Founders’ Note: MASAJ is Moving
8th March 2021
After a truly tumultuous year, this International Women’s Day we’re so excited to announce not only that MASAJ is reopening next month - but that we’ll be in a brand new location - at 10 Charlotte Road, in the heart of Shoreditch.
Scarlet Crawley & Alice Vaughan, MASAJ Founders
This week marks one year since our Studios were first forced to close due to the pandemic - and in that time, our business has hit both ups and downs - and a period of instability and uncertainty which has truly shaken and tested us as business owners. We were determined from the start to try to make the best of the situation - which during the first lockdown meant pivoting to focus on online product sales, building a new website and launching a new visual brand identity.
We recognise each week that in many ways we have been very fortunate - and have been able to survive while others have not - in large part due to the loyalty and trust of our incredible team of Therapists and our community of clients, for whom we are truly grateful.
To run a business focussed on the power of touch during a pandemic has not been easy, but it has reminded us how absolutely necessary human connection is - and that the appetite for the services we provide at MASAJ will always be there even in the darkest of times.
At the start of this year, we decided that we would do everything in our power to not only make sure that MASAJ survives, but to give it the chance to thrive too - and to make the power of touch available to as many people as possible. While we have loved our time at the Gossamer City Project, we realised that in order to grow, we needed to move - and that taking on a new site and building a new home for MASAJ from scratch would allow us the opportunity to create something very special. Our dream has been to create a space which is both beautiful, welcoming and accessible for our clients, but also a safe, comfortable and purposeful space for our team of Therapists to work in.
We’ve worked with an outstanding team of local designers, craftspeople and tradespeople to design a space which truly embodies the core values of MASAJ:
ACCESSIBILITY
We have worked hard to make our new site as accessible as possible for those with mobility challenges, with extra-wide doorways, corridors and step-free access throughout the space. The design is fuss-free, focusing on creating a space which is functional, beautiful and purposeful - the very best venue for modern massage in east London.
SUSTAINABILITY
We’ve carefully deconstructed our existing studios to preserve as many of the raw materials as possible, and are reusing many of these materials in the build of our new home - from sinks and plumbing materials through to up-cycled wood for shelving in our new space. We’re also committed to using only the most sustainable materials for the build of our new site, and working with local craftspeople and tradespeople for the fit-out.
We’re also bringing our laundry in-house, thus reducing our carbon footprint - and all new electrical items from our laundry, heaters and lighting systems are the most energy efficient available.
COMFORT + SAFETY
We’re committed to making our new home safe and comfortable for both our team of Therapists and the clients who visit us - installing a state of the art ventilation and extraction system throughout the space to ensure the environment in our Studios remains clean and fresh. While our new site may be slightly larger, we’re working hard to ensure that none of the comfort and cosiness of our old site is lost in the move.
While we work hard behind the scenes to get our new home ready, our booking system is now up and running, and our extraordinary team of Therapists couldn’t be more excited to get back to business, providing the very best bodywork that east London has to offer.
You can book your treatment with us now, and be among the first to experience our brand new home!
We’ll be sharing the journey and story of our build over on our Instagram - give us a follow to stay in the loop. We’ll also be sharing a number of Journal posts in the buildup to the launch of our new site, to give you some more insight into the work that’s going into making MASAJ the best it’s ever been.
And finally - if you have any ideas, suggestions or feedback which will help to make the new home of MASAJ better, please don’t hesitate to get in touch - your feedback is so important to us.
Here’s to the next chapter!
Alice and Scarlet