Jessica Moore recalls her grandfather every day she steps into her shop on the busy corner of Vine and Homer Streets just west of the Frandor Shopping Center in Lansing.
And when she picks up the tools of her trade, she knows she's building on a passion and family tradition for making customers feel good about the way they look.
Although Moore's customers have four legs and a tail, the services she provides through
Modern Groomers are similar to the shave and a haircut her grandfather provided a generation ago. That's why, she says, she chose to base the name of her one-year-old upscale dog and cat grooming salon after Modern Barbers—a shop her late grandfather had founded before she was born.
"The pet grooming industry is quite saturated, but there is always a need for somebody who is caring and loving," says Moore. "My clients are my own, and we focus on one family at a time when they're here."
The 2008 graduate of East Lansing High School always knew she wanted to do something with animals, but didn't feel vet school was her track. Instead, she combined her passions for animals, creative expression and entrepreneurship into a career in grooming dogs and occasional cats.
"It's just kind-of the way that we've grown up," says Moore about her family's entrepreneurial streak. "My mom used to help my grandpa in his shop, and also has her own wedding and events planning business. It's been passed down. We are believers in doing what you love, not working in a job that you don't have a passion about."
Moore earned her degree from the
Michigan School of Canine Cosmetology in Lansing in 2011, and then applied her skills in various settings before striking out on her own. She grooms about five to six dogs a day in her cage-free, 1,500-square foot space. She also grooms cats on request.
Services are provided by appointment only and include bath, nail trim, ear cleaning, hand stripping, hand drying, and expressing anal glands. Her grooming style, she says, can range from traditional to creative, with some dogs leaving with coats of different colors.
"My goal now and into the future is to just continue helping to serve Lansing, and to make every dog the best they possibly can," she says. "I do that in a loving and friendly environment. Lots of love goes into every dog."
Source: Jessica Moore, Owner, Modern Groomers
Writer: Ann Kammerer, News Editor
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