By Paul Feely
The New Hampshire Union Leader, Manchester
WWR Article Summary (tl;dr) Talitha Franggos, co-owner of “Humble Warrior Power Yoga” is one of a group of eight women who have come together to grow their businesses. The Yoga studio and “The 155 Collective Salon and Spa” now share the same address-155 Dow Street. Franggos says the space is built on a foundation of strong women, huge hearts and kind spirits.
MANCHESTER
More than a year after a popular Millyard salon and spa abruptly closed its doors, eight female entrepreneurs have come together to create a space focused on “beauty and wellness for the mind, body and soul” in Manchester.
An official grand opening and ribbon-cutting ceremony was held for Humble Warrior Power Yoga and The 155 Collective Salon & Spa at 155 Dow St., Suite 102 in Manchester. The location was formerly home to Not So Plain Jane’s, which closed in early March 2018.
Flash forward 17 months, and eight local businesswomen have collaborated to create a spot in the Queen City catering to self-care needs.
“It’s just a great vision to have beauty and wellness in one-stop shopping for your guests and for the community,” said April Arnold, owner of the 155 Collective Salon and Spa.
“She had the vision to create something exciting and fresh to join,” said Talitha Franggos, co-owner of Humble Warrior Power Yoga. “A salon concept with the healing energy of a yoga studio, to create an amazing space for our community. This space is built on a foundation of strong women, huge hearts and kind spirits. We have business owners that are in their early 20s. That is power, that’s a brilliantly bright future for our community.”
Humble Warrior Power Yoga is owned by Franggos and Genevieve Hoellrich, who have both been practicing and teaching yoga for over a decade. The studio features state-of-the-art infrared heating technology, and is one of only a few studios of its kind to offer “over 25 classes inclusive of high intensity interval training, groove sessions with customized playlists and restorative yoga focusing on meditation,” according to a media release.
“A text, one year ago this month, ‘Can you grab coffee?,’ turned into what you see before you,” said Franggos, an insurance agent for Cross Insurance in Manchester. “Yoga has always been a way for me to center myself and my clients. Opening a yoga studio was something that’s always been in my heart, it’s something I’ve always wanted to do, but I said the time was not right. But April said ‘T, let’s just go look at the space.'”
“She said, ‘Oh, I don’t know,’ so I brought her to this space,” said Arnold. “It was the second time I’d seen it, and as soon as she walked into the room she was like, ‘Oh, I think this has to happen.’ This unit, this facility, just has so much energy in it already, the bricks and the beams, the energy in the mills.”
“It is so fabulous to be cutting a ribbon for a business that is run and started by eight strong, wonderful women,” said Mayor Joyce Craig. “I hope you feel the energy and feel the encouragement not just by everyone in this room, but by everyone in the city. My daughter was one of the first customers, she had her hair done, colored, cut. she’s thrilled and she’ll be returning.”
Formerly 26th on Hanover, the salon area of The 155 Collective is owned by Arnold, a business owner for over 13 years and an educator and artist for the international hair care and styling company Redken.
According to Arnold, the salon offers the latest in hair design and color trends along with a color table equipped with a docking station ideal for professionals looking to bring their work with them during their color session.
The 155 Collective Spa offers multiple services such as medi spa, massage therapy, microblading and esthetics.
Erin Fernald of deLuxe Medical Esthetics, Sharon Chase of Brow Nirvana Microblading, Nicole Lemire of The Aesthetic Lounge, Emily Brady of Lashes by Emily and Danielle Bouthiette of Waxing Moon Esthetics are the additional female proprietors that bring this “Collective” full circle.
Hoellrich said the idea of pairing a salon with a yoga studio is “bold.”
“People hear it and they’re like, ‘Why?'” said Hoellrich. “We’re starting a trend.”
“Some said the blowers will be loud during the yoga,” said Franggos. “We’ve actually found the blowers are like white noise, like the ocean, so we may have actually found something before anyone else did.”
Franggos said the Collective caters to the busy schedules of professionals working in the Millyard.
“We have loads of class times and there’s a noon one every day,” said Franggos. “So the professional can come have a yoga class, get their hair blown back out and show up for their six-figure meeting, and it’s like nothing ever happened.”
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