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THURSDAY, JANUARY 19, 2017 • WATERLOO CHRONICLE • 15 BUSINESS WATERLOO CHRONICLEWATERLOO CHRONICLE By Bob Vrbanac Chronicle Sta� Most people would have looked at the construction in Waterloo's uptown core last year and saw the challenges. Marci Matejcek, owner of the new Uptown Beauty Lounge, saw the opportunity. "� at was a little bit nerve wracking, but I real- ly loved uptown Waterloo," she said. "Having a storefront location on the city's main street was always something that was appealing to me. "We were about to open up in a di� erent loca- tion and that fell through, and I was just about to resign my lease when I saw this listing and I said I had to go down there and look at it." She was targeting a move to the uptown for years after turning a successful home business started four-and-a-half years ago to one with a growing client list that provides the latest in beauty services. Those services include eyelash exten- sions, permanent makeup and the area's first blow dry bar with blowout, updo and hair exten- sion specialist on site at the 4 King St., S., Water- loo. "I fell in love with the space," said Matejcek. "My last space was nothing like this." � e lounge has been open since Dec. 1, mov- ing into the former Fitness & Swim store when people were still worried if the uptown core would even be open to tra� c for the Christmas rush due to LRT construction. But ever since she opened her original business called Lash Out she wanted to bring a more social aspect to the beauty busi- ness with a welcoming space that would not only bring people in but encourage them to stay. "I had a few different ideas," said Matejcek. "The concept evolved with the space, and I lis- tened to my clients a lot and I wanted it to be dif- ferent. "� e beauty industry is huge and there are so many places around. I didn't want to compete, I wanted to be unique in a way and be complemen- tary to what's out there. I didn't want to take busi- ness from everyone." She totally redesigned the storefront space, taking advantage of the great bay windows facing King Street that bring natural light in to a his- toric building. � e lounge features a seating area with soft leather chairs and welcoming treatment rooms in the back. "It's a little more of a high-end feel," said Mate- jcek. "My vision for this is like being a lounge in Manhattan and other city places in the uptown. "I wanted people to walk in and have that elite vibe to it with prices geared to Waterloo Region, not Toronto or New York." Some of the services she o� ers are only avail- able in high-end beauty bars in Toronto or the GTA, and she has invested a lot of training in services like eyelash extensions and permanent makeup applied to the eye brows that are consid- ered cutting edge. � e problem is a lot of salons will jump in on a trend without having the training in place to provide it. She's seen some disaster stories come in her store of people who thought they were get- ting a safe and healthy experience but ended up with regrets. "I've been asked to teach lashing and I really wanted to do it so it doesn't get a bad name," said Matejcek. "I've taught more than 100 stu- dents how to do it, and I got involved with per- manent makeup, which is now exploding as well, called microblading." It's also known as cosmetic tattooing, and microblading gives a more permanent shape to the eyebrows, but if the work isn't done right it can lead to disaster. With more than nine courses on the process Matejcek considers herself one of the local experts. "It's scary because I'm trying to educate people because everybody is doing it, and it's not some- thing you can learn in a three day course when you're cutting into people's skin," she said. "� ey have no experience and are just tattooing people's faces. � e consumer doesn't know if they had the proper training, and if it's done incorrectly it is permanent." In addition to the latest in beauty services, she wanted people to have somewhere to get their hair washed and blow dried. � ere is also a com- plimentary self-service nail station. "We just want to encourage people to hang out, that's why we call it a lounge," said Matejcek. � e space is ideal for weddings and wedding par- ties getting ready for the big day. In the end she said it was a bit of a leap of faith that the tra� c would be back when the construc- tion was finished and that a new business in a construction zone wouldn't be lost in the shu� e. � e Uptown Beauty Lounge held its o� cial grand opening last � ursday and it was swamped with loyal clients and new ones signing up for the latest packages. "We talked to a couple of other business own- ers on the street about their experiences," said Matejcek. "I also talked to a few friends to get their opinions and de� nitely my clients to kind of gauge if they would follow me. My really dedicated ones have followed me from two home locations, to my � rst storefront to this one. � ere's a lot of loyalty." For more information on Uptown Beauty Lounge, visit uptownbeautylounge.com. Beauty hot spot Uptown Beauty Lounge ignores the construction to bring latest procedures to city core Marci Matejcek is the owner of the new Uptown Beauty Lounge, at 4 King St. S., in the city core. She jumped at the chance to open her expanded beauty service despite construction challenges that might have chased other people away. BOB VRBANAC PHOTO Call Ted Anderson 519-623-3050 ext. 232 or email tanderson@cambridgetimes.ca GO "MULTI-MEDIA" with Metroland Starting aS low aS $299 • target geographically using IP addresses • target behaviourally using consumer habits • target "on-the-fly, but close-by" with our fully mobile programs for phones, tablets and other devices ADvErTIsE yOUr MEssAGE On-LInE! 20,000 to1.2 million views or more annually