Flying Point Spa Pampering Clients Through First Summer

Kattia Bennett never dreamed she'd have her own business, but she said the fact that she has own nail salon proves that really anything is possible in this country.

Flying Point Spa opened six months ago in Southampton, and Bennett is enjoying her first summer season in business.

Bennett, a Costa Rica native, moved to America just 10 years ago after her twin sister convinced her to stay. She had visited many times before, though she'd often cut short month-long stays. She was overwhelmed with how different it is here, she said. What is different also lends itself to opportunity, and ultimately she said she realized this was where she had to be to make a better life for herself.

Though college educated in Costa Rica, she cleaned houses here to make a living, and eventually went to beauty school to learn how to do nails.

Bennett, a Hampton Bays resident, worked at several nail salons all over the South Fork, from Sag Harbor to East Quogue. She said she hadn't considered opened her own business, but her husband, Dave Bennett, convinced her, even though she worried about costs.

She said she put her trust in God. "God will put me where God wants me to be," she said.

The couple went into business together after finding a space in the Village East shopping complex at the corner of County Road 39 and Hampton Road.

Kattia Bennett said she's been pleased with the response since opening. "Good thing everybody loves us," she said, adding that many of her customers have followed her here.

Her business philosophy is to think as a client. "When I spend my money I want to feel I got a lot out of it," she said. A client should never leave thinking, "Did I just pay for that?," she said. "I want the customer happy."

A regular manicure is $20 and a regular pedicure is $35.

One of their special services are a paraffin manicure and a paraffin pedicure. Instead of dipping the hands or feet in hot wax, which is meant to leave the skin smooth, Flying Point offers a more sanitary, personal option, Bennett said.

The customer slips their hand or foot into individual Thermasoft self-heating therapy mitts. "It's a little more expensive, but it's much better for the customer," she said.

The cost is $45 for the pedicure and $35 for the manicure.

Flying Point Spa is open seven days a week from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.

For now, Bennett said she is just focusing on nail care. "But who knows?" she said. "Anything is possible."