Do you have 10 minutes?

*takes a deep breath*

This story goes to show that people often see potential in you long before you ever do. If you had asked the old me, she would’ve laughed and said, “No way. I couldn’t do that. I’m not even good at doing my own brows, let alone someone else’s.” Never in a million years would I have imagined we’d be where we are today.

It all started while I was working at a mortgage firm with my long-time friend, Alice. One regular day, she sat at my cubicle, casually chatting about our weekends. But something about her looked different—fresh, put together. I couldn’t put my finger on it… until she told me she had gotten her eyebrows microbladed.

I was shocked. They looked amazing—so natural.

Then she said something that would change my life forever.

She suggested I try it. Me?! Immediately, my self-doubt kicked in like clockwork.

“No, I could never.”
“I’m not good at drawing my own brows.”
“What if I mess up?”

But beneath all that fear, there was a whisper—a tiny, quiet voice that said, maybe.

That whisper didn’t go away.
After a week of back-and-forth, Alice finally convinced me to sign up for an eyebrow course. But first, I had another mountain to climb—telling my Asian immigrant parents I wanted to leave finance for… beauty. Art, of all things.

Yeah, that didn’t go over well.
Eventually, I got the courage to frame it as just a “side hustle.” I told them I’d pay back the course fees with what I earned. At worst, I’d lose some money but gain a skill. I had a secure job to fall back on, after all. What could go wrong?

I took the course...Then I froze.

For a full month, I didn’t touch a single brow. I was terrified to mess up. But when I finally started, I couldn’t stop.
For three months straight, I worked my full-time job and took clients every evening and weekend.

Eventually, I took the next step—I moved from my house to a tiny 100 sq. ft. room rental in a spa.

That space felt like the push I needed to believe in this dream a little more. I wasn’t just dabbling anymore.
Clients started asking me if I knew any good lash artists. That’s when another light bulb went off. What if my sister could do this? She already had a full-time job, but I convinced her to try it as a side hustle.

Before I knew it, she quit her job, too. And we grew fast—really fast.

We became busier than the spa we were renting from. That was the sign—we were ready for our own place.

Our first location was on Kingsway by Willingdon and Metrotown. I still remember the endless Ikea boxes, the planning, the excitement. If you drove by back then, you’d see rows of beds filled with women getting their lashes done, chatting, laughing in the waiting area. We grew from 3 to 11 artists.

Eventually, we couldn’t keep up with demand. We started opening extra beds. That’s when we knew it was time to expand again.

Jenny—my sister and our resident location scout—found it: the original spa location we had rented from. Two floors. High ceilings. Full circle.

When we signed the lease, it hit us—we weren’t just artists renting a room anymore. We had taken over the very place where we started.

Fast forward to today in 2025, we have serviced over 35,000 appointments, won multiple awards, over 970+ 5 star reviews, and have become a one-stop shop with 15 talented artists that can utilize their artistic skills in making others feel and look just as good.  Meraki has become a hub for artists to start their career in beauty, seeing if there is passion, and eventually fully transition to a full-time career.  One that they can take charge of their own schedule, travel the world and even become financially free.

We want to be your Alice.
xo Michelle