A Different Kind of Anniversary
Kris Carpenter & Tracy Moore team up to honor inspirational women
When Sanctuary Spa and Salon celebrated its 20th anniversary this year, owner Kris Carpenter knew she wanted to make it meaningful. Of course, there would be the anniversary specials and typical fanfare, but Kris was looking for a little something more to serve as the icing on her anniversary cake. She decided to shine the spotlight on some of the area’s most inspirational women.
“I wanted this anniversary to be a gift for the women of our community,” Kris says. “It’s kind of magical seeing how special a gift is for someone that might never be on the receiving end of things for whatever reason. So, this celebration was like creating a space to allow the love to flow.”
After some initial brainstorming, she reached out to photographer Tracy Moore with an idea. Together, they could leverage their online networks to gather nominations to honor inspirational women. From there, they’d whittle the list down to 20, one for each year Sanctuary Spa and Salon has been in business. Kris would hold the celebration and pamper each woman with a spa package. Tracy would add to it by orchestrating a makeup and portrait session.
After putting out the call, Kris sat back and watched as more than 60 nominations poured in.
“The stories about why these women were nominated were incredible,” Kris says.
The women who rose to the top represent all ages, all walks of life and from all kinds of careers. They include cancer survivors, triumphant weight-loss warriors, teachers, nurses, volunteers, philanthropists, selfless friends and passionate givers in every way imaginable.
“It was amazing to hear of so many unnoticed local women doing such great things,” says Tracy.
When Sept. 5 rolled around — Sanctuary’s official anniversary — the salon was buzzing with activity. A sign reading “Be the light” sat above each woman’s portrait that lined the wall. The friends who nominated each woman were there to stand by their side through it all.
If you ask Kris Carpenter, it was the perfect night to celebrate Sanctuary’s two decades in business.
“It was so great to see people express the love they had for each other — to really, deeply care,” Kris says. “And, it’s simply the best expression of why I created Sanctuary in the first place. I just wanted a place to take care of women, to make them feel beautiful and fill them back up.”
LEARN MORE ABOUT THE 20 INSPIRATIONAL WOMEN
While Carrie Rigney, the subject of YVW’s cover story, is one of the women honored by Sanctuary Spa and Salon, there are 19 others with quite the story to share. You can read all about them by visiting Tracy Moore’s blog at blog.tracymoorephotography.com
