By Joanie Morris
Kannapolis Citizen
The sign behind Rosalind Beaty’s head says, “Life isn’t about finding yourself. Life is about creating yourself.”
That’s a quote that Beaty seems to be living by. The sister of Carolina Panther Mike Minter moved to North Carolina in 2005 after she had inspiration she says came from God.
“God woke me up at 2:30 in the morning,” Beaty said. That was in March of 2004. “He gave me a vision.”
Reaching over to the notepad she keeps beside her bed to record the visions she gets in dreams, Beaty wrote down the vision, accustomed to writing in the dark.
“I just wrote down everything he had given me,” Beaty said. “Even the name.”
That vision turned into Imaj Salon and Spa in Concord. The new salon is located on Pit Stop Lane, right across Concord Mills Boulevard from Concord Mills Mall next to Little Dooey’s barbecue restaurant.
Catering to anyone that needs a lift, Imaj Salon has a little bit of everything. In addition to regular salon services, Imaj offers a selection of jewelry, novelty purse compacts, belts and purses for customers as well.
The salon will host a private party on Thursday evening, followed by the grand opening on Saturday.
When she had the vision, Beaty was still living in Oklahoma. She called her brother and spiritual partner, Minter, and they talked and prayed about what she had dreamed.
“He called me three months later and told me, ‘God told me to fund the vision,’ ” Beaty said. She said she had almost forgotten about the vision, but that didn’t stop her from wanting to fufill it. She moved to Charlotte in July 2005 and they got to work.
“His part was the financing,” Beaty said. “My part was making sure it came to pass.”
Minter even shared the vision with several of his friends, who all later became investors ó including American Idol Fantasia Barrino.
“She came on later,” Beaty said.
Barrino, Minter and the owners and staff of IMAJ Salon and Spa invite the public to the grand opening event on Saturday from 12-6 p.m.
The 3,600-square-foot upscale salon and spa is located in the Colonnade at King’s Grant Center, in Concord, across from Concord Mills Mall. The salon will house 15 chairs for hairstylists, three themed spa rooms, a make-up gallery, a separate nail spa room and a variety of products and services, providing a one-stop beauty, rejuvenation and retail salon.
Services offered consist of hair care services for all hair types, specialty facials, massages, body wraps, manicures, pedicures, waxing and makeover services.
Customers won’t be disappointed, Minter said in a press release.
“We are prepared to give our customers the best,” he said.
IMAJ Salon & Spa will be staffed with celebrity and master stylists, including Fantasia’s own stylist, Jennifer Hope, and visiting expert make-up artist, Kym Lee, the exclusive make-up artist to celebrities such as Venus and Serena Williams and many more. In addition, the salon and spa will staff top-notch massage therapy experts and estheticians.
As Beaty talks about the salon, preparations are still underway for the opening Saturday. The gold chairs are lined up in front of booths, with black Redkin robes draped over them. Salon employees are busy setting up hairstyling and other beauty stations and the receptionists are busy booking appointments.
While beauty and tranquility is the theme of the salon, the mission is a little different.
Ten percent of the net profits from Imaj Salon and Spa will go to benefit a faith-based program called “The Haven,” a program that provides assistance to single and widowed mothers and their children.
It’s a charity dear to Beaty’s heart. Her mother ó who passed away in August ó was a widow twice over.
“The importance of the vision is all about my momma,” Beaty said. While Beaty’s been doing hair for 17 years, she can’t even count the number of years her mom did hair before she retired in 2002.
“The How Divine Haven Home is a memory to our mother,” Beaty said. “Through all of this as time went by, I understood that was what God had in store for this vision…
“It’s just something that keeps me going,” said Beaty about the home and her mother’s memory. “Knowing that it’s all worthwhile. Her memory will live on through our lives and the lives of the women we help. She was a very inspirational and determined individual.”
The salon’s operating hours will be Monday through Saturday from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. In addition, Sundays will be reserved for private events. One Sunday per month will be dedicated to men only for an event called “A Man’s Worth.”
For more information, visit www.imajsalon.com.
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Contact Joanie Morris at 704-932-3336 or jmorris@kannapoliscitizen.com.