There’s been a palpable shift in membership club culture of late: from NYC to LA and SF, members are trading in cocktails and late nights for quiet spaces and restorative activities. This focus on self-care has prompted a slew of wellness spaces to pop up from coast to coast, offering everything from meditation and workout classes to spa treatments and healthy dining options. Even behind-the-scenes beauty industry heavyweights are getting in on the (chill) action.
Read up on the latest buzz in the wellness world, plus a couple of notable names to look out for.
THE WELL NYC
THE WELL recently debuted their highly-anticipated flagship club in New York's Flatiron neighborhood. The 18,000-square-foot membership club caters to busy professionals looking to integrate health and wellness into their everyday lives. As such, THE WELL members have access to an expert team of health practitioners across various approaches; yoga and meditation classes; training gym; sauna and steam room; plus an extensive spa menu (think: reiki, lymph drainage and more). The chic space includes THE WELL Kitchen & Table, a restaurant focused on local and organic ingredients, as well as a retail space (open to the public) so you can take your peace of mind home. 
The Well
The Assembly SF
Located in San Francisco’s Mission District, The Assembly is part workspace, part fitness studio, full-on women’s “wellbeing club.” There’s a clubhouse for getting work done (complete with meeting rooms and phone room), a fitness studio for various types of classes, an area for daily wellbeing services (either with practitioners or self-guided) and plenty of lounge space in between. Members have access to the verdant backyard, a retail shop with specialty items made by locals and fellow members, plus many opps to mingle with the community over seasonal meals and snacks.
The Assembly SF
Cosmetica Labs LA
Cosmetic manufacturer Cosmetica sets the stage for its next level of collaboration with indie beauty brands and West Coast clientele via a brand-new lab in LA. The Cosmetica Lab looks like anything but; the high-design space features both top-of-the-line tech as well as fun details like Nintendo and ping pong. Cosmetica will continue to focus on its hero products -- skincare and beauty -- as well as developing clean formulas and exploring raw material breakthroughs. The brand’s partners will reap the benefits of the new lab, which aims to keep driving innovation and provide best-in-class service to the beauty community. 
Cosmetica Labs LA
milk + honey LA - Spring 2020
Austin-based milk + honey has just announced plans to open the brand’s LA outpost -- and its first outside of Texas -- in Spring 2020. The 6,000-square-foot Brentwood space will mark the brand’s seventh location, and will offer their full-range of treatments, from massage and facials to lashes and microblading. A clean-beauty trailblazer, milk + honey’s eponymous line of non-toxic bath and body products will be used throughout many of the spa’s signature treatments. You can expect to see a second Los Angeles day spa pop up in the coming year, too. 
milk + honey, Texas
Six Senses NYC at The XI - Coming Soon
Six Senses Hotels Resorts Spas makes their US debut at The XI, a mixed-use development under construction in NYC’s West Chelsea. Known for its dedication to superior hospitality, sustainability and wellness, the brand will bring its mind-body-and-beyond philosophy to the new development through an 18,000-square-foot amenities club. Members and building residents will have access to a 75-foot glass-enclosed, sunlit swimming pool; luxurious spa with steam rooms, saunas and cold plunges; personalized therapies and treatments; an entertainment space with lounges, dining areas and kids’ playroom; and more. It's worth mentioning the sweeping city views, too. 
The view from Six Senses at The XI
The team at zkipster says it best: "Defining clear goals for an event can be a bit like warming up before a big run. You know it’s healthy, but you’re probably tempted to skip it anyway." This is more than a friendly reminder that goal planning is crucial to being efficient and effective; bookmark this piece for the team's expert insights, plus three strategic steps for goal-setting success.
Brooklyn Winery; Photographer: Pat Furey via zkipster
When you start planning an event, especially on a tight deadline, you likely want to get directly into the venues, invitations, guest lists, and all the other big items fighting for attention. That’s a surefire way to end up mired in details that aren’t making the best use of your time. Defining goals helps you and your team always be moving toward a central objective. And even better, well-defined goals mean you can measure the results. Here’s the streamlined way to set your goals.
Step 1: Define before refining
Start the process by asking yourself a deceptively simple question: If this event didn’t happen, why would it be an issue? Then ask why. Maybe it’s an annual gala, so you think if it didn’t happen, sponsors would be upset, and supporters would be disappointed. But really, the sponsors are probably upset because they’re losing valuable airtime and brand recognition, and supporters are disappointed because they feel excluded and are losing interest in your work.
When beginning the brainstorming and collaboration process with your team members, establish an environment where team members feel confident contributing unique and sometimes conflicting ideas. Healthy challenges from within can help refine your event’s purpose.
In a professional world where having everyone in a central office five days a week is increasingly uncommon, getting everyone together for a brainstorming workshop might sound like a nightmare, but it doesn’t have to be. Effective collaboration is possible even when working with remote teams.
Step 2: Measure SMART, not hard
You’ve collaborated with your team and are feeling confident about the event’s key purpose. Now it’s time to translate that into goals and make them SMART.
- Specific
- Measurable
- Achievable
- Relevant
- Time-bound
By framing your purpose SMARTly, you begin creating smaller, more manageable tasks for your team. Furthermore, any uncertainties regarding your purpose will be clarified here. If the purpose can’t be broken down into SMART goals it’s probably not clearly defined in the first place. Taking the time to think SMART before getting into the tasks themselves will allow you to maximize your team’s workflow.
Step 3: Work around strengths, not weaknesses
We all have a few areas where we shine and others that we’d like to avoid entirely. When deciding who’s responsible for what, have everyone (including yourself!) honestly consider their personal strengths and areas of confidence for the event.
While these strong points may be related to technical expertise, also consider the less tangible elements that can contribute to the overall success, like outside knowledge and passions. Is the feature of your dinner a musical performance from a guest artist, and one of your teammates happens to be a musician? They might just have some unique insight on VIP relations with the artist. Cultivate and encourage passion. It’s infectious.
Clear goals may seem optional, and it’s easier to rely on gut feelings and instincts. But as the standards of professional events rise, and expectations from leadership and guests grow in turn, you need all the reliable tools to produce and measure success you can use. A clear sense of purpose sets the stage for effective, goal-centered planning. And that’s what helps produce a stand-out event.