Family business expands – Spa services, more gifts part of growth
Asheville — After leaving Atlanta three years ago, Marcy and Hunter Lanier rented an old house on Merrimon Avenue and opened Willow’s Dream, a hair salon and gift boutique, named for their 12-year-old daughter.
Marcy Lanier, a stylist for 25 years, wanted to “keep my fingers in hair, but learn a new avenue.” So she opened a gift shop in the front of the house and set up the hair salon in a large room in the back. It’s no accident that hair clients have to walk through the eclectic gift area as they leave the salon.
Recently, the Laniers added spa services like massage therapy, facials, manicures and pedicures. Now they’re expanding the gift boutique to include stationery and paper. One of the two boutique rooms soon will be devoted entirely to these products.
“It’s what our customers want,” Marcy Lanier said. “We are outside of the tourist area, so locals are our main clients. We love tourists, but what keeps us in business is locals, so we respond to what they want.”
