WILLIAMSVILLE, N.Y. — ​JoAnna Falletta has worked as an esthetician for decades, usually at other peoples’ salons.

“I started off doing peoples’ nails out of my home when I was 24,” she said.

Now she hires people to do nails. Falletta created Blush and Brow Spa and Salon over the summer when her husband thought he might be laid off from his job in pharmaceuticals.

“We would’ve had to pick up and move somewhere else," she said. "That’s not easy for us, because he takes care of his parents. Being that he has his family here, our children have their lives and everything, it wouldn’t have been something that we could have easily done. That’s why we needed a plan B, and we needed to figure out another source of income.”

Blush and Brow opened about a month ago, and some of Falletta’s previous clients came aboard quickly. And new customers have trickled in, too.

“I’m really grateful for all the support and the love we’ve received from our family, our friends, and our clients," she said. "We’ve gotten new clients because of our location. A lot of people like this location because there isn’t anything up this way.”

Before she could give microdermabrasion treatments, Falletta says there were a lot of sleepless nights in those eight weeks of prep before opening.

The permits took a while, and the pandemic has made it much more difficult to get supplies. Still, owning a salon is something she always wanted to do.

“I’m really happy," she said. "I love what I do. I’m very passionate about what I do, and I couldn’t be happier to be on my own and provide a space for other people to be able to practice what they love, too.”

For now, Falletta's focusing on skincare and nails. Hair could be coming after the holiday season.