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ABOUT US

Founded in 2001 as West Wind Massage & Wellness Group, Apotheca Skin Body Wellness is a friendly, results-oriented holistic wellness, skincare and massage therapy practice serving our loyal client base in a soothing, convenient, and simple office space in downtown San Francisco.

We are a small group of independent licensed practitioners serving up holistic and botanical skincare, therapeutic massage and bodywork. At times we may join up with other practitioners who offer such wellness services hypnotherapy, acupuncture, and Traditional Chinese Medicine.

Practitioners

Massage Therapy

Eri Cela: As most, if not all, massage therapists I became interested in bodywork because I loved receiving it. In 2002 I took a 2-year rest from my undergraduate studies. I still desired to be in a learning environment so I enrolled in a few healing arts workshops. I initially studied Reiki under Reiki Master Mimi Becigneul, in Detroit MI. In the spring of 2003 I enrolled in an extensive massage program at the Michigan School of Myomassology. I have practiced massage therapy since then. The bulk of my experience as a therapist developed at a yoga studio in the Detroit area where I was both a massage practitioner and the studio administrator. Working with yogis & yoginis has enhanced my massage practice, helping me to understand the advantage of incorporating breath, movement and stretching with traditional massage techniques.

Personal: I was born in Tirana, Albania, a small Mediterranean country with a climate much like that of Northern California. I came to the Unites States 11 years ago as a high school exchange student. Since then I can call a few places home. The latest is San Francisco, which as of now I love the best. I hold a B.S. Degree in Psychology from Wayne State University, Detroit MI. I attend the Somatic Psychology Graduate Program at CIIS, San Francisco. Some of my greatest pleasures are listening to international folk music, reading about and physically experiencing other cultures and sharing that of mine. I love to stare at art and occasionally create some with my camera. I must have my daily BBC World News fix so please do not get me started on world politics in the middle of our session.

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Courtney Mueller: I first became interested in massage while working in a rehabilitation unit at a hospital in Minnesota. While I was planning on going to graduate school for physical therapy, I realized I wanted to work in a field that was less insurance-driven and focused more on personal relationships and healing. So I picked up and moved out to San Francisco for training and sunshine. At the San Francisco School of Massage I completed both the basic Swedish as well as the Advanced Training programs. I am currently enrolled in the massage therapy program through the Institute for Health and Healing at California Pacific Medical Center. I am licensed in San Francisco and I am a member of the Associated Bodywork and Massage Professionals group. My massage style is a blend of Swedish and Deep Tissue incorporating acupressure and cranial sacral techniques. No two massages are ever the same, I listen to each person's needs and wants and modify each session accordingly.

Personal: Born and raised in Fort Collins, Colorado. I grew up playing all sports and loving the outdoors. I moved to a small farm town in Minnesota to attend St. Olaf College where I received my undergraduate degree in Exercise Science with a concentration in Bio-Medical Studies. After working for a year post-college, I moved out to San Francisco. In my free time I enjoy being outside and playing in the lovely backyard this city has to offer, cooking with foods found at the local farmers market and painting with acrylics. I love traveling; in the recent past I have made it to Mozambique, Paris and Vancouver, but I hope to make time in the future to see more of the world.

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Kelly Williams: I began giving massage at three years old walking my little feet across my mother's sore back. I am now a Certified Massage Therapist & Health Educator. A graduate of and Teaching Assistant at the National Holistic Institute College of Massage Therapy, I am licensed in San Francisco, and a member of the American Massage Therapy Association. I believe in a holistic approach to massage, creating awareness in the body, clearing the mind, and bringing you into the present moment. My style is an intuitive blend of swedish, shiatsu, acupressure, therapeutic sports massage, and aromatherapy. I also provide pregnancy massage combining many of these modalities. I tailor each bodywork session to meet your specific needs, allowing for a relieving, revitalizing, & deeply relaxing experience, inviting the body to heal itself.

Personal: Born and raised in New York City, I majored in Art as an undergrad, with a focus on lithography. After school I noticed that there wasn't a big market out there for good old fashioned printmaking,and I found myself dabbling in many different career paths ranging from waitress extraordinaire to admin at an accounting firm. Ultimately I found myself seeking more. I wanted time to make art, to have access to nature, and a career that would help me to manifest and maintain a healthy holistic lifestyle. I moved to San Franciscoand signed up for massage school. That's where I finally started to feel like I was on the right path. I love helping people to become more aware of their bodies and am obsessed with anatomy, kinesiology and the workings of the human body. In my spare time I am most likely riding my bike, visiting museums or small art galleries, taking art classes for fun at city college, doing yoga, or hiking around Mount Tam with my fiance.

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Skincare and Waxing

Alicia Claire Herlehy: I am an Esthetician and have been licensed and working since 2005. I became interested in skincare while working as a make-up artist. I was touching skin on a daily basis, and it just got to a point where I wanted to know more about skin health in general. I went to esthetics school here in San Francisco and upon my first day it all clicked into place for me...this was what I was supposed to be doing. I just adore helping to make people look and feel their best. My approach to skincare is holistic. I believe that if you look good you feel good and vice versa. I equally enjoy performing waxing and facials. Working as a Esthetician is truly my passion and I feel so lucky to have figured that out. I also adore dancing, world travel, delicious food and maintaining a positive lifestyle.

Alicia Claire comes from Spargo: A Place for Men, where her work garnered excellent press in 7x7 Magazine, She helped launch MNKYTHMP last year before taking a year off to travel the world. She is expertly skilled at facial and body waxing and for skincare she is a perfect fit with our practice because she (like the rest of Apotheca) takes a holistic and natiural approach to her work. Her facial treatments are heavy on massage, gentle (but thorough) on extractions, and performed with warmth and wit.

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Kirsten Quint Fairbanks (Brown): I hold a license in esthetics and certifications in massage, Reiki, and Reposturing Dynamics sports massage. I have formal training in botanical medicine, foot reflexology and Polarity therapy. I have also taken extensive formal coursework in aromatherapy and nutrition and I have studied Ayurvedic theory, flower essence therapy and cosmetic chemistry. I draw from this eclectic art- and skill set and combine it with ever further education: one of my great joys is marrying the latest research with traditional methods to customize treatments and formulations for my clients.

Autumn 2009: I have completed training and I am undergoing certification as a birth and postpartum doula. As a doula I have the honor and privilege of attending women and their families in labor and the childbearing year. It is fast becoming the next great joy in my life.

In a previous lives I worked in software development for homeopathic practitioners and as a buyer and health educator at a respected herbal and nutritional supplement company. After that I had a great career in PR and marketing where I represented non-profits and corporate clients as well as musicians and artists. I enjoyed it but I grew intimate with "desk shoulder" and "monitor headache," and I grew tired of life under fluorescent lights. After 9/11 2001 I realized I needed a major life overhaul. I wanted to spend my days having fun and using the traditional healing methods that were my first love. I took the leap, left my day job and began providing massage in spas. I enjoyed it but I wanted to create a different, more holistic kind of practice. My goal was a welcoming and comfortable space that could become an integral part of my clients' wellness lifestyle and not just a special occasion spa. Through the years I have been very fortunate to be able to have just that, and I am grateful every time I go to work for my clients who make my job possible.

Personal: I was born right here in San Francisco. I like to balance my love of all things holistic with an equal ardor for good music, good wine and good chocolate. When I'm not in the studio I am probably brewing strong tea or rocking out to Al Green with my baby son. When time permits I may be taking singing lessons, making web sites, doing freelance PR and marketing work, practicing yoga, learning to love running, or creating and performing custom wedding ceremonies. I may also be training massage therapists or seeing bands with my sweetie pie; or writing or reading about dead writers (like Percy Bysshe Shelley, whose poem Ode to the West Wind inspired the original name of this practice). I have an on-again off-again romance with UC Berkeley, where I study literature, culture and history, and if it's nice outside, it's as likely as not that I am off somewhere feeding ducks.

Thank you for taking the time to learn about who we are. We look forward to working with you.