Delight in Small Indulgences
By Anne Heymen
Photo by Kate Gardiner
9 SANCHEZ AVENUE • 904-824-6220 • SMALL INDULGENCES DAY SPA WEBSITE
When Melissa Clements was a student at Florida Atlantic University, she worked part-time as
a nail tech. “I actually put myself through college doing nails,” says the owner of Small Indulgences Day Spa and Salon. “I fell in love with the craft and never left.”
Growing up in Fort Lauderdale, Melissa also lived in Boca Raton for 11 years and had two salons there. Much like her love of the salon industry, Melissa and her husband, Cliff, have a special love affair with St. Augustine. Ardent sailors, the two sailed into St. Augustine one day and, as Melissa recalls, “we never left.” It was the city’s history that fascinated Melissa
initially. “Then, we started to get to know some of the people, and St. Augustine felt like home.”
On September 24, Melissa celebrated her 11th year as owner of Small Indulgences Day Spa and Salon, located in a 112-year-old house on Sanchez Avenue. “The building is pretty unique,” says Melissa. “It kind of creates this nice environment for health and wellness.”
A full-service day spa with a staff of 22 people, Small Indulgences recently added yoga to a long list of services, which includes massages, body treatments, facials, all kinds of skin care, hair removal, hair design, manicures, and pedicures.
Melissa notes that it’s not just women who enjoy the spa services. “About 40 percent of our clientele is male. For the last two years, men have really started getting into it, mostly coming for massages and pedicures,” she says.
The couple also operates a second business called Always For Sail, a sailing charter service.
Melissa says she and her husband take an active part in the community through their membership in the Maritime Heritage Foundation. “We do a lot of things that way,” she
explains.
They also work with bed and breakfast accommodations and have helped spread the word about what a great place St. Augustine is through features on the television shows “What Not to Wear” and “Whose Wedding is it Anyway?”
Call 904-824-6220 to book your appointment, or view a menu of services at the Small Indulgences Day Spa website. Enjoy Small Indulgences’ wonderful services at 9 Sanchez
Avenue in St. Augustine.