Escaping to serenity

Salt and Wood is the tranquil new wellness studio on the Bellarine where relaxation meets movement.

Katrina Harris-Haigh and Phoebe Malone are the co-founders of the newly opened studio in Ocean Grove.

The all-inclusive venue has a range of offerings from yoga and Pilates through to small group fitness, clinical wellness treatments and more.

Led by a passionate team of experts, the studio offers 30 classes each week, blending movement, wellness and community.

Katrina and Phoebe met two years ago in the yoga studio, where Phoebe was Katrina’s teacher and they connected over having children the same age.

“Ever since then, we just always chatted about this concept of bringing wellness and yoga and Pilates together,” Katrina said.

Katrina has a background in massage therapy and the wellness industry, running retreats in Spain and practicing yoga herself and Phoebe worked in prosthetics and orthotics before becoming a yoga teacher.

 

“I’ve always had this idea of running my own studio, but I wasn’t sure what it looked like, Phoebe was exactly the same,” Katrina said.

“We had these two visions before we met each other and then we met and it was just a no brainer that’s what we needed to do, it just made a really beautiful, easy process.”

The pair started looking for venues and just eight weeks ago purchased the Ocean Grove business.

Since then, the co-founders have turned the space into their own, developed their memberships and ethos, grown their social media following and recruited 22 team members.

Salt and Wood now have a studio, garden room for tea and a clinician cocoon for treatments including massages and facials.

Katrina said creating a community within the wellness studio was really important to them, with class numbers capped to support this.

“We’ve been finding, we’d go to other studios, and you walk in, there’s no eye contact, all of the students have got their head down, they’re rushing to their mats and I just found it really strange.

 

“We’re wanting to create a bit of a community, for those who appreciate wellness, maybe someone who either goes to a yoga class or a Pilates class and where people can go, where it’s really beautiful, it’s like a sanctuary, like a little haven.

“They come and they hello to their neighbours, they come to the beautiful class and then afterwards they have a cup of tea in our garden room and then when they’re ready, they can go home.”

The unique studio is tucked away just behind the Ocean Grove sand dunes, taking visitors on a journey as soon as their feet hit the ground.

“We are in a beautiful garden, 50 metres from the beach, that in itself is one of our selling points and one of our unique points of difference,” Katrina said.

“You go through a beautiful gate that opens up and then we have our zen inspired native garden, as soon as you walk in the door, you just cannot help but feel relaxed.

 

“You follow this winding path through the garden, there’s water, beaches, there’s some beautiful whale sculptures, we’ll have incense burning, you walk through the garden and then eventually you’ll find yourself at the studio door.”

Once inside, Katrina said guests will feel a sense of relaxation as they enter the fully renovated space.

In the span of two months, the studio has turned into a nurturing and luxurious environment, with windows on two walls, wooden floorboards and hydronic heating.

“You open up doors to the garden so you can hear the sounds of the ocean, you can hear the birds in the trees and it’s just absolutely beautiful.

The clinician cocoon has floor to ceiling curtains that blow in the breeze and create the feeling of a completely separate room within the studio.

“We wanted our clinician cocoon to feel like you’re bringing in nature, but also like you’re enveloped in this beautiful womb.”

 

The clinician cocoon is used during private use of the studio, with the curtains opening up and the table packing away when it’s time for classes, converting it back into studio mode.

Salt and Wood have a heavy focus on helping people on their wellness journey and wanting people to give themselves a little bit of care and luxury in an inclusive environment.

“No matter what they do, no matter what their background is, no matter their age, it is for everyone,” Katrina said.

“It really is like stepping into another world, it’s like going on a retreat without needing to be away for a week.

“We’ve got the best teachers, we’ve got the best therapists, it’s a beautiful space, right next to the beach.”

All the equipment in the studio has been bought brand new with latex-free Manduka mats, blocks and bolsters, Pilates and fitness equipment all provided.

 

When it comes to who supplies their materials, Salt and Wood have made the choice to support local, small businesses that are ideally natural or organic where possible.

The business is also supporting local artists with their ‘artist in the ensuite’ concept, showcasing works every month inside the bathroom.

Salt and Wood have classes running from 6am until 8pm, open to all levels of experience and fitness, with memberships ranging from $35 to $58 per week.

For more information and the full list of offerings, head to saltandwoodco.com.au or follow them on Instagram @saltandwoodstudio