Color without the sun damage

PEQUOT LAKES - PJ Overvold remembers the days when getting a tan meant lying out in the sun with a little iodine and baby oil for skin protection.

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PJ Overvold, who started O Design event decor planning and linen rental about three years ago, added O What a Tan mobile spray tanning business and recently located a tanning booth inside the Lime Greenery in Pequot Lakes.

But the harsh realities of what that can do to age skin, not to mention the skin cancer risk, has changed the way people think about tanning. Overvold said there is still a sense of health and well-being that comes with the tan. But now she supplies it from a spray.

About two years ago, Overvold purchased the equipment and obtained the needed training - in Beverly Hills - for an Infinity Sun machine. The airbrush tanning uses an air compressor and natural solutions from sugar cane or beets that react with enzymes in the skin. The FDA approves the cosmetic ingredient of Dihydroxyactone, which works on skin's surface.

O What a Tan is tucked inside the Lime Greenery shop in Pequot Lakes. The spray tanning business started as a mobile operation and continues to provide that service, traveling to homes for parties or wedding gatherings.

Overvold began with a pop-up cabana tent and a mobile service, traveling to gatherings such as girls' nights out and wedding parties or other events. Recently, she created a home for the tanning business tucked in a corner at Lime Greenery in Pequot Lakes. It's been a good mingling of businesses, Overvold said.

Lime Greenery has added more clothing and furniture to its base as a floral business. Its floral programs offer to deliver fresh flowers to homes or businesses with weekly or monthly packages, along with a plant program with ongoing maintenance. The business designs and plants gardens and planters from window boxes to patios and entrances and provides continuing care throughout the summer.

Even with the tanning option inside Lime Greenery, Overvold still does the mobile tanning, but found regular customers wanted to set up a repeat time and others found it convenient to have a destination for the tanning.

At O What a Tan in Pequot Lakes, an Infinity Sun spray tan machine with a nozzle that resembles a hair dryer is used to apply the tan, which can be set for a variety of shades.

The application takes about 15 minutes with a full body tan costing about $30. Some clients prefer to do the legs or face only or focus on the upper body.

"It will not turn orange," Overvold said, noting the airbrush technique provides such a light coverage customers don't even feel the spray other than the flow of air.

The tan will fade and lasts about a week or a week-and-half. A key to keeping the color is using moisturizer morning and night, Overvold said.

She has clients who arrive weekly for tanning sessions. Customers come in all ages, from teenagers to women in their 80s. And Overvold said clients aren't limited to women. She has male body builders who get spray tans before an event. The Infinity Sun machine has the ability to target areas allowing customers to highlight collar bones or shoulder bones or accent muscular abdominals.

Overvold said spending time in Florida was an eye-opener to the damage that can come with the sun worship. When Overvold became a full-time lakes area resident, she thought the spray tan service would offer a nice option for events like prom or weddings.

If desired, the tan comes with a pearlized shimmer for special occasions. The tan may also be applied to specific areas, such as hiding the tan lines when wearing a strapless or spaghetti strap dress. The spray tan is the same one used for award shows, Overvold said.

She is certified with the National Tanning Association and picked Infinity Sun after researching the market.

"It's really taken off this summer," Overvold said. "(A tan) makes you feel different. If you have a tan, you just feel better."

Three years ago, Overvold started her other business, O Design, which provides event planning, for corporate events, parties, birthdays and weddings. Overvold has a rental inventory from vases to feather boas and feather capes or a custom cake table. She has a section of Lime Greenery for her design business with an eclectic example of the inventory she possesses, with much more at her home.

An interior decorator by trade, Overvold previously worked in Fargo, N.D., and then for several years split her time between Gull Lake and Florida. When her husband died, she said she needed to keep busy. When she was working on her son's wedding, she had such a good time she decided to pursue the passion. After working out of her home, she created her own business nook inside Lime Greener,y giving her a set place to meet with clients.

Overvold said she enjoys bringing a wedding couple's personality and vision for their big day to life.

"I love to come up with different ideas and make their event something they are going to remember."

RENEE RICHARDSON may be reached at renee.richardson@brainerddispatch.com or 855-5852.

A lot can happen in a work place.

After all, we spend most of our waking hours there, spending years of our lives with our "work family." It's a mix of working effort and personal drama on most days, how can it not be?

Thursday at Reed's Market in Crosslake, the human drama took on a little more excitement than usual.

Joey Dumond met Maggie Sandberg in the summer of 2005. He was a Pequot Lakes High School student. She was at Crosby-Ironton High School. They met on the job at Reed's Market. Joey's was from Crosslake. Maggie's family was nearby living in the Velvet Beach area.

Now a St. Cloud Technical College graduate, Joey started thinking about the right place to pop the question. Reed's seemed to be the perfect place.

He had arrangements all in place from a cashier as a co-conspirator to family hidden in the adjoining Lakewood Bank lobby.

Cashier Mariah Reed rang up a sale of candy bars and then asked Maggie if she wanted to just take the ring or have it put in the bag.

Surprise may have been an understatement for the St. Cloud State University senior. She took the ring. She said yes. And the family celebration ensued.

Waiting in the wings were Joey's mom Andrea, his grandmother Karen Christofferson, his brother Alex, aunt Carol Rott and Maggie's parents Steve and Kelly Sandberg.

The Teehive, a screen printing and embroidery company, opened on Laurel Street in Brainerd.

Chris Foy, The Teehive manager, said the name came from a brainstorming to find something that went with T-shirts. The business is owned by Just For Kix owners Cindy and Steve Clough and first started as a side business to serve the needs of the Baxter-based dance instruction company.

The Teehive offers printing and stitching on shirts, hats, sweatshirts and coats. Foy, who previously worked at Madden's resort, said customers may come in with an idea and The Teehive is able to create a design, offer a clothing inventory and screen print or embroider the fabric on site.

With other screen printing and embroidery businesses here, Foy said The Teehive offers a fresh face, a focus on customer service and competitive pricing. There is no minimum order so people can get order two T-shirts or thousands.

Customers include those wanting business attire, organizations and clubs, even family reunions.

"We have a wide variety of merchandise," Foy said, noting the company has a 400-page catalog. While people may bring in their own clothing, Foy said the pricing for The Teehive's blank T-shirts is typically so competitive people are better off picking up what they need through the store.

The Teehive employs four. The store is across from the Great River Door Co.

The Deborah Schey Salon, on Highway 371 north of Brainerd, is hosting its second annual Alzheimer's Cut-A-Thon to raise money for the area Alzheimer's Walk on Sept. 25. Deborah Schey said checks for haircuts are made out to the Alzheimer's Association and are 100 percent tax-deductible. She said it's a "fun day of service, music and snacks."

For more information, call 825-0196.

Funding for Pine River homeowner rehabilitation was increased by $171,210, the Cass County Economic Development Corp. recently reported.

The funds are from the Small Cities Development Program and have been awarded to complete "essential health and safety rehabilitation to owner occupied homes."

The Cass County EDC reported nine homes took part in the program with work completed and, with the additional funding there is an opportunity for about eight more.

A maximum of $20,000 is available per home on a first-come, first-serve basis. The funds have zero percent interest and offer a deferred payment loan with a pro-rated forgiveness period. Homeowners must pay 20 percent of the rehabilitation cost.

The Cass EDC said local organizations are assisting: Hunt Utility Group is offering up to $500 cost assistance, Minnesota Power is providing energy audits, Pine River State Bank is offering discounted loans to qualified homeowners, K and K Building Supply is discounting building materials.

For more information, contact Jason Kresbach of the Central Minnesota Housing Partnership at (320) 259-0393.

RENEE RICHARDSON, senior reporter, may be reached at renee.richardson@brainerddispatch.com or 855-5852.