The team at Me Time is made up of owner and hair stylist Teresa Trask; hair stylist Alexa Phelps; nail, airbrush tan, and jet plasma technician Lynette Vanvalkenburg; and Reiki master and owner of Jasmine Moon Wellness Kelly Cross. The Me Time grand opening event will be held from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday, October 22 at 90 Borden Avenue in Norwich. Community members are invited to attend and check out the space, paint pumpkins, enjoy food and drinks, and enter to win raffle and door prizes. (Submitted photos)

NORWICH — A new wellness and beautification business has opened to the public at 90 Borden Avenue in Norwich. Me Time by Teresa officially opened in June, and will be hosting a grand opening open house from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday, October 22.

Me Time offers a wide range of services, from hair styling, nails, waxing, airbrush tans, and jet plasma facial treatments to Reiki healing, foot detox, essential oil therapy, chakra balancing, and more.

The team at Me Time is made up of owner and hair stylist Teresa Trask; hair stylist Alexa Phelps; nail, airbrush tan, and jet plasma technician Lynette Vanvalkenburg; and Reiki master and owner of Jasmine Moon Wellness Kelly Cross — all of whom are licensed cosmetologists.

Trask worked as a dental assistant and fitness instructor at the Norwich Family YMCA for 20 years, but during the pandemic she decided to shift careers and pursue a lifelong passion.

"I decided to change my life during COVID when I had that time at home to really evaluate what I wanted to do. I wanted to enjoy the last 20 years of my working life and not be doing something that I wasn’t really loving," said Trask. "I always wanted to be my own boss, I wanted to own my own business, and I dwelled on it pretty much my whole life trying to figure out what I could do, and it always came back to hair."

Community members are encouraged to visit the salon during the grand opening to check out the space and learn more about available services. The event will also feature fun fall activities such as face painting, pumpkin and rock painting, food and drinks, and the chance to win door prizes and raffles such as services at Me Time and gift bags.

"It’ll be a fun, fall day to come check the place out. We’re probably going to give away like a tanning package, we’ll probably give away hair cuts. You know, we’ll give away things like that, and maybe some gift bags. So little things like that too," said Trask.

"I just mainly want people to come check out the space and see where we are. It’s a great location," she continued. "It’s a quiet little nook of Norwich that’s a beautiful, relaxing space to spend your time."

The salon is tucked away on the far end of Borden Avenue, and Trask has spent a year and a half renovating the former warehouse into a calm, spa-like environment.

Since the transformation process began, Trask has gutted the building, ripping out wallpaper and carpeting, replacing sheetrock, leveling floors, and installing tile, plumbing, and a heat and AC system.

"Me Time, this place, it was just a vision. I saw this building and I had a vision, and I just wanted to make it happen," Trask explained. "Originally I was just going to rent a booth somewhere. That was my original plan, and then I found this location and fell in love with it, and I wanted to make a beautiful place for other people to work and grow their dreams."

Although much of the space has already been renovated, Trask said she has additional rooms where she hopes to add a massage therapist and fitness room in the future.

She credits her brother Frank Maiurano as the catalyst for her to pursue her dreams and vision for the salon.

"I’m pursuing an opportunity that I would not have had without my brother Frank Maiurano, who owns the building. Without him this probably would not have happened," said Trask. "He basically has been my biggest supporter. Financially even. He saw me through the first year, he wasn’t making money on the property. So for me to come in and renovate it, he wasn't charging me for being here. So I just put my own money into it, and he’s been helping me with a lot of the expenses. So he’s just been huge."

All Me Time technicians are accepting new clients, by appointment only. Available services include hairstyling, traditional and airbrush tanning, nail services, and jet plasma. Wedding parties can also book Me Time technicians for hair, makeup, nails, waxing, and airbrush tanning.

Services at Jasmine Moon Wellness, the healing room located in Me Time by Teresa, include Reiki, chakra balancing, crystal healing, emotion code, foot detox, essential oil therapy, and sessions on the FDA-approved Bio Bed.

Appointments can be made by messaging the Me Time by Teresa Facebook page, or by calling Trask at 607-316-8512, Phelps at 607-373-0819, Vanvalkenburg at 607-373-0600, and Cross at 607-316-6594.

"I was just going to rent a booth, and just be my own boss and supplement the income that I was losing as a dental assistant. And then when I saw this [building] my dream got bigger, and I said oh, I could do this, I could do that, and look at this potential. And I’ve just kind of gone with it, and it’s just kind of come together. It’s pretty amazing how those things happen," said Trask. "You’re given opportunities when you’re ready for them, and I was ready."