moving to St. Joseph. 

“At that moment, I was about to drown in all the work I was taking on with my business, so I think I told her she was hired that very minute as she stood on my front porch. Then I invited her in. I instantly adored her, and the balance she helped me find helped save me from complete and total burnout in those early years.”

In a decade’s time, the role of the photographer also came into focus. Instead of taking photos of any client, photographers honed in on a niche. 

“I love the new niche concept, because then you can put all your focus into being the best you can be in that specific area,” she said. “I love seniors and families with little ones, so I try to specialize and really study and learn those two types of sessions. 

“Right now, I still enjoy doing a few newborns a year though, although I keep those much more limited.”

Being behind the lens is where Pence feels most comfortable. For those on the other end, she wants the process of having your photo taken to feel more relaxed.

“We truly have fun and I just happen to be capturing real moments during that time,” she said. “Because we all know that life flies by. When a client ends a session with, ‘well that was actually fun’, I know I’ve accomplished what I wanted to, that’s the best compliment.

“Having a camera in my hand and being around people is so natural to me now that I sometimes have to pinch myself that this is really my job.”

Pence hopes that her children, too, will find a profession that they are passionate about, too. 

“I hope our children never give up in whatever direction life takes them and I hope as they raise families of their own one day, they’ll feel like the examples they’ve seen from their parents and grandparents will be important enough for them to continue on with their own family,” she said.

Right now the Pence’s are focused on staying together, as a family and as a community.

“I know that is really hard because it affects us all so differently,” she said. “I think if we always keep trying to point out our own side,  try to police people who view things differently than us, or we make fun of others for the measures they’re taking,  then we ultimately just turn people more against each other. 

“Right now, we need all the support & kindness we can get to make it through this, we need to stick together as a community and as a country. This is tough. 

“So do something kind to help someone out, share a talent or call or text someone to check on them or cheer them up.  As I mentioned before, I’ve had some anxiety with all of this but I’ve been so moved by all the kindness I’ve seen around me, my family and others in our community.  

“There is still a lot of kindness going on out there in the midst of all the sadness and uncertainty.  It’s meant more to me than they will ever know, so I hope I can do my part to pay that kindness forward to others!”

The post Kendra Pence Photography brings focus during uncertainty first appeared on SJO Daily.

The clinic will be staffed by a team of four doctors and assisted by certified optical and technical staff. In addition to routine eyecare, the St. Joseph Chittick Family Eye Care office will have the advanced technology necessary to diagnosis and manage a wide array of eye diseases including glaucoma, age-related macular degeneration, and diabetic eye disease. 

The addition of the clinic is in line with owner and optometrist Dr. Shawn Mallady’s mission to provide accessible and quality eyecare to underserved communities. 

“It has always been my goal to provide small communities with a hometown eye doctor,” Mallady said. “We strive to be the experts for your eyecare and eyewear needs. The support and welcome we have already received from the St. Joseph community has been fantastic and we look forward to becoming an active part of the community.” 

Chittick Family Eye Care also has offices in Danville, Hoopeston, Paris, Rantoul, Savoy and Villa Grove. 

Reserve your appointment now by calling 217-442-2631 or on www.chittickeyecare.com. Chittick Family Eye Care will be joined by the Chamber of Commerce for a ribbon cutting and grand opening celebration on April 1st from 4pm-7pm. All are welcome. 

The post Chittick Family Eye Care to open office in St. Joseph first appeared on SJO Daily.

There’s a new business in St. Joe. Amy Gibbons opened Salon 192 on the corner of Lincoln and Main Street last Tuesday.

Gibbons, a graduate of St. Joseph-Ogden High School, has been working at a salon in Mahomet for 3 years. Last fall, she saw an opportunity to bring her talents back to her hometown and she took it. 

“The business opportunity was perfect with Sandy’s Salon and Beautiful Balance closing. 90-percent of my clientele was already from St. Joe and traveling to Mahomet, so it was an opportunity I couldn’t pass up.”

Salon 192 officially opened for business on Tuesday, February 11th. Her first week has been exciting. 

“It’s been busy, lots of new clients which is really good. I’ve had 10 new clients in a week.”

“The community has been super welcoming. A couple of the business owners here in town have even come in to welcome me.”

The encouraging start comes as a relief for Gibbons after a couple months of hard work to get the salon open.

“It was kind of gutted when I got in here, which gave me a blank canvas to do whatever I wanted to it but it also made it a lot of work.”

“It was long and stressful, with lots of hiccups that I didn’t foresee happening. I’ve never done a remodel so I just was thinking everything was going to go smoothly and happen the way that I wanted it to.”

The renovations didn’t go quite as well as Gibbons hoped, but she had a lot of help to get the building where it needed to be. Her boyfriend, Robert Divan, is a union carpenter, so he did a majority of the work, along with a few others.

“I hired out my electrician, actually my old boss’s husband. And I hired out my plumbing, guys I went to high school with. Everything else Robert did, with the help of my best friend Dusty Walsh. He’s also a carpenter so they worked together and they did the majority of the work themselves.”

Orion Ciota and Dylan Koss are the two plumbers who helped out with the renovation. It was special to Gibbons that she was able to use local guys to help build her dream and she is very thankful for the work that they did.

There are a few more finishing touches that Gibbons wants to put on the place. 

“I have a picture of this building that I found on the St. Joe History Page, it’s from the 1920’s I believe. It used to be a bank, and upstairs was like a call center. The streets weren’t even paved yet, and it’s in black and white obviously and it’s just really cool looking and I love the history behind it so I want to get that blown up and put on that wall.”

Gibbons chose a location with some history behind it on purpose. 

“I love the history behind this building, it’s one of the original buildings of St. Joe and I love St. Joe.”

“The name [Salon 192] comes from the St. Joseph exit number.”

Gibbons isn’t just a business owner in St. Joseph, she’s also a lifelong resident and the town is important to her. Her and Divan bought a house in town last August.

“I grew up in St. Joe, I live in St. Joe, I’ll raise my babies in St. Joe. St. Joe is important to me.”

“We bought a house here in August, and we started this in November.” 

 Luckily, they didn’t choose a fixer-upper.

“It was move-in ready, I didn’t even have to paint the walls. I’m grateful we did that because if we were doing two renovations I would lose my marbles.”

Starting the week of the 17th, Gibbons will have another full-time stylist in the salon with her, Lexie Barnett. 

They will offer hair services and facial waxing.

“We do take walk-ins, it’ll be a little easier to accommodate when Lexie gets here next week since she’s still building up her clientele.” 

Gibbons’ favorite hair service to perform is anything color-related. 

“I love doing color. I like blondes a lot, doing highlights or balayage, it’s just always pretty.” 

“With balayage, it’s kind of like an art, cause you’re hand painting it on. I did a lot of art in high school and wanted to go to art school, and here I am, so it is kind of funny that it kind of is my art.”

Gibbons loves what she does, and she loves that she has the opportunity to do it here in her hometown now. On February 23rd at 2 pm, Salon 192 will have a grand opening event. 

“Kinze Ehmen will be here with Chic n’ Threads Boutique. There will also be a little girl selling girl scout cookies. I’m putting together 2 gift baskets, so there will be a raffle. Everyone who comes gets an entry, and for every $10 you spend with Kinze you’ll get another entry.”

“There will be some snacks, and some drinks, some wine from the winery across the street [Wyldewood Cellars]. There will be a ribbon-cutting, so we’ll probably do that at 2 and then come inside and mingle and hang out.”

For Gibbons, it is rewarding to see all of her hard work paying off. Starting a new business is tough, but Gibbons says it is worth it.

“Everything is going to work out. You go through times in your life where it seems like you’re not gonna get out of the hole, but things always seem to work out. There is a light at the end of the tunnel, it’s dark right now but there is a light.”

“I was so stressed about getting this place open, but now we’re here and it’s good. Things always have a way of working themselves out.”

You can find Salon 192 on Facebook to see Amy and Lexie’s work and to book an appointment. 

The post Gibbons opens Salon 192 in heart of St. Joseph first appeared on SJO Daily.

Tracie Trotter has spent much of her life working around wine.

Her parents own a winery and several tasting rooms in Kansas, where she grew up. But for the past nine years, Trotter has brought her love of wine to St. Joseph, where she runs Wyldewood Cellars. 

Trotter met her husband while living in Kansas and that led to the move to St. Joseph.

“My husband was in the Air Force and that’s how we met; he was stationed in Wichita, which is where I’m from. After he got out of the military, he wanted to move back home. He’s from Champaign.”

Trotter and her husband decided they wanted their kids to go to St. Joseph schools. At the time, the old apothecary building was for sale, and that’s how the winery came to be.

Wyldewood Cellars Illinois is a branch of the original Wyldewood Cellars started by Trotter’s father. When Trotter first opened the Illinois location, the wines were shipped from Kansas and bottled in St. Joseph. 

“We’re actually a branch of my dad’s winery that was started in Kansas over 30 years ago. We used to get the wines from him, and then bottle them up here. And then we started just making the wines up here.”

Now, the wines are made right down the street in St. Joseph in a separate building.

“We make wine just down the street. We used to make it right here in this back room, but then we needed more room. About six years ago we started renting the building down the street.”

The winery is a true family business. Two of Trotter’s sister-in-laws and her father-in-law work with her. And, her father helped the Illinois location get started.

“He taught my sister-in-law how to make the wines, she’s the wine-maker. And then my father-in-law came to work for us two years ago, and we’ve just been booming ever since.”

Trotter is not only a business owner, she is also a mother of three children under the age of 10. 

“I had just had my second child in 2010 when we bought the building.”

Her sister-in-law also has three children under the age of 11. The winery is family-friendly, and it is a blessing to be able to bring the kids to work. 

“It’s nice that my sister-in-law and I can bring our kids to work and not have to pay daycare expenses. The kids are old enough now that when they’re not in school, they help stock, they help bottle, they help clean.”

Wyldewood is known for more than just wine.

“We’re also different, we don’t have just grape wines. We’re known for elderberry and elderberry is different. So it’s a good variety for people, and we’re always coming out with new wines it seems like. We also make elderberry concentrate, jelly, syrup, vinegar, vinaigrette, and obviously the wines.” 

They also sell wine accessories, home decor, and other seasonal items. They have outside seating, a lounge, and a back room that can be rented out for private events. 

“We rent it out for small events, baby showers, bridal showers, birthday parties, things like that. We also do wine painting parties, private wine tastings.”

Throughout the summer, there are special flavors of wine slushies available. Now that the weather has changed, the slushie machine has been put away and a new special drink is on the menu. 

“Trish, my other sister-in-law, is really good at mixing the different wine slushies, and the different flavors. We put away the slushy machine for the winter and then she came out with the caramel apple sangria. We don’t bottle it, it’s just in-house. You can come and get a glass and sit outside, or sit in the lounge.”

Wyldewood is a part of several events coming up, including Haunted Halloween and the Country Christmas Stroll. They also have a Fall Sign Paint Workshop on October 27th and a private wine tasting and massage event happening on November 3rd. To RSVP for the wine tasting with massage, call 217-469-9463.

Trotter might have a lot on her plate with running a business and being a mom, but she would not have it any other way.

“I love it, I love what I do. Finding a good wine for someone brings joy to my life, to everyone pretty much.”

“I love it when people walk in the door and I can tell them about the wines. Or when they tell me ‘I love your wine, it’s the best wine I’ve ever tasted.”

“It makes me feel really good because it’s something that my family has made.”

Even though she wouldn’t want to do anything else, it hasn’t always been easy.

“I learned from my dad on how to run a business, and how not to run a business, but you don’t really know what you’re doing until you’re immersed in it.” 

“I have made so many mistakes, but if you don’t make mistakes you don’t learn.”

“One thing I’ve learned is advertising. I’ve made a lot of mistakes advertising. What works, what doesn’t.”

“The newspaper is not the way to go for us. We have billboards, and interstate signs, and those bring a lot of people in. Social media is really what brings a lot of people in, and online presence.”

“We just got an Instagram, and we’ve had Facebook all along. But that’s also changed its face a lot.”

Trotter’s other sister-in-law, Trish, handles the social media.

“Trish is really really good at that, because she did radio for like 20 years. And she did social media for the radio stations. She’s definitely a great asset to have with the marketing and advertising aspect of it.”

One of the most important things that Trotter has learned from being a business owner is customer service. 

“You have to be friendly. You have to be customer-friendly to the customer. No matter if you’re having a bad day, you have to be nice to them.”

However, Trotter enjoys helping the customers.

Her father is an international wine judge, and she is a judge-in-training. Her father has helped her train her palette to appreciate different wines and she brings this knowledge to help her customers in choosing the perfect wine to fit what they are looking for. 

Their most popular wine is elderberry mead. 

“Meads are made with honey, not sugar, and we get our mead from Arthur so its local Amish honey.”

Wyldewood has over 30 kinds of wine, so there is something for everyone to enjoy. And if they are out of stock of a certain kind, it’s not for long. 

“Since we make it down the street, if we’re out of something we’re only out for maybe a few weeks and then we have it back in stock.”

Trotter truly enjoys her job and she enjoys working with her family day in and day out. She hopes one day to pass the business to one of her children or one of her nieces or nephews. 

“I love what I do, we’re basically our own bosses. We get along really well. We don’t have any drama.”

“It’s definitely been a whirlwind roller coaster, but I wouldn’t have it any other way.”

For more information on the wines, or events, or the winery itself, check out the Wyldewood Cellars Illinois website.

The post Something for everybody at Wyldewood Cellars first appeared on SJO Daily.

The Littlefield Group disbursed themselves throughout the St. Joseph, Mahomet and Tuscola communities early on July 2 to place 850 American flags in the yards of local residents.

Three years ago, the team started in just the St. Joseph community with 250 flags. Last year the project grew to 450 flags in the three communities.

Rhonda Littlefield said it’s just the team’s way of giving back to the communities they serve.

“We want people to feel patriotic and proud of our country and our service men that currently serve and have served in the past when they see all the flags,” she said.

The post Littlefield Group places 850 flags in local communities first appeared on SJO Daily.

What came first, the chicken or the egg?

Well, in the case of Coopers Backyard Farms, owned and operated by Andy Wilsey-Cooper and Randy Cooper, a dozen chickens came first.

Over two years of their operation, the egg layers have been the catalyst for a change in lifestyle for the Coopers.

“I rarely have to go to the store,” Andy said.

Coopers Backyard Farm, which includes a lush garden with beans, peas, squash, cabbages, carrots, zucchini, tomatoes, asparagus, berries, garlic and potatoes, egg layers and chickens and turkey for meat, has also grown to include bees, a fruit orchard and grape vines.

Randy also has his sights set on bringing in pigs, sheep and breeding the chickens instead of purchasing chicks each year.

“Everything is reliant on each other for its growth,” Andy said.

Andy said she became more aware of what she was putting in her body and it became of the utmost importance when her daughter and sister were diagnosed with cancer.

“I started looking into all the nutrition,” she said. “I got a hold of Suzanne Somers’ book. And boy, she hit the nail on the head. She talked about, you know, how we’re under environmental attack. And we really are.”

The Coopers are careful not to use chemicals on their plants and they don’t feed their chickens hormones or fillers. Andy spends her evenings tending to the garden, pulling weeds, giving the plants Epsom salt baths or spraying them with tea tree oil.

“If you go to the store to buy organic, it’s only 35-percent less, and that’s not good enough for me,” Andy said.

“In the summer (the chickens) eat the bugs and keep my garden really healthy.”

During the fall and winter months, the chickens eat non-GMO without antibiotics or hormones feed or barley from Triptych Brewing.

And although some of the chickens are Easter-eggers, the best part about them is that they follow Andy and Randy all over the farm. The Coopers have become part of their brood, and the chickens watch over them.

Andy knew that she was part of the team when she tripped and fell in the yard.

“Red (a rooster) freaked out and he ran over to me,” Andy recalls. “He was so upset.”

Having healthy food isn’t all that concerns the Coopers, though. They also want their animals to have healthy lives, too.

Andy said she is always taken when she watches documentaries on how food, particularly meat, is produced. The standard may be for chickens to have a little light every day, but they may also be on confinement with nowhere to move on large farms.

Cooper’s chickens have moved from a small coop Randy built to a barn where they can come outside when their owners are home and have wood and beams to climb on inside the barn.

They get new bedding about every 10 days and take baths in the dirt. The Coopers even leave the radio on for them during the day, mostly to scare away predators, but also to keep the chickens company.

The dark orange egg yolk is packed with protein and can be left on the counter unwashed for use over a month’s time.

“That’s just how they were supposed to be,” Andy said. “Back in the old days, they didn’t have refrigerators, so they just ate the chicken eggs as they came and let them know until they needed them.”

The Coopers keep their egg layers separated from the chickens and turkeys used for meat, although those birds also get a steady diet of pasture and bugs.

The growth of the farm has been trial and error, though. The Coopers rely on the expertise of others, mostly through YouTube videos, to troubleshoot the issues they come across.

Currently, the Coopers are learning about how to take care of bees. With a couple hives near the orchard on their property, the plan is to plant red clover nearby so the bees have an organic food source to create their honey.

Andy not only believes in the nutritional value of honey, but also its medicinal qualities.

“I had surgery and one of my wounds was healing and we were getting ready to go on this big trip to Mexico,” she said. “

“I went to the doctor and he’s like, ‘No, you’re not gonna be able to go in the ocean.’ I decided I’ve got to get this healed. So I got online did some research. I found that in burn centers, they use Manuka honey from Australia, really high grade, and they slather it on the skin to prevent, you know, infections.

“So three days later, my wound started closing up.  I went back to the doctors two weeks later and it healed up, and I had no scars.”

The farm is not a solo operation, though. While the Coopers do the majority of the day-to-day work, they enjoy when their children and grandchildren visit, helping to gather eggs or harvest beans or potatoes.

Andy said the kids run and the dogs play while the adults will sit in the garden to talk.

The Coopers hope that at some point, they may be able to open their land to children for a camp so that they, too can learn about organic farming and taking care of food products.

Until then, the Coopers offer products for consumption.

Every now and then, Andy will post about farm-fresh eggs for sale at 109 N Main St., in St Joseph. The eggs sit in a wooden box near the entrance and can be paid for by the honor system.

The Coopers also sell their chicken meat and will sell their turkey meat in a few weeks. The price may be more than a customer might pay at a grocery store, but the Coopers are just recouping expenses incurred from raising the chickens, not making money.

Fresh fruits and vegetables will be canned throughout the fall months. Andy said that the produce grown last year was enough to sustain the family.

To learn more about the Coopers Backyard Farm follow them on Facebook.

The post Someone to Know Near SJO: Coopers Backyard Farms first appeared on SJO Daily.

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/.

The post Corray realizes passion through owning Bare first appeared on SJO Daily.