Deneine Powell says she originally conceived a business that combined spa treatments with movement classes, such as yoga, Nia, T'ai Chi and Pilates because she is such a strong advocate of yoga, which she has been practicing for years.
Of course just loving yoga won't make a business fly. But Powell's M.B.A. and years working as a manager in the financial services industry gave her the business acumen to give her dream wings.
Three and a half years in the making, through cobbling together bank loans and a lot of support from her silent partner and "backbone," her husband Tom Swokowski, Powell opened Seven Stones Center for Wellness in a newly built residential/commercial building on Farwell Avenue. Here, in a series of uncluttered spaces with warm lighting and relics of the East, clients can get nutritional counseling, take a yoga class, get a deep tissue massage or a facial with a professional aesthetician.
Most Milwaukeeans intuitively know that the East Side is probably a good place to offer these services and less common services such as acupuncture, Reiki and Moor mud wraps, but -- ever a businesswoman -- Powell will tell you about market research that identified the East Side as the perfect location for her "one stop shop for wellness."
Trying to wade through the dozens of services offered could be a daunting task, so Seven Stones has Wellness Counselor on staff who is there to "listen to clients concerns and help them draw up a plan to address them. They're not there to sell you stuff," says Powell. A path to wellness could mean lifestyle changes, so counselors are also there to troubleshoot by phone to answer a question or even talk you out of a McDonalds craving. They lead fieldtrips to a local health food store to show you those "interior isles" that have food items that perhaps you've never used. She also gives cooking classes, juicing classes or can teach you to cook in bulk.
A stress management and nutrition expert helps clients learn about diets like "The Zone" which is often used in controlling insulin levels, although Powell says her expert doesn't delve into what are deemed as fad diets that are dangerous or extreme.
The most common problem that people come in to solve has stress at its root, such as pain in the shoulder or elbow, according to Powell. A trained physical therapist can look at how people are holding their bodies, or identify if working at a computer is the cause and make recommendations.
One of the most pervasive obstacles to wellness that Powell hears clients complain about is the lack of time, which zaps energy and throws their lives out of balance. Seven Stones tries to accommodate busy lifestyles by offering classes that participants can register for in advance or just drop in. Its hours are unusually long for a salon, 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Those with demanding schedules can make appointments for services with one of the providers.
"Basically, you can get who you want when you want them -- there's no time that's not available," she says, adding that everyone who works there is committed to that philosophy.
Working with professionals who are committed and love what they do is how Powell turned her husband into a "yoga convert" years ago. She talked him into accompanying her to her favorite class. "The instructor really worked with him ... it's amazing what a good instructor can do. One of our most popular classes is taught by Gia, who is so warm. She greets people, listens to them and helps them individually if they want. You want to be a part of it."
Some of their offerings (contact Seven Stones for a complete list):
Massage -- stone, Swedish, aromatherapy, deep tissue and acupressure:
$50 for 45 minutes to $90 for 90 minutes; $100 stone massage
Skin care treatments range from a 30-minute express for $40 a personalized 60-minute treatment for $65; add contour masque, hydroxy acid exfoliation, or eye treatment.
Body Waxing ranges from lip wax for $15 to full leg and bikini starting at $55 or a men's back wax for $40.
Holistic spa treatments:
Dead sea salt glow -- salts and aromatic oils buff the body followed up with hydrotherapy for $90.
Moor mud wrap tones and purifies the skin; first a stimulating rub, then warm mud is slathered on, followed by wraps in warm linens: $115.
Herbal body wrap detoxifies and relaxes; steaming herb-soaked linens are wrapped around the body. $75.
Sea algae wrap involves the layering on of seaweed and mineral mud, and covered with a warm wrap; $125.
Sunless bronzing -- similar to over-the-counter sunless tanners, but the staff first preps your skin with hydro active mineral salt scrub and applies it perfectly evenly for a natural look; $125.
The Center offers a Wellness Passport for 10 visits within a three-month block at a discount; spa packages and gift certificates are available.
Seven Stones
1924 N. Farwell Ave.
(414) 224-1074
