Lakewood Welcomes Origin Massage Studio

Walking into Origin Massage Studio on the fourth floor of the INA building, guests are greeted by a calming, gray room with two white couches and a smiling face at a natural wood table. The room is at a perfect temperature and the air smells sweet and calming, like Cilantro Lime, to be exact.

Behind the desk sits either 28 year-old Jill Solze (pronounced “souls”) or soon-to-be 26 year-old Hannah Corrigan. They met at the Cleveland Institute of Medical Massage last year, and opened their business together in November after graduation. Claiming to be risk-takers, they scouted out office space before even receiving their final test results, eager to start working.

“When the general population thinks of getting a massage, they think of doing it as a luxury or they thing of doing it as something to help their body recover,” said Corrigan. Solze and Corrigan felt as though Origin is an added benefit to the area that is in close proximity to Lakewood Hospital plus other natural and holistic businesses. “People bike more here. People are more health conscious. There are a lot of massage studios and yoga places in Lakewood. It seems to be a good area for this type of business.”

Prior to working as a massage therapist, Solze worked as an in-home healthcare nurse’s assistant. She loved her job, but wanted to stay in the medical field and find a career that was more dependable. She settled on massage therapy.

Corrigan lived the life of a college student, attended Baldwin Wallace for a time, then lived in Maryland, and held various customer service and retail jobs before deciding to attend massage school.

Solze and Corrigan emphasize the need to be outgoing, genuine, and caring to succeed in this business. Both describe the other as a perfect fit.

Walking through the matching gray hallway in the studio, guests view the two private, light purple massage rooms. Along the wall, the definition of the word Origin welcomes guests into the space. Origin had a double meaning to Solze and Corrigan, but was not the first name they envisioned for their business. Choosing a name required a certain amount of reflection. “We need to go back to basics. We need to go back to day one of massage (school). What do you learn on day one?” Corrigan recalled. “One of the things you learn immediately is when a muscle attaches somewhere there is either an insertion or an origin. Obviously we weren’t going to name a place Insertion,” explained Corrigan. Both Corrigan and Solze feel as though Origin has a deeper meaning of new beginnings; a perfect fit for their new business.

They are already thinking ahead to their future to help the business thrive. “Within the next year,” Corrigan said, “definitely, I think we do want to be on Detroit, in your face at street level.” When asked where they were looking to move their studio, both excitedly declared the want to stay in Downtown Lakewood. Both also stressed that any additional services they might add would be based around well-being, not beauty.

Origin Massage Studio offers relaxation massage, hot stone massage, deep tissue massage, and couples massage. Their office is currently located on the fourth floor of the INA building in suite 485. Also, visit originmassagestudio.com or call 216-712-4771 for details and appointments. Please say hello to one of Lakewood’s new neighbors and consider taking a relaxing hour to find your origin.