Maniac Profile: ESSspa Kozmetika’s Eva Kerschbaumer
If you ask Eva Kerschbaumer, co-owner and co-founder of ESSspa Kozmetika, a Hungarian Health Spa, she won’t just give you the date, but the exact time: “I was born on October 1st, 1974, at 8 o’clock on a Tuesday morning,” she told me. When I asked how she knew the exact time, she said that her mother would always tell stories about the day she was born, saying that it was an easy birth, and that all of the nurses were joking around and having fun when she came into the world.
Although it makes sense that she was born into a joyful environment and would go on to create a similar one in her not one, but two spas (located in Aspinwall and State College), it appears that there’s an even greater cosmic connection between her birthday and her profession.
As a young girl in Hungary, where she was raised in a small town two hours outside Budapest, she met an astrologist who did her astrological entire chart. She noted that Eva was governed by Venus, the planet of beauty and love, and emphasized that she was going to do great things. She insisted Eva was going to move out of the country, and repeatedly urged her, “Promise me you are going—I’ve never seen stars like this!”
“I was eighteen, nineteen,” Eva began, “So I thought, this old lady needs help. But she knew! She even told me I was going to meet celebrities, and I treated Julianne Moore for eight weeks! Then there was Anne Hathaway, and Jake Gyllenhaal…”
She also told Eva that when she would start out it was going to be intensely difficult, but if she pushed through, she would be a huge success.
Whether or not you believe in that sort of thing, she was right on the major points.
Having nothing to lose, Eva came to the United States in 1996, and she worked for another spa for seven years.
Over time her husband, Scott Kerschbaumer who co-founded and co-owns ESSpa, noticed that she was unhappy and suggested that they open their own Spa. Eva was hesitant, but eventually agreed with her husband.
When telling her boss she was quitting to start her own business, she was met with a cold response; “Don’t ever think that you can’t be replaced. And don’t you ever think that you’ll be my competition.”
However, Eva does not harbor any bitterness, saying, “She gave me an opportunity. I encourage young people to work for someone else, because it makes you who you are, whether you like them or not, it gives you experience—it gives you knowledge. And no one can take that away from you.”
They found a small space at a local yacht club where they opened their very first spa in 2003. The first incarnation of ESSpa consisted of a receptionist, Eva, and a massage therapist.
However, life threw yet another curveball—three months later Eva found out she was pregnant.
Despite being scared and overwhelmed, Eva found to her amazement that her clientele was growing at a rapid rate. Soon, they were booking more appointments than the small space could afford, “My husband started looking and we got ambitious. We found a great spot, partners…”
She also had the support of her amazing clients, which made a world of difference. “They would come up to me and offer help. One woman gave me a $500 check to buy a washing machine for the spa!”
But just what is Eva’s secret to such loyal and happy clientele? “People don’t come to a spa to relax—you can relax at home. They come for advice. Advice on how to relax, on how to feel better.” She elaborates, “We want what you want. You want to listen to classical music while we get out your blackheads? Okay! If I see you have brown spots and blackheads, but you don’t care about blackheads, or don’t notice them, why would I poke and pinch your skin and make you feel worse about them? Then you won’t come back to me.”
“I treat what the client wants me to treat,” she says.
It’s clearly working. ESSpa Kozmetika is one of the most acclaimed Spas in the country, and the only accredited organic day spa in Pittsburgh. It seems success was truly written in the stars.
Photos by Kathy Wolfe
