Name: Carmela Martinez
Where do you live? Little Falls, NJ
When did you move there? 2015 – We moved here from the Upper West Side, NYC, soon after my son was born.
Where did you grow up? Piscataway, NJ
How do you make a living? OR What is your everyday passion? My passion is my business. I am a co-founder of a Lash Salon called Lure Lash. We started our business in 2013 with our first location (our baby) on Bloomfield Avenue in Montclair. We have grown to five lash salons in NJ. We are hoping to be able to one day franchise and provide partnership opportunities to our employees.
Coffee, tea or … ? 100% coffee. I just purchased a Nespresso which is a game changer.
What’s your idea of a perfect weekend day? Spending time with my husband and son just watching Netflix and ordering in. Also I’m an early riser, so if I can sleep in until 7 AM, that starts my weekend right!
What’s your favorite local restaurant? It’s so hard to select just one! But I will narrow it down to two. For a quick brunch: Marcel’s Bakery is my go-to. Dinner with friends: Faubourg is tres bien!
What’s on your nightstand? My iPad and a family journal where I try to write down daily experiences with my son and husband.
What are you listening to? NPR Podcasts How I Built This or Boss Files with Poppy Harlow are my go-tos. For music, I tend to lean towards 90’s R&B or Beyonce!
What are your current indulgences? I’m addicted to a show called Outlander on Netflix, I can’t stop watching and rewatching!
What talent you would most like to have? I would love to have the talents of a motivational speaker. To be able to capture an audience the way they do is amazing.
What’s the worst-kept (or best-kept!) secret about Montclair? My local convenience store next to my salon, called 412 Convenience Plus. It’s not necessarily the items they carry; the owner, AK, is the best at giving words of wisdom while you’re picking up a candy bar.
What do you hope they say about you at your funeral?
Here lies a woman who’s lived a long and prosperous life. Who always gave her best at everything she put her mind to. An Mompreneur who started a business with her best friend that provided opportunities for women to move up in the world.
She was sometimes funny, definitely kind, a great but unorganized mom, addicted to silly reality shows, a dutiful wife, and a person who tried to see the positive out of every circumstance.