Feature Article from The Whitewater Press - Summer/ Fall 2010  www.thewhitewaterpress.com

   By Donna Wright ~ Whitewater Press Staff Writer

~ Beautiful Brew Style Lounge ~
 
Have you ever been to someone’s house and wanted to levitate everything they have into your house?  Not because it was expensive or you wanted to impress someone else, but because you were so comfortable and it fit your taste better than your own stuff.

And have you ever driven past the same thing at least once a week for let’s say, nearly nine years and never noticed it?  I can say yes to that, because that’s how long Carrie Lemaster, of Whitewater Wisconsin, has owned and operated this best kept secret beauty salon, Beautiful Brew, LLC.  It is hidden in plain sight on the busy corner of Fremont and North Streets, directly behind the gigantic St. John’s Masonic Temple in Downtown Whitewater WI.

Lemaster’s quick smile and the warm energy made me immediately relax, which explains why I felt like I had walked into my own home.  “You know you’re lucky when you love your job, when you know, this is exactly where I belong,” she said, spreading her hands out a little.  But the best part of the story is the evolution of her career, which explains why she feels the way she does about her salon.

Carrie went to school and became a hair stylist.  About midway through her career—like so many people do—she decided to make a change and became an x-ray technician.  Then, as fate would have it, a friend insisted that she interview for a job in styling.  Although she’d continued to style on the side for friends and family, she had no intention of going back full-time.

“I went into the interview totally not planning to take the job,” she said. “Then, I started talking to this woman and the more we talked,” her words trail off, “the more I kept smiling.  I took the position.  That was the best job I’ve ever had.  I loved working there.”

That choice changed her life. Some people pay attention to that little voice in your head, or that clunk in your stomach, when the time is right.  Most people do not. 

But Lemaster did it—again—a few years later.

“My friend kept saying I should come, look at this building and open my own salon,” she said. “I didn’t think I wanted to go in that direction, but I looked anyway.”
Again, that little voice whispered and again, she listened. She turned a bare bones garage into Beautiful Brew, LLC, an extremely comfortable full service salon.

Hairstyles, cuts, colors, perms, textures, brows, masks, waxing and nails, it’s all on the menu. 

And I’ll bet you’re wondering about the “brew” part!  Carrie offers fresh ground Berres Brothers coffees directly from the factory.  “I’d like it if people only wanted to come in for a cup of coffee and hang out,” she said. “That would be great.”

So, if you haven’t noticed Beautiful Brew before, here’s your chance.  And if you’ve driven by and wondered exactly what it was, now you know.  If you still haven’t found the perfect stylist, I suggest you call Carrie! 

Beautiful Brew may just be where you belong, too.