How We Started
The overarching purpose of The Dragontree is to promote peace. We believe that a peaceful world starts with peaceful individuals. As healthcare practitioners and connoisseurs of quality products for self-care, developing our own line was a dream long in the making. We wanted to craft items that are natural, appealing to the senses, and therapeutic. All of these qualities can help foster a peaceful state. But the peace comes mostly in what you do with these products … quieting your mind, listening to your body, and caring for yourself.
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The story of The Dragontree begins several years before we opened our first spa. Briana was on her way to college when she got into a tragic car accident that left her with a broken neck and a derailed dream. During the following year of recovery, she began to reconsider her life path and realized she needed to work in the healing arts.
After a few years in practice as a massage therapist and Ayurvedic specialist, she met Peter, a doctor of Chinese Medicine. They were both working at a spa in Portland, and it was here that Briana started to get a sense of just how encompassing a healing experience could be. At the age of 23, Briana left to start her own spa. When they found the space, it was an old, dusty warehouse with nothing in it but some wood and a toilet. Somehow, it just seemed perfect.
Briana and Peter spent months remodeling, cleaning, and dreaming – often into the wee hours of the night – to create a space where true healing could occur. At first, we did almost everything ourselves – taking appointments, giving massages, scrubbing the floors, designing ads, and making repairs. Knowing it was for a cause bigger than us kept us motivated and optimistic.
Little by little, Briana and Peter were able to hire a staff to meet the spa’s growing demands. Of course, they wanted employees who were skilled, cheerful, and hardworking, but there was one other criterion they looked for: that they shared their vision and were as committed to the spa’s purpose as Briana and Peter are.
As The Dragontree grew, they needed to add more treatment rooms, more therapists, more receptionists, and finally additional locations in order to see all of our clients. At some point it occurred to them that this growth was more than we two individuals could have achieved on our own … rather, the business was expanding from its own purpose.
Over the years The Dragontree has increasingly set ourselves apart from other spas through our commitment to education. They recognized that a spa treatment can be a blissful experience, but wanted to provide ways for people to have something of this experience on a more consistent basis. The Dragontree is always building their library of articles and videos on wellness, and developing programs to support people in achieving healing and inner peace.
When Briana thinks back on her fractured spine and the end of art school, it no longer seems a tragedy. The need to focus on her own healing became an opening to a life dedicated to healing others. For over ten years, The Dragontree's mission has been to seed communities all over the world with people who are centered, peaceful, and healthy. We’re grateful for the opportunity to be part of your journey.