It’s hard to believe it was 12 years ago that my 23-year-old girlfriend opened a spa. About a year earlier, she had been fired from the spa where she and I had worked and met, for telling the owners one too many times how they could improve the place. They replied (not unkindly), “If you think you can do it better, go do it.” And then, to (almost) everyone’s amazement, she did.
Running and growing The Dragontree has challenged us like nothing else. It reminds me of the story of the Oo-aa bird. An anthropologist had heard of the legendary African bird and was curious as to the origin of its name. So, she spoke to some indigenous people in the bird’s native habitat, and they told her, “You must see the bird’s egg. Then you will understand its name.” After months of searching, they happened upon an Oo-aa bird in the act of laying an egg, and much to the anthropologist’s surprise, the egg was a golden cube. As the egg came out, the bird shrieked, “Oooooooooo!!” and then finally, “Aaaaaah!”
What Briana initially envisioned as a place for people to get massages and facials has become so much more – an educational organization, a publisher, an outlet for our creative expression and personal missions, a forum for dozens of talented healers to practice their art, a maker of health and body care products . . . It’s been not unlike birthing multiple cubical golden eggs. They can hurt like heck on the way out, but ultimately every expansion yields a new treasure.
The greatest of these treasures is the people we have connected to through The Dragontree. To celebrate you during our anniversary month, we’ll be having Champagne Weekends and $12 standalone foot baths all month long. We'll also have weekly giveaways, both in the spas and online, culminating in the award of a 12 month Habits of Harmony membership to one lucky client.
I’m looking forward to the day when I’m writing, “It’s hard to believe it was 25 years ago that my 23-year-old girlfriend opened this spa.” Thanks so much for being part of our dream.
Much love,
Dr. Peter Borten
