Health, beauty and well-being businesses have come together to offer services at The Knot in Westgate.
The former pub site is now home to Knot Therapy Rooms, featuring everything from hairdressing and beauty therapy to an advanced nurse practitioner, massage, personal training and self development.
The centre is headed up by advanced clinical practitioner Mel Allinson, from Westbrook, who initially planned to take out office space but then had the idea to create a whole new centre for women.
Busy Mel already works for the NHS and launched a clinical practitioner business – nurses who have qualifications to carry out GP duties – during lock down.
The mum-of-one is based at an isle GP surgery for one day a week and her company of 30 staff, including practitioners, community nurses, now serves surgeries across Thanet, Kent and is expanding into London.
She said: “I juggle my newly developed businesses with working for the NHS.
“My plan is to develop the Knot Therapy Rooms into a one stop shop for women’s well being and we are currently going through the process of registration with the Care Quality Commission.
My business is quite a young company which has been going about a year. Because of covid it really took off and because I have worked in nursing for some 20-plus years I knew a lot of people and had a good reputation.”
Mel and husband Paul – an alarm engineer – managed to find the time to refurbish the space at The Knot. She said: “It was just a shell but we have made it into a tranquil space.”
Mel’s skills are just one of the services that will be on offer at Knot Therapy Rooms, which is in the process of being CQC registered (Care Quality Commission), from May 3.
The 48-year-old said: “I saw the potential to offer other things, so there are lots of rooms rented to women in business and young girls starting their businesses.”
Businesses at the Beach Road venue include Dolly’s Boutique Hair Salon – which is already up and running – Brandy’s Beauty Base, Beauty Beach pop-up nail bar, Fab Visage aesthetics, Hazel Amy personal trainer with special focus on women’s health, a woman’s self-development coach and EFT coach (emotional freedom training), a massage therapist coming in from June and clinics which are already running on Saturdays and Tuesdays for Thanet Ear Wax Removal, all alongside Mel’s business Advanced Clinician Solutions.
