Bios

East Village Spa
315 East 5th #121, Des Moines, IA 50309
Scheduling: (515) 309-2904 or online!
EVSpaDesk@gmail.com
"Simple comforts for complicated lives"

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Bios

Cassie Sampson is the owner of East Village Spa. She was a Certified Recreation Therapist for 5 years and worked with seniors, people with mental illness, and brain injuries before becoming a massage therapist. Cassie worked in a chiropractic clinic and at a luxury spa before opening The Loft and then East Village Spa. She prides herself in making her clients, especially those new to massage, comfortable.

Cassie manages the spa, including the marketing (she really likes Twitter) and occasionally acts as the receptionist. She only sees clients part time and reserves most of her openings for long-time clients and spa regulars. Cassie builds her Karma bank by volunteering massage therapy services to nursing home residents. Cassie loves training with her husband and friends from Pulley Chiropractic to push for new athletic achievements (the older she gets, the healthier she wants to be!), cuddling her basset hounds, and spending time cooking and catching up with friends.

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Kelly Parker joined East Village Spa right after we opened as our first full-time massage therapist and she is now our managing technician. Kelly was raised in Illinois and moved to Iowa in 2007 to attend school. She is a graduate of the Body Wisdom Massage Therapy School and her favorite treatments are hot stone massage, deep tissue, and relaxation massage. Kelly attended training in Barefoot Bars Deep Tissue massage in 2010 and recommends this great technique to all of her clients.

She has an upbeat personality that instantly lets clients know they're in good hands (literally) and has helped her build a very loyal clientele. When she's not using her hands for massage, she's using them to create! Kelly loves art, music, and jewelry making. She's also an avid music fan and active in helping to promote area concerts and bands. Kelly pursued a career in massage therapy to help people heal and relax. Kelly loves animals and lives with her cat, Ollie.

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Maggie McCecil (formerly McGinnis) has been a licensed massage therapist since 2007 after graduating from the Body Wisdom School. She has worked at Heartland Chiropractic Clinic, The Livewell Clinic, and worked as an independent contractor with Cassie at The Loft Massage. She joined East Village Spa as a full time massage therapist in June of 2010 where she uses a range of techniques to help with relaxation and pain relief.

Maggie is especially passionate about prenatal massage and is pursuing coursework in the Birth Works International Program. She loves music, pets, and living in Des Moines with her husband John. Maggie has been a runner up for Best Massage Therapist in Cityview's poll three years in a row. She's become quite the gluten free baker, so if you need recipes, be sure to ask!

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Dawn Knutson is a part-time massage therapist, seeing clients Tuesday, Friday, and every-other weekend. She received her massage training in 1999 from the Iowa College of Natural Health and first became a licensed therapist in 2000. Before taking time to be a full time mom, she worked as a spa massage therapist, most notably a large local spa for 4 years. She has also worked in theater and in the Des Moines Theatrical shop. She joined East Village Spa in 2011 and loves working at the spa because she says she feels the atmosphere here for guests and employees alike is similar to "being welcomed into somebody's home."

Dawn is trained in Swedish and Deep Tissue massage, Cranio Sacral therapy, Reflexology, Pre-natal Massage, and Hot Stone Massage. She is a mom of three and her caring nature comes through in her nurturing treatment style.

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Mandy Leverman is a Licensed Massage Therapist. She received her massage training from Body Wisdom School in 2010 where she was one of Cassie's star students. She worked for a national massage therapy chain before she joined East Village Spa in 2011. She has advanced training in Sports and Deep Tissue massage from a former massage therapist with the Atlanta Falcons, Hawks, and Braves and the Atlanta Olympic Games. She is trained in Reflexology and also provides Relaxation, Hot Stone, and Prenatal massages.

Mandy is currently studying graphic and web design at Grandview and hopes to continue providing massage therapy and helping people part-time, even after graduation. She's active in Grandview's art club and lives in Des Moines with her beagle.

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Lydia Daft is a licensed esthetician, cosmetologist, and nail technician that joined the East Village Spa team in 2010. She does facials, body and facial waxing, and nail care at the spa. Her favorite services are facials and pedicures. Lydia's training is from LaJames College of Cosmetology. She is passionate about providing relaxing spa services and educating her clients. Lydia performs relaxing facials, thorough (but fast when it counts) waxing, and nail services for spa guests and she has completed her Derma E Ambassador training.

In her free time, Lydia volunteers at the Des Moines Playhouse as a make-up artist and wig stylist. She is known around town for her stunning red hair and glamorous "Mad Men-era" style. Feel free to contact Lydia with any of your skincare or waxing questions!

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Jenny Fenimore has been a licensed esthetician since 2004 and a licensed nail technician since 2005. After working in a medical spa for over 5 years, she joined the East Village Spa team in April 2011 as our resident Shellac nail care expert and Esthetician. Jenny loves Shellac manicures and facials. She also enjoys doing back and chest waxing for men and gives excellent recommendations for home care after facials.

Jenny sees clients part-time at the spa Wednesday-Saturday and spends her free time with family and her 4 year old son.

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Katie McGrath is a licensed esthetician and has been a cosmetologist for more than a decade. She owns Salon Revolution in the Historic East Village where she specializes in cuts, color, and up-dos. She provides Zoya manicures and pedicures, skincare and waxing services at East Village Spa on Thursdays, Sundays, and if you book early enough, is happy to come in on other days too! Katie loves getting to know all about her clients and they enjoy her sweet personality and infectious laugh.

Katie is the perfect employee to see whether you're behind on the latest Hollywood gossip or you need to vent to a great listener. She's perfected the art of "distracting" clients during waxing treatments and has a great following because of that! Katie lives with her cat, Jack McFarland McGrath and her sweet Pomeranian, Lola.

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Tiffany Jackson is the full-time receptionist at East Village Spa and a part-time Reiki Practitioner. She's happy to help you with your bookings, organizing surprises for your friends and family members, and discuss treatment options. Many of our clients enjoy visiting with Tiffany when they're early for appointments (we suspect some come early specifically to do just that!)

Tiffany is an avid reader and helps our employees stay healthy and focused by sharing her Reiki skills at the spa. She offers 30 and 50 minute relaxing and restorative Reiki sessions to spa guests by appointment (this is not available for online booking). Tiffany started Body Wisdom Massage School in October 2011 and looks forward to receiving her Massage license in the fall of 2012. We can't wait either!

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Liz Riordan is a part-time receptionist at the spa where she bravely been learned the ropes of the front desk during our busy holiday season. She's a graduate of Augustana College with a degree in Theater and Anthropology, majors that translate surprisingly well to spa reception work. She is also a world traveler.

Liz especially enjoys her "research" which requires her to receive all kinds of spa treatments to learn how to best describe them to customers. She loves that her grandma discovered the benefits of massage late in life and now when she visits her grandma, she gets treated to a visit to the spa or massage clinic.