Joanna Konkin, Certified Vancouver Esthetician
Being born and raised in a small town from the East Kootenay’s, I have a great appreciation for the outdoors which has always been fuel for my creative flames. Coming from both skillful parents (my dad can construct just about anything and my mom being a wonderful seamstress and potter) I’ve been an artist my whole life (obsessed, really!), using just about anything I could get my hands on. I always wished to incorporate art into my work, whatever I ended up doing. After receiving some good advice from my eldest sister (I’m the youngest of four girls!) and fleeing my small town in 1999 to live in Vancouver to pursue my career in… something… I fell into the world of esthetics, and in love. Why I chose to become an Esthetician…
After bouncing around from 5 very different spas in two years, I received a call from Kristina Irrgang, the owner of Renaissance Spa and she was looking for an esthetician to rent one of the rooms she had available. I had dropped off a resume 2 years prior, so it was a surprise to hear from her, and to find out that she owned the spa herself a had a rental basis, which isn’t common in Vancouver. After checking things out, I decided it was worth it to start my own business there, as it was my #1 goal in school, I was just not expecting it to happen so soon. Getting started is the hardest part about starting up your own business, but I used different ideas from the former places I worked at to help me along. The nail art began all a while back with my friend Karin at another spa, and was something totally new and different. It is also something I’m good at, which is why I love doing it so much. The artist’s world seems limitless and is so expansive that I figured, hey! why not use toes as my canvas? I live my life trying to be as original and unique as I can, and I’m happy to say that I’m the only Jo’s Toes out there! The biggest lesson for me would be the importance of self care. Feeling good on the outside really enhances how you feel on the inside. I live to help others and I couldn’t ask for a more rewarding job because I provide a space for my client to take time out of their day to relax and unwind, while making them look and feel great! So here we are today…After being in business for myself for 8 years I can say it hasn’t been an easy road- there have been lots of ups and downs, and even times where I wanted to throw in the towel completely. But I figure we all have our own hurdles to jump over, so I don’t sweat it. My will, my passion and love for my work have taught me to never give up and keep on going, with a positive attitude… and a smile! |
I knew I wanted to get into the healing arts field (and do it quickly!), and esthetics seemed to be the best fit for me, as I’ve always wanted to learn how to take better care of myself and others, particularly my family. And learn how to look good when I’m an old lady! Being an extremely short course was one of the perks of esthetics school, along with being poked, prodded, de-fuzzed and beautified every single day of the 9 months I was there. I graduated from Blanche Macdonald in Dec.2000 and was ready to pursue my new career.