Founder Q&A: MASAJ
3rd July 2020
Sophie Bansal is our Designer. Without her a lot of what you see aesthetically at MASAJ and in our branding would not exist.
Her exceptional talent and can-do attitude is addictive to be around, there is practically no task she won’t put her mind to.
Sophie Bansal Interviews MASAJ Founders, Scarlet Crawley & Alice Vaughan
A Note from Sophie
Every interaction I’ve had with the founders of MASAJ has been a breath of fresh air. They are two sides of the same coin, both in-sync with each other and the goals they have for the company. They are also two of the kindest, most supportive and inclusive people I have ever met. Having only recently joined MASAJ, with just over half my time working for them being in lockdown, this interview was as much a learning experience for me as I’m sure it will be for you.
Scarlet and Alice have managed to take the pandemic, which could have potentially shut down MASAJ for good, and learn and grow from it.
MASAJ is a brand that champions the power of touch. They strive for simplicity, and often say that one's experience at or with MASAJ should feel as if you are being held.
In the last couple of months these two women have worked tirelessly to not only support their employees, but also to keep their company alive and kicking, to the point of introducing a complete rebrand and range.
They haven’t missed a beat, and for me that is the mark of true leadership.
So, how did you both get into the massage industry?
Scarlet: I was in a completely different industry; Book Publishing. I loved it. But I didn’t love the long hours sitting at a desk and I needed an excuse to leave the office on time, so I did an evening course, Introduction to Massage. I quickly found I loved working with my hands. The long and short of the story is, I ended up quitting my job and moving to Barcelona where I really took the time to hone my skill, style and learn more. I kept up with the London market and saw that a lot of places that were fab but weren’t celebrating the individual therapist. I think that's so important. Then when I moved back to London I worked as hard as I could to build up a reputation. Eventually the demand was such that we needed a bricks and mortar site. That’s when we moved into Gossamer.
Alice: I’m possibly one of the first people ever to run a massage brand without ever having been a massage therapist! My career background is in the tech industry. It was so fast paced, the people were great, and working at that scale was amazing. But after a while I yearned for something that was more true to my interests. Alternative Medicine, Massage and Aromatherapy are things I grew up with and have always been super interested in. So I left my job, and started looking around, which was great because it allowed me to stop and sit and think about what I wanted to do next. The opportunity from MASAJ just hit me and I went for it.
That's unbelievably brave of you both to just quit your jobs and take a new direction. How did you two meet?
Scarlet: Escape the City! I put out the job vacancy for a Co-Founder to help grow the brand. We got on straight away, I remember the second time we met, Alp, (that’s Al and Pal merged) put together a presentation of everything she would want to do with MASAJ over the first three years of coming on board, and it was practically everything I had imagined in my own head. Magic!
Alice: That was a great meeting. I think the most unique thing about joining was that MASAJ was Scarlet’s baby, but she was so keen to listen to my ideas and share ownership. It was immediately exciting. It set us up on a really good foot as business partners!
That's my next question, what makes you a good team?
Alice: We talk about this all the time. For me, it’s because we have a rare situation where we both have different skill-sets and we look at things from really different angles, but we both have the same end goal.
Scarlet: We’re good at pulling each out of holes. I’m a ridiculous perfectionist, and big on attention to detail, Alice is really very good at reminding me of the bigger picture. All in all, it’s just having someone on your side who has your back and who puts things into perspective.
Scarlet and Alice, by Sophie Bansal
The pandemic must have been a huge challenge for you both, do you think it’s the biggest challenge you’ve faced as a company?
Alice: In January the things we had spent so long building were starting to fall into place. I think we were also the most confident we’d ever been when it came to running the business. Then the lockdown started and things changed almost overnight. One of the toughest things is that we have a team of people who rely on us for employment, and massage isn’t something you can do virtually. We talked about moving our services online and it just isn’t true to who we are as a business. It’s about physical human connection, it's holistic, and you just can’t recreate that over zoom. We are a small business where the majority of our income comes from providing a service that is all about touch and human connection. And that has just not been possible, so yes, it has been hugely challenging, but perhaps also quite the opportunity!
Scarlet: Yeah, we’ve mulled that over haven’t we. For lots of businesses virtual works and that's great, but for us it doesn’t. We can’t just go online. We celebrate the power of touch, it’s that simple. It’s about sitting down, looking someone in the eye and asking how the hell you are! It changes when you do that through a screen.
What's your ideal massage like, and what do you look for in a Massage Therapist?
Scarlet: Firstly, regular! Secondly, building a good rapport, thirdly, the space! It’s something I think MASAJ does so well, the combination of those three things. Of course I want the great bodywork and the connection, but I also want the environment and to be able to return regularly. And with Therapists, we just always look for someone with a real individual style that feels very comfortable, who has a lot of experience but knows the body is something you can always learn more about. Most importantly, we look for people who want to be active members of a small and passionate team. The great thing about our team is that they learn from each other, they’re always evolving and progressing.
Alice: Exactly. People always name their therapists in the reviews and I think that shows how great our team is at making those important human connections.
You stock a lot of amazing brands in your shop, who are some of your favourites?
Alice: Obviously they are all amazing! We are super committed to supporting small brands, we know how great it is being part of a small brand network. It would be hard to choose really, as they are all so special. The environmentally friendly aspect is really integral to us, and we’ve learnt a lot about sustainability from the brands we work with. Supporting other female founders, like Perlesque, has been great. I think for me they are super similar to us; East London based, a small female led start up, focusing on one product that is beautiful and works really well, and doesn’t cost a fortune.
And then also I consume a lot of Land chocolate, I just love everything about them. Their branding is beautiful, the chocolate is amazing and they are the nicest bunch of humans. They are a genuine joy to work with.
So what's next for MASAJ?
Alice: We’ve learnt so much about what people want and what makes sense for us as a massage brand when it comes to products over the last couple of months. We have come to the conclusion that it makes more sense for us to sell a special range of co-branded products with some of the other brands, and a smaller selection of other brands that really tie into what we value.
The last 3 months has flown-by because I’ve been prototyping and testing new products. We’ve called my home ‘The Apothecary.’ I’ve tried to take the opportunity of sitting at home and focus attention on learning new things. I’m doing an Aromatherapy Diploma with the Well School, which is just amazing, it's furthering my knowledge and helping me get a better grip on how our products fit into who we are as a brand. When we reached out to our clients to ask their opinions, the response we got back was really thorough and we’d be fools not to let that lead us.
Scarlet: We shouldn’t divulge too much! But in short, we’re trying to keep this business alive, and we’ve always wanted to make our own product- products that actually work. I’m so excited to launch them in July.
Ok I don’t want to spoil the surprise, what are you doing to unwind and relax right now?
Alice: It’s been really strange being in East London and watching the streets go completely dead, and then watching as things start to open up. I’ve been doing a lot of walking with my dog, Debs. I’ve been growing lots of things which has been so therapeutic. I’m really grateful to be able to go outside safely and appreciate it more.
Scarlet: I’ve been able to slow down and I’ve loved that. I moved to Norfolk earlier in the year so I’m so grateful for that. It’s been great clocking off at a normal time and it has put a lot into perspective for me in that sense. I’ve started running with the dog, doing lots of exercise and generally just exploring the new city I live in.
So, lastly, what's the big dream for the future of MASAJ?
Alice: How long have you got? For me in terms of the product side of things, just creating products that people love and being able to spread them further. We would love to be stocked in bigger shops, and work with other brands. It’s been great to see how far our products are currently reaching, when we get an international order it just makes my heart sing.
Scarlet: Of course, our first dream is to just re-open safely for our Therapists and clients! The big dream for the hands-on side of things is that Hackney isn’t our only site. We had a lot of things in the pipeline before the pandemic, and it made me realise that MASAJ needs to be in more places than just Hackney. For now let’s just say North, South, East and West London. Go big!
Alice: Yes! Let’s talk next year and see where we are, but we’ve got big dreams.