Today we’d like to introduce you to Fernanda, Ana Paula, and Roberta Mendes.
In less than ten years, four sisters from Brazil turned a faraway dream into a reality, and on March 1, 2010 Bella Sisters Salon and Spa was born. In 2000, Roberta Mendes came to America from Brazil with her mother; she took her first job as an assistant at Dellaria Salon in Natick. Soon after, her mom joined her at the salon also taking an assistant position. After some thought, Roberta’s mom decided she wanted to go back to Brazil and tried to convince Roberta with no success to go back with her. Despite barely speaking English, Roberta was determined to make a life in the U.S. Upon returning to Brazil, Roberta’s mom asked her daughter Ana Paula to visit Roberta so that ultimately both sisters would both return to Brazil. Little did she know that neither one of them would return because they had bigger plans.
In 2001, Ana Paula suggested Roberta go to school for hairdressing. There was just one problem; it was $600 to attend the classes and the sisters were basically living paycheck to paycheck. Ana Paula sold raffle tickets with the grand prize being one of her gold bracelets until she saved up $600. Meanwhile, she took the assistant job at the salon that her mom once held.
2002 brought two more Mendes sisters to the U.S., Fernanda and Camila. At the urging of her boss, Ana Paula obtained her license for massage therapy. She worked from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. six days a week with a half day on Sunday. The morning was spent cleaning houses and the afternoons and nights were spent traveling between three different Dellaria salons. Ana Paula received her license for esthetics in 2003 after her boss promised her a position at the new salon and spa he was opening. Shortly after the salon opened, Ana Paula went on maternity leave from August 2003 to April 2004 to have her daughter. Bella Sisters began existing as a name in 2004. The sisters went to clients’ homes to do make up and hair for events and weddings. Roberta gave birth to her two sons between January 2006 and November 2007. Roberta only took a couple of weeks off because she was afraid of losing clients. Fernanda began attending business school in 2009 and it is then that the sisters begin to have their first thoughts of opening their own salon. An affordable salon space became available in the summer of 2009, and the sisters gave notice at their respective jobs in February 2010. Despite tough economic times, Bella Sisters Salon and Spa opens its doors for the first time on March 1, 2010.
3 years after Bella Sisters first opened its doors the business grew to the point that they took a big step and relocated to a space double the size of its first location.
Unfortunately, on March 11 of this year, a devastating fire tore the entire plaza where Bella Sisters salon was located. The fire was not enough to take their dreams and what it seemed to be the end, was just the beginning. Exactly 4 months later, on July 11th Bella Sisters reopened its doors, in a bigger, and nicer location. Bella Sisters is now conveniently located right across from the Natick Mall, also located in the same plaza as Hampton Inn Hotel, Total Wine, Burlington Factory, among other stores.
What sets Bella Sisters Salon and Spa apart from so many other salons and spas out there is that rather than being focused on the competition, Bella Sisters is focused on the clients. Outstanding customer service is their mission; every single client is important to them. The Salon has a friendly staff with well over ten years of experience. Everyone at Bella Sisters makes a real effort to remember every client so that when you go, they know your name; that’s rare. Parking is free and there is more than enough parking for everyone. The salon is clean and the staff is always hard at work updating the look of the salon.
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
It’s never been an easy road. Here are some of the obstacles along the way:
*Foreign Country
*Language Barrier
*Finance
*Massive fire that destroyed our work of years.
*New start
We’d love to hear more about your business.
We are a full-service salon and spa. We specialize and hair coloring, highlights, haircuts, straightening, body wax, facials, body massage, Nail care. We are now getting ready to add some new services such as Laser hair removal, and cool sculpting.
What sets us apart is that we are always keeping up with the new trends and changes, as the beauty industry is fast pace and is constantly changing. We don’t focus on the competition, we focus on providing our services with excellence.
What were you like growing up?
We all have a very strong personality!
Contact Info:
- Address: Clover Leaf Plaza,
321 Speen St., Natick, MA 01760 - Website: www.bellasisters.net
- Phone: 508 626 8444
- Email: bellasisters@hotmail.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bellasisterssalon/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Bella-Sisters-Salon-Spa-134318379948402/
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