Today we’d like to introduce you to Melissa McNamara.
So, before we jump into specific questions about the business, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
By 2013, I had been in the Pilates Industry for about ten years in various capacities (receptionist, office manager, instructor, instructor trainer) and had experience working at various studios in multiple cities (Toronto, Denver, Chicago and Aukland, NZ) when I decided to open my own studio. Having recently moved to Chicago as a performer (I received my MFA in Contemporary Performance in 2010), I wanted to create a space that combined my love for all things: mindfulness, Pilates, performance and art. It was also important to me that the Pilates aspect of the studio be affordable and accessible, so I created a space that was welcoming and community-based. Because of this, our space does not have any mirrors and instead we have local artists hang their work. I also created a class structure that would be open to all levels of ability, discounted prices for artists, teachers and students, even energy exchanges for those who needed it. We opened on Damen Avenue initially and spent 3 years there until moving to our current space on Foster.
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Owning a business is never a smooth road. We are very fortunate to have supportive clients and a beautiful community who have continued to support us in this journey.
Alright – so let’s talk business. Tell us about mind.art.core PILATES PERFORMANCE – what should we know?
We are a Pilates studio that specializes in fitness and post-rehab exercises. Our studio is dedicated to providing the highest quality mind-body techniques while offering fun, functional fitness. Instead of levels for classes, our clients choose a goal based approach. We have cardio classes, weight-based classes, Pre-Natal and more traditional Pilates based mat classes. One of our primary focuses is to educate our clients about their bodies. To do this, we change our lesson plans each month to emphasize a different anatomical focus. We also specialize in classes for kids! mind.art.core was originally the name of a Pilates for Kids program that I created in 2007. Our studio has since run Pilates for Kids summer camp, group classes and private classes for kids. We were also fortunate to team up with the amazing store, Spectrum Toy, this summer and provide classes for their camp with children on the spectrum. It was such a fantastic way to share our community with theirs and help these amazing kids find joy in movement.
Our studio is also a proud host training center for STOTT PILATES, which means we train and certify students to become Pilates instructors in this method.
We also like to have a good time! For holidays and special occasions, we will often pop open a bottle of champagne and have a Champagne-ilates class!
Our most unique feature is that we have a comedy web series based on us that we wrote and produced! It is called, The Studio and there are 2 Seasons online. We even made it into the NYC Chain Film Festival and were pre-selected for the Toronto International Film Festival! Check it out at www.thestudiowebseries.com.
Is there a characteristic or quality that you feel is essential to success?
Leadership, multi-tasking, sense of humor and surrounding yourself with people who enable those things.
Contact Info:
- Address: 1830 W Foster Ave.
- Website: www.mindartcore.com
- Phone: 312-937-0639
- Email: info@mindartcore.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mindartcore/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MindArtCorePilatesPerformance/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/mindartcore
- Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/mind-art-core-pilates-performance-chicago-2
Getting in touch: VoyageChicago is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.
