Caracalla
Fourteen years ago this November, Ella Carol Hunt opened her popular Caracalla Spa in the Heights.
For two years prior, Ms. Hunt had carefully planned out the spa after having visited a number of day spas around the country. Since opening Caracalla, planning and developing spas has become her forte, and she's helped a number of spa owners get their businesses off the ground.
For the Little Rock spa, everything was painstakingly detailed towards fulfilling her vision. That included installing surgical lighting, providing a double water filtration system to ensure the purest water, and selecting the name, "Caracalla." Ella, who has some Italian ancestry, has visited Italy several time for hair shows. Later, she became enamored of the famous Caracalla spa outside of Rome, because it was "democratic."
"It was the first in recorded history for everyone, the rich and the poor, the educated and the uneducated. They had areas where kids were taught. There were healers. It was so large, it was just enormous."
The bath complex could accommodate more than 1,600 people at a time. The site also had two public libraries and a number of shops.
Ella wanted that democratic feel, not just a spa that catered to the elite. And she wanted it to be integrated into the community.
"It was born out of not doing something fancy. When we opened the spa, we wanted more of a community feeling. I don't like attitudinal hair salons.
"I didn't like a lot of the spas I visited, especially in the South. I had to dress up to impress them ... . They had it right longer ago. It should be about customers being served."
For her, the name "Caracalla" denoted a willingness "to heal, to serve."
"That's what took my breath away about the name," she said. "Even though we are in the Heights, and the Heights is old money, it's a beautiful, relaxing atmosphere. It's not stuffy, not highbrow.
"It's not about you being beautiful when you come in. It's about us doing for you. It should be about the customer - always."
Caracalla has two associates who do facials, two who do manicures and pedicures, four body workers, and seven stylists.
"The quality of our hair stylists is amazing."
She loves the fact that a stylist has the opportunity to make a client feel better. You have the opportunity as a hair stylist to make someone feel great - not just creating a beautiful hair style, but by being a friend in a pleasant atmosphere and teaching a client how to maintain a look with quality products.
"No one is paid commission on products. If they recommend it, it's because they truly want to help your hair be better."
As an aside, Ella said that although many salons are still offering the "Brazilian blowout," Caracalla will not do the procedure.
"The Brazilian blowout is seriously poison," she warned, adding that one of her stylists wound up in the hospital from breathing the fumes. Her spa now offers a natural relaxer instead.
Caracalla offers extensive massage services, including Reiki, hot stone massage, sports massage, pre-natal massage and couples massage.
"Michael Dawn is a bodyworker who worked for us for years, and he was the 'most popular' massage therapist we ever had. He is back! He moved to Kealakekua, Hawaii, for five years and worked at one of the top national spas in America called the Hawaii Healing Ohana. It has been ranked in the top 10 nationwide!"
Speaking of top rankings, Caracalla 's body wraps are winners too.
"We won a national award for our body wraps, because they are hand-made from organic flowers and materials. We don't use anything that is 'store bought.'
"We do some really nice body scrubs with Dead Sea salts and hand-made organic oils and flowers."
Ella makes the ingredients herself.
"I don't buy anything in a tub. It costs me more time and money, but that's the beauty of it and what makes me want to keep doing this.
"We sell our products nationwide. They are all organic, and we've done really well with them."
The manicurists there offer the new shellac gel nail polishes that are not only good for your nails, but last for about three weeks.
Folks who perform facials have a new tool, LED lamps, that are quite beneficial, she said.
And, she said her body work associates are "just fabulous."
"We have the two best wax people in the world. They are wonderful. People just love them."
And when someone doesn't have a good experience at Caracalla, Ella encourages them to e-mail her. The spa offers "so sorry" gifts. "We want to admit we made a mistake and correct it."
In addition to the spa services, Caracalla offers vintage items at Christmas and lots of jewelry year round.
"All of the jewelry we sell is hand-made by individual artisans I connect with. And the hair clips. This stuff I love. You get to know the people who create it, and you're helping feed the little guy."
That's a nice touch, because Ella started out as one of those young artists trying to make ends meet.
After studying art at Fayetteville, she worked as an artist and was successful, having exhibited in The Delta. Convinced that she needed another vocation to help support her art, she decided to go to barber school and then trained as a stylist too.
"I thought I'd get in and get out and support my art, but I just loved it. It really is much more fascinating and complex than you would think."
Ella worked as a stylist for 13 years at one salon, and was happy there, but felt like there was more out there for her.
"I had been there, done that, learned as much as I could and was ready to venture out and take a big step."
She studied spas for two years and saved her money. In addition, she sold her home. "I am not married and had no family money.
"I went to every spa you can name out West and down South and some in the East."
Ella took the best from what she saw and came up with lots of innovations of her own, such as her on-line scheduling system created by local software engineer Troy Rinker. It allows the staff to check and shuffle appointments from home computers or I-phones.
She also pre-adds tax into the total price of products and services for the convenience of customers. And she's tried hard to be an integral part of the neighborhood.
"We are now opening up a space for community gatherings. We will offer it to businesses and individuals at minimum to no money. We have seating up to 24. Anybody interested can e-mail me at ella@caracalla.com."
Associates at Caracalla will be teaching free classes there too on such subjects as how to stretch and yoga.
"I really want to serve all. Giving back to the community really means everything to me."
Ella said Caracalla went through a stressful phase for a time, when associates were leaving, and she was struggling to learn how to be a better manager.
"I'm not good at management, I'm good at design," she said frankly.
Now she feels the spa has turned the corner.
"Caracalla is going through a huge transition. It's becoming this incredible place. One of the things I've noticed, really great people keep walking in the door.
"The last three associates we hired are all three past business owners ... . Rhonda Bauman owned a day spa/salon, and Anna Hoerrmann owned a salon. Stephanie Johnson is in the corporate department and owned a salon and day spa in Woodstock, Georgia. So she brings so much knowledge to the table, it benefits all of us!
"It just feels like a family there now. I feel like this might be my favorite time at Caracalla. I am grateful. It is turning into what I always wanted it to be."
Story by Bobbi Nesbitt in the August 2011 issue of Shoppe Talk.
Check out Caracalla on Facebook and on the web at caracalla.com.
