We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Deborah McGarry a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Deborah, so excited to have you with us today. So much we can chat about, but one of the questions we are most interested in is how you have managed to keep your creativity alive.
Despite setbacks and roadblocks I’ve endured throughout my life, Ive always maintained a very positive outlook and attitude. I attribute that to my innate resiliency and learned ability to rise above any negativity, through volatile life experiences, emotional intelligence and maturity. I have a creative spirit and utilize my natural artistic talents, along with my acquired education in The field of Psychology and Art Therapy to balance and reset my emotions and mindset. In fact, I have taken these skills to recently further expand my 20-year established holistic wellness business venture to include showcasing my creative works in the form of landscape/nature photography, jewelry-making, silk floral arrangements, and organic herbal skincare/apothecary formulating. I have recently transformed my business suite to include a Boutique/Art Gallery in which to display my creative wares.
Great, so let’s take a few minutes and cover your story. What should folks know about you and what you do?
I’ve always had a profound interest in health and wellness, as well as in innate talent in the creative arts. While pursuing my studies in Psychology and Fine Arts, I worked as a model in NYC and Boston. That experience had spurred an interest in Paramedical makeup and clinical skincare. I then received further licensing/certification and entered the field of Esthetics and Rehabilitative Appearance Therapy, working with burn survivors, trauma victims and cancer patients, assisting them in restoring their physical appearance and self-esteem to a state of normalcy.
I soon acquired a position with a world-renowned Park Avenue NYC dermatologist as Lead Esthetician, working my way up to Medi-Spa Manager, then VP of Sales. Soon after 9/11, I left my beloved NYC and moved to Naples, FL, where I purchased/operated a Merle Norman cosmetics franchise at the local mall. I also held a part-time position as educator for an Esthetics Licensing program.
A few years later I launched my current business practice, Dermal-Care Esthetics & Wellness Centre, initially on Naples’ prestigious 5th Ave South, for 10 successful years. I soon met and married my current husband, and decided to expand my business to a second location, 100 miles away, on the opposite coast of FL in Boca Raton. I ran both locations simultaneously for 4 years, before consolidating to just the Boca location, where we are still operating today, after 10 years.
As passionate as I am about my 20-year business venture, I am now at an age where I want to explore different career venues, so I decided to expand upon my Wellness Centre concept and add a Lifestyle Boutique/Art Gallery, where I can finally utilize my college education in the Fine Arts, all within my holistic wellness spa environment. Alas, my newest venture, Art of Life Curations was born. Here I display my own formulated organic skin care/apothecary products, herbal spice blends/teas, framed nature photography, handcrafted Reiki Jewelry, custom silk floral arrangements, and more! I find all of these crafted items a form of Art Therapy for me, very cathartic. I even have my husband on board with his own contribution of jewelry-making! Going forward, I hope to continue this business conglomerate for many years to come, combining the Boutique/Art Gallery and Wellness Centre concept. This is perfect for going into my retirement years as I wind down my Esthetics clientele and focus more on the art aspect!
Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?
I owe my success in business to my innate resiliency and learned ability to rise above any negativity. In addition, I have always confidently maintained an independent thought process and separated my business model from the competition in the very saturated south FL beauty/wellness spa market. I was never an advocate of invasive skin care procedures, including Botox and other dermal fillers. Having been in the medical field for many years prior, I had witnessed way too many botch jobs and adverse side effect reactions. Therefore, I have always promoted my business on a holistic level, offering only non-invasive treatments and services. This has brought about for me, a like-minded clientele who have remained loyal to me throughout the years.
What do you do when you feel overwhelmed? Any advice or strategies?
With my physically and mentally demanding business of 20 years, I am often left feeling very much overwhelmed after each work day. This is where my new business expansion has come into play. The handcrafted artisinal merchandise that I design and the creative process involved, that I clinically refer to as Art Therapy, offers a very calming, healing and cathartic experience that additionally results in beautiful items for me to offer for purchase in my newly added Boutique/Art Gallery!
Contact Info:
- Website: www.artoflifecurations.com and www.dermalcare.org
- Instagram: art.of.life.curations and dermal.care.boca
- Facebook: Facebook.com/Artoflifecurations and Facebook.com/dealcareesthetics
Image Credits
Deborah McGarry
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