Waves of Touch: giving back to community any way it can
L’ANSE — As ABC 10 continues to spotlight small business this week, Thursday’s featured place of business comes from the Keweenaw Peninsula.
Clare Loveless is a business woman in the village of L’Anse with a benevolent heart.
“Waves of Touch is the business that I started here in L’Anse. I’ve got the beautiful view of the marina and the bay. I do a variety of service here with massage cupping, hot stone, and I like to bring in other people who do fun things to let my clients experience different things and find out whats good for them and their bodies and energies and just bringing more to our community,” said, Loveless, owner of Waves of Touch.
Before opening her own shop five years ago, Loveless paid her dues and earned some experience in massage therapy while juggling a series of day jobs.
“My grandma was a massage therapist and a nurse. Nursing, not necessarily my thing, but massage, I’m like, ‘I can do that.’ So, I moved to Arizona, lived with my sister and went to massage therapy school in 2003. I came back here, got certified in hot stone, massage cupping, and then I’ve added all the other things along the way. Essential oils, crystals, the Kansa wand for the face this is part of the massage special for May,” she said.
She gives back to her community and stays involved with several local charities.
“Cancer is a big one that has hit my family a lot. So, I do a lot of things for that so the Relay for Life that people have in Baraga and Houghton counties.”
She’s a little modest. At those events Clare sets up a massage chair and donates the entire day’s proceeds to the cause. She’s also collaborated on those efforts with other area businesses.
“Our community is so good. If someone is going through a hard time. W’ere banding together and bonding together to help them so they don’t have that pressure on them and to know that they are not alone. We band together, I love it. So I donate baskets to that, I get emotional,” said Loveless.
Another way Loveless contributes to the community is by offering her counter space to free-will donation stations, for charitable collections.
“I think that’s the core of what we do, and reaching out to everybody that’s in our community that needs extra help and empowering them to have those positive vibes and beat the things they’ve got going on and find the silver lining in all the different things. So, I’m the positive bubble, the positive little place over here in L’Anse. The little light over here.”
Along with message therapy, she incorporates a series of activities that promote healthy energies, including sharing her artistic qualities with receptive embers of her community by hosting evening art sessions. Some of her pieces consist of acrylic paintings and pourings.
“I just think they’re beautiful, and everybody’s been loving them. So it’s just one of my new little fun things to do I’m all about bringing new creative things to this area to,” she explained.
She has also applied her acrylic techniques to old vinyl records that she plans to turn into wall hanging round clocks. Loveless says that most of her clients come in for different reasons and she loves taking care of them.
“Go get a massage, take care of yourself. There’s a reason that you have these aches and pains, a little maintenance is good for you.”