Suzanne McCahill Perrine, owner of The Center Yoga Studio, and Rebekah Girvan Budnikas owner of Breath Pilates Studio have joined forces and moved to the Ice House! They like to think of themselves as roommates—they are still keeping separate businesses; however, the facility will be a partnership. According to Suzanne, “Ice House studios is like the umbrella for all these people coming together to work as a team” A little less than 2 years ago, Suzanne heard the Ice House space would be available in the future and planned to move her business there. “I thought about all these studios around and realized it would be more powerful if we worked as a team. So I called Rebekah, who hadn’t yet been in business more than a year, about the idea to bring our talents, people, and passion for what we do together,” says Perrine.
In June 2014, Perrine and Buknikas signed their new lease. In addition to The Center and Breathe, there will be two massage rooms, two massage therapists, a yoga therapist and an acupuncturist featured in the space. Having all the studios in one place will allow for more of a convenience factor. It will also expose clients to new classes and services.
For those wondering, your current class passes or memberships will transfer over to the new studios. “We are also excited to offer some options for students to be able to take advantage of all of the classes both at The Cetner and Breathe. These memberships are already becoming really popular and our Open House week doesn’t begin until January 19th!” Suzanne said. Another special service will be Mommy and Me activities. Rebekah added,“We hope that the space as a whole will allow us to offer a lot more special services to the community whenever possible.”
There are around 20 teachers total in the Ice House Studios, so it’s going to be a dynamic space with a lot of energy – especially with so many people who teach yoga and pilates and who are so passionate about wanting to share it with people all under one roof.
As for the future, Suzanne envisions the space being versatile in many new ways, including a training center for students and future teachers. Listening to Suzanne and Rebekah talk about the collaboration and Ice House project is inspiring. Rebekah states, “we decided that we were going to jump in with this project. And it’s not just us, it’s all the people working on it and everyone who has decided to move in—they’ve been designing and growing from the ground up to make the space happen.”
All of their hard work has paid off because the studios are open! To celebrate, Ice House Studios is hosting an open house and sneak peek week beginning on January 19th. They’ll be offering some free classes so take the opportunity to try something new. You’ll love it!
Breathe’s new space at Ice House Studios. Photo courtesy of Breathe’s Facebook page.
Written by Lauren Young, a promotions intern at Harrisonburg Downtown Renaissance, and a senior double majoring in English and Writing, Rhetoric and Technical Communication at James Madison University.