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Louisiana Day Spa lost to the waters of Katrina -Rebirths in Chicago.
French Quarter Town-home Facade and Courtyard Inspired
Soothe Your Senses Day Spa due to open November 1st, 2005

For Immediate Release
September, 2005

Chicago, IL – Gretchen Halpin, President of Soothe Your Senses LLC, announced today that the original Soothe Your Senses Day Spa located in Olde Mandeville, Louisiana; which was owned and operated by her mother Sharon Mathieu, was one of the many casualties of Hurricane Katrina and sadly…will not reopen.

“With a heavy heart, my daughter Gretchen and I made the decision...to discontinue service in the Mandeville, LA area,” states Sharon Mathieu. “The community of Mandeville has given Soothe your Senses 13 years of continued and cherished business and we will miss our friends and neighbors greatly. Perhaps in the years to come, we’ll come back to where is all began and reestablish ourselves bigger and better.”

The newly constructed Chicago Soothe Your Senses Day Spa, which was to be the 2nd spa in the developing brand, is due to open November 1st, 2005 and is ironically designed to bring the unique style and flair of the French Quarter to the Edgewater neighborhood of Chicago. The 3,000 square-foot space gives a respectful nod to the architectural grace of the French Quarter town-home complete with the stylized wrought iron balconies and hanging plants. Inside will feature the casual elegance of a welcoming French Quarter home, complete with exposed brick, wide plank flooring a warming fireplace, tempering our Windy City weather, and of course, a strong dose of Southern hospitality.

“When starting this project, the Chicago spa was originally going to be an extension of what we had already established in Louisiana. We wanted to bring the New Orleans heritage along with my families healing traditions to Chicago, says Gretchen Halpin. “I was excited about practicing our southern spa therapies in this large metro area. Now…in light of the devastation, our mission means more than ever before. Soothe Your Senses is even more committed to nurture our Louisiana healing traditions into modern rituals for the betterment of spirit and wellbeing for all of Chicago’s spa-goers,” continues Halpin.

The new spa is located at 6260 North Broadway at Rosemont Avenue and will open on November 1st, 2005. A press release will follow with spa details and service overview. For more information visit: www.sootheyoursenses.com.

About Soothe Your Senses:
The Soothe Your Senses identity began with Gretchen Halpin’s grandfather, Lawrence Mathieu, a practicing Creole healer called a Traiteur. Lawrence made teas and healing salves of roots and plant leaves from the woods of Lucy, LA. People would come to him for healing and he would use the teas and salves, hold their hands and say a prayer. He would touch the ailment and massage the location using his potions. He passed these healing powers to his daughter Sharon Mathieu, a massage therapist and the owner of a southern day spa in a quaint turn of the century cottage (lost to Hurricane Katrina) in a small Louisiana town of moss covered trees and Lake Pontchatrain breezes.

Lawrence’s granddaughter, Gretchen Halpin now carries on the healing tradition through the Soothe Your Senses line of all natural and organic aromatherapy products for the bath & body in addition to the new Chicago location of the Soothe Your Senses Day Spa.

Soothe Your Senses products are available throughout the United States in upscale retail boutiques and professional day spas. For more information on the company and product portfolio, visit www.sootheyoursenses.com.

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