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EVERYDAY ENCOUNTERS

A massage therapist enjoys the peaceful surroundings

Lauren Gravell, the owner of Belvedere Island Spa in downtown Tiburon, says her career in massage therapy came about by chance.

NAOMI FRIEDLAND / THE ARKLauren Gravell is seen with her dog, Kira, on March 19 on downtown Tiburon Boulevard.
Naomi Friedland
By NAOMI FRIEDLAND · 1 min read

Lauren Gravell, the owner of Belvedere Island Spa in downtown Tiburon, says her career in massage therapy came about by chance.

Gravell was living in Hawaii and working at an art gallery when she noticed a massage school down the street. She was good at giving massages, she recalls, so she decided to enroll.

She’s now been operating the local spa since moving to Tiburon about a year and a half ago and can be frequently spotted walking her dog, Kira, downtown near the business. Though now on her walks, she notes, she sees one less friendly face with the recent death of her friend Barry Smith, owner and curator of Smith Gallery Tiburon on Tiburon Boulevard.

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A version of this story appeared in the March 26, 2025, print edition of The Ark. See something wrong? Request a correction.
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