Zanesville women join forces to build full-service salon

Sam Blackburn, Zanesville Times Recorder
·4 min read
Owner Teisha Lewellen, middle, joined forces with Heather Jadwin, left, Nikole Daniels, Bethany Shawger and Nicole Armstrong to form The Design Studio Salon and Spa on Adair Avenue in Zanesville. It offers a full-service salon and spa in a private atmosphere in a historic building that was fully renovated and preserved.
Owner Teisha Lewellen, middle, joined forces with Heather Jadwin, left, Nikole Daniels, Bethany Shawger and Nicole Armstrong to form The Design Studio Salon and Spa on Adair Avenue in Zanesville. It offers a full-service salon and spa in a private atmosphere in a historic building that was fully renovated and preserved.

ZANESVILLE — Five women putting their heads together has led to a business venture on the city's north end.

The Design Studio Salon and Spa opened in February, offering a blend of options for those wanting to treat themselves.

Owner Teisha Lewellen and partners Nicole Armstrong, Nikole Daniels, Heather Jadwin and Bethany Shawger offer five services at their business located at 815 Adair Ave., next to McCollister & Associates Real Estate.

Lewellen and Jadwin worked together for more than a decade. Daniels, a longtime client of Lewellen's, will be performing manicures and pedicures once she finishes her licensing in September.

Shawger has been a bartender for 20 years, and still works at The Barn on the weekend. She added an esthetician license to her portfolio in 2020 and has been doing facials, eyelashes and body waxing ever since.

Meanwhile, Armstrong works in an office but has been performing teeth whitening since 2020. Lewellen, her older sister, joked Armstrong had no choice but to join the others at the salon.

Jadwin performs pedicures and manicures in addition to her stylist duties.

Lewellen feels the business has been a success, despite rises in product costs and continued upgrades being done to the salon.

"I feel like we work really well together," Lewellen said. "We kind of all have the same similar personalities, and we've picked up new clients since we moved here and still kept our old ones. I guess with the interstate being closed we've attracted a lot that way, as well."

Owner and stylist Teisha Lewellen straightens the hair of Breyonna Moody at The Design Studio Salon and Spa in Zanesville. Lewellen and four partners opened the salon in February, where they feature a full-service salon with a variety of services, all in private suites.
Owner and stylist Teisha Lewellen straightens the hair of Breyonna Moody at The Design Studio Salon and Spa in Zanesville. Lewellen and four partners opened the salon in February, where they feature a full-service salon with a variety of services, all in private suites.

Daniels' path to the salon has been a non-traditional one, having spent much of the past two decades as an athletic trainer and health and physical education teacher. She was happy for a change of scenery.

She is counting down the days when she can get her testing finished with the state.

"This was always my long desire," Daniels said. "It’s originally what I wanted to do as a kid and I got put in other directions. I’m just looping back around. It has been a huge weight off my shoulders."

Lewellen, an educator with DreamCatchers and Redken, said it was Shawger who convinced she and Jadwin to join forces with her.

Unlike most salons that feature open floor plans, this one features privacy — each partner has their own room to operate in a large, two-story house that has been renovated to fit their needs.

"That's what makes it different here," Shawger said. "We have rooms instead of seats."

That idea was partially a result of COVID-19 restrictions in 2020 limiting the hours they could work in a traditional salon, where stylists' chairs were next to each other.

Social distancing measures quashed that. Lewellen said many stylists have since pushed for their own suites to avoid sharing workspaces, alternating workdays and losing revenue.

"Some people just wanted that privacy (during the height of COVID), and we were just kind of ready for our own thing as well," Lewellen said. "We were all ready for a change."

Added Jadwin: "It just makes for a less chaotic atmosphere, because it's broken up. You don't have everyone coming in to one space. It's more personal with your clients."

It's also a historical building, one that was once the site of an underground railroad stop. It has served as home to multiple businesses in previous years, including Center Barber Shop and Steed's Music Store.

Nicole Armstrong performs teeth whitening in her suite at The Design Studio Salon and Spa in Zanesville. Armstrong is one of five partners at the full-service salon, located on Adair Avenue, all of whom have private work areas.
Nicole Armstrong performs teeth whitening in her suite at The Design Studio Salon and Spa in Zanesville. Armstrong is one of five partners at the full-service salon, located on Adair Avenue, all of whom have private work areas.

Preparing it to house a salon was a year-long undertaking, as the house had three layers of ceilings and walls and required a litany of updates, such as new flooring, plumbing and electric. They also exposed the fireplaces.

Lewellen said she was fortunate to have a husband and others close to her that could foster much of the leg work.

"I think the cool thing about this building is (Lewellen) tried to keep it as close to the natural form, while adding a twist," Jadwin said. "They use the pocket doors, they use the fireplaces. She tried to keep it as original as they could."

Lewellen said she wanted to preserve the building's history.

"That's why I told them to keep everything in here," Lewellen said. "We uncovered lots of things."

More information can be found on the salon's website, www.designstudiosalonandspa.com, or call 740-297-7510.

sblackbu@gannett.com; Twitter: @SamBlackburn

This article originally appeared on Zanesville Times Recorder: Zanesville women join forces to build full-service salon