There’s nothing quite like a spa day, but what’s even better is when you can enjoy one right at home. I recently had my first at-home spa day with The Party Spa, a Black-owned mobile spa founded by Asher Wilkins.
Asher’s team of 25 professionals offers a wide range of services, including massages, facials, body scrubs, and more. Asher, a licensed massage therapist, stumbled upon a unique opportunity to combine massage services with the vibrant nightlife scene.
The Party Spa Team
Courtesy
"I noticed there was a need in the New York City night life, especially with the after work parties and I felt that I had that answer in regards to bringing what I did, because I'm a licensed massage therapist," he tells xoNecole. "So how could I incorporate this into what I like to do, which was socialize and network, and party.
"I went to some club owners and some promoters, and I told them about the idea. I said, let's include the chair massage along with what you have going on and it worked." At that time, the clientele was primarily women who needed a massage after a long night of dancing, especially in heels.
London getting a massage from Asher
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The Party Spa, having expanded its services to cater to a diverse clientele, including business professionals and celebrities like Mary J. Blige, has even graced music tours like the I Love the 90s tour. Their extensive travel across the country led them to my doorstep, where I eagerly awaited my pampering session.
Asher and Miss Jazz arrived at my home and began infusing the space with a relaxing spa vibe. They set up an essential oil diffuser and provided me with a cozy white robe for a comfortable change. While I had the option to choose my preferred music, I opted for the soothing melodies of traditional spa music.
Asher skillfully administered my massage, applying medium to deep pressure that perfectly suited my preferences. He effectively worked out the lingering pain in my lower back and hips, leaving me feeling rejuvenated and pampered. The delightful aroma of the massage oils intensified as he continued rubbing me down, enhancing the overall sensory experience.
London receiving a facial from Miss Jazz.
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Once Asher finished, it was time for my facial. Facials are rare for me, so this was a delightful treat. Miss Jazz began with a facial massage, a new experience for me that I thoroughly enjoyed.
It felt like a continuation of the body massage I had just received. From there, she applied various products to my face, including a scrub, cleanser, vitamin C serum, and cream. She also gave me a honey and sugar lip scrub, which I desperately needed.
The result was radiant, smooth skin. The Party Spa transformed my first at-home spa experience into a blissful one. I found myself in a tranquil state of mind and relaxed the rest of the day.
The Party Spa is expanding its footprint by launching a podcast, Confessions of a Celebrity Massage Therapist, and working with non-profits to donate beauty and wellness services to survivors of sex trafficking and abuse. To learn more, visit their website thepartyspa.com, or follow them on Instagram @thepartyspa.
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Feature image by Freshsplash/ Getty Images
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Skylar sees things differently. At the time, she was shooting content on her iPhone. Temi came into the picture with a new perspective, an understanding of tech, and, eventually, a camera. “He doesn't give himself enough credit,” Skylar says. “He wasn't just my tripod. He wasn't just standing behind the camera and going ‘click.’ He was giving advice. He was giving me insight to how I could look at things from a different perspective. And I was like, 'Oh, he’s an artist.' I think it was maybe a heartbeat of that kind of energy of like, ‘Baby, can you take this picture?’ And it turned so quickly into, we're partners. We can work together in a way where we're advancing each other's creative thinking.”
The pair often says they’re two sides of the same coin. Skylar is an Aquarius. She attended art school, paints, and loves poetry. She’s more than happy to let the couple’s management firm and agency, Kensington Grey, handle their admin work. And, she loves to sleep in. Temi, on the other hand, wakes up early. He’s a Virgo. He loves a to-do list and regularly checks in on the couple’s brand partnerships spreadsheet to make sure everything is on track.
Because his storytelling was steeped in his love of technology, he didn’t always think of himself as a creative person. “Where I [am] the dreamer who wants to pluck things out of the sky and spend all day with my head in the clouds, Temi [is] so good at grounding me and helping me figure out how to make things make sense on paper. We just work together in such a complimentary way,” Skylar says.
It’s been more than six years since Brooklyn-based couple Temi and Skylar started dating, and nearly four since they cemented their working relationship. On TikTok and Instagram, the couple’s travel, fashion, and home content regularly rack up hundreds of thousands of views. They’ve worked with brands such as Coach, Aesop, Away, and Liquid IV, bringing their vibrant perspectives to every campaign they execute. Still, nearly two years since both Temi and Skylar committed to full-time content creation and creative directing, the couple says their romantic connection remains their priority.
“We told each other we would much rather go back to full-time jobs and preserve our relationship than to be full-time freelancers, barely getting a night's rest [and] barely kissing each other because we're so busy shooting,” Skylar says.
Working from home can make it hard to separate work from personal life for any entrepreneur. It can be even more challenging when your business partner is also your lover. Temi and Skylar had already used couples therapy as a tool to help them effectively communicate with one another. When they ran into challenges while working together, their therapist helped them set physical boundaries to help combat the issues.
"We told each other we would much rather go back to full-time jobs and preserve our relationship than to be full-time freelancers, barely getting a night's rest [and] barely kissing each other because we're so busy shooting."
“It actually took us doing very specific physical things to create boundaries between work and play in our relationship,” Skylar says. “So, for instance, we will only have conversations about work when we're out of bed or we're at the table or in the office. Initially, when we started, we had to light a candle to say that, 'Okay, this is a space where we're connecting, we’re not talking about work.' We needed really hard boundaries at the top. And then it became a little bit more organic.”
The boundaries have been crucial to implement, especially because the couple began working together so naturally. When the pair first met, Skylar was NY-based a social strategist for BuzzFeed and was using content creation to drive business to her lingerie company. She was shooting her own content. Temi was working for Microsoft in D.C. He’d recently traded in his DJing equipment for a camera. “I've always loved taking pictures,” he says. “Even when I was a kid, my African mother would wake me up at 3:00 a.m. [during a] party, and be like, 'Come take the family picture.'”
Growing up, Temi says he watched his parents support each other and be the true definition of partners. He knew he wanted the same for his own relationship. But, the couple also wanted to make sure they were being financially responsible. The pair didn’t quit their traditional jobs until they’d saved up two years' worth of their cost of living. And, Temi received his Master of Business Administration from New York University with the knowledge that it could either help him advance in his corporate career or be applicable to his business with Skylar.
Temi and SkylarCj Hart @hartbreakToday, they say their working relationship is more of a “quiet dance.” They still implement some of the boundaries they learned in therapy, but they also lean into their natural strengths and deep love for one another. When we speak, Temi has planned a date for the couple to see Princess Mononoke in 4K IMAX and added it to their Notion so they can factor it into their busy schedules. “I fully plan to date for the rest of my life,” he says.
Skylar says the couple doesn’t just wait for date nights to check in with one another, though. This often happens in the mornings, after Temi has made her peppermint tea and poured himself a cup of coffee. When they ask each other how they slept, she says, it’s not just a “nicety.” It’s a genuine question meant to foster connection.
“A lot of it happens during the day in the midst of work. We'll stop and we'll hug. Or we’ll slow dance in the kitchen,” she says. “Sometimes it's hard to set a whole date night when you have 7,000 things going on. So, we must grasp these moments and check in when we can. And I think it's become so organic to us that I actually didn't even realize how often we do it. But all day long, we're like, 'Are you good? I felt like your energy shifted,' because we're best friends, we just know. We just feel it happen.”
What’s better than being in love? Building wealth while doing it. Watch Making Cents here for real stories of couples who make money moves together.
Featured image by Cj Hart @hartbreak