Nagomi ( 和 ) Beauty Room: More Than Just a Spa
By: Jesse Sihra
I push open the bright green door, shut it behind me, and take off my boots. I climb up the narrow, brightly lit stairwell to the second floor. Vast windows, the ebb and flow of natural light, the sudden yet calming splash of colour on a wall hanging; I find myself inside Nagomi Beauty Room, a studio that embodies Japanese minimalism located five minutes away from the intersection of Bloor and Jane, a community thriving with anything and everything Ukrainian.
Megumi Ono Overton is the owner of Nagomi, which is a mandarin word for “harmony.” She also happens to be the mother of two adorable toddlers, and the wife of Christian Overton, Toronto’s very own jazz trombonist. Her soft voice and smile contrast with the energetic excitement in her eyes. For her, Nagomi Beauty Room is not just a spa; it’s a nexus for Japanese artists and artisans, a throbbing hub for Torontonians exploring Japanese culture.
Megumi is all about creating community. Her spa is a space where her clients can be rejuvenated mentally and physically. It’s a space which allows her to give back to the wider Torontonian community by supporting Japanese artists and artisans who want to impact Toronto with their talents and wellness products.
Megumi and her team use reflexology, acupuncture, yoga, and nutrition based on Chinese herbal therapy to give her clients a well-rounded treatment that focuses on both their bodies and minds. When she’s not giving you a facial, she’s hosting everything from wellness workshops and markets, to kimono photoshoots, to tea ceremonies, to baby-and-mum yoga. And she wants to do so much more. “I want to do weddings!” she says excitedly, “My Japanese friends are kimono stylists, makeup artists, florists, photographers, we can totally organize Japanese weddings. My husband can do the music,” she laughs.
Everything about Nagomi harkens back to Megumi’s roots. Growing up, her mother had a salon in their home. “My mother’s clients were very casual,” she says, “I’m from a small city, so the clientele wasn’t at all like the crowd you would find in bigger cities like Tokyo or Osaka. But even though these women would come over to the salon in simple dresses and aprons, they would always leave feeling so happy and good about themselves. Even a little bit of lipstick would make them feel beautiful and I want to replicate the warmth my mother created. Nagomi is about my roots and carrying on what my mother started. I want to connect with my clients the way my mum did. I want to form relationships with my clients and have tea with them.”
I am struck deeply by Megumi’s genuine care for her clients. The more I observe her, the more I begin to understand that the dynamic character of the spa stems from her philosophy of beauty; beauty is found in individuals who are healthy mentally and physically. And her desire is for Nagomi to be a space that promotes this relationship between beauty and health, a space where her clients can walk in stressed and leave happier and with a more positive outlook on life.
Megumi’s fearlessness in dreaming big and the ease with which she connects with people have been the keys to her success. Her clients cannot stop talking about her. Not only does she desire to give Toronto the gift of physical and mental wellness but she also desires to bolster the ambitions of the Japanese Torontonians she has met through the spa and the events she hosts. She empowers them by giving them a platform to market their products and exercise their talents while tying in her own vision for Nagomi; she creates a relationship where both sides win. For Megumi, it’s an ever expanding universe.
