By Appointment Only

My goodness, but people can be bold. Even though it was clearly stated that my studio hours were “by appointment only”……..that didn’t seem to stop people from showing up unannounced, expecting to take a class. Call me bitchy, but I am a little particular about how I liked my studio to run. I like things organized; neat, tidy [...]

I Am Here To See A Man About Some Doors

Physical Methods

While I was away in Toronto, Steve and my mom continued working at the studio. The ceiling had been painted and the walls were up, mom was working on molding, and Steve was working on getting me an electrician. I had gotten a few estimates that were a bit of a shocker (no pun intended) to say [...]

I Lost My Ass In Toronto Canada

So far, I thought that the Ron Fletcher work was absolutely incredible!   The Fletcher work was better organized, the teachers seemed more knowledgeable, professional, the exercises more advanced, creative;  Here, I was studying with a man who was in the same room with Joe and Clara Pilates. I mean seriously, what wasn’t to like? Being a bit of a [...]

The Pissing Contest

As much as I needed my career to continue to move forward, the aftermath of 911 had brought the world to a complete standstill. Airplanes were grounded, communications were interrupted, and the financial markets were falling apart. My workshop was only a few days away and at the moment all flights were cancelled until further notice. I called [...]

September 11, 2001

My lease was effective October 1, 2001, but I was able to begin the initial build out the first week in September. My raw commercial space was referred to as a “plain vanilla box.” That meant four finished walls; which in my case was only three finished walls and one sad over-painted brick wall, that were ready for [...]

A Picture is Worth A Lot More Than You Think

The city of Bethlehem was so easy to work with; in fact, almost too easy.  Most townships had such strict regulations that it was discouraging to even try to open a business there. Bethlehem, on the other hand was bending over backwards to make the process as easy as possible. City hall was very familiar with the building that I was looking to [...]

Space Available…Lot’s of Feel…Dead Mice Included

Bandanas for Dogs

The city of Bethlehem was a cool place to put a Pilates studio. It was one of those historical towns that was filled with old mansions; it had great restaurants, cute little shops and I was expecting this building that I was going to look at to have that same historical feel, hopefully without the smell of dead mice.  As Steve [...]