40 Under Forty 2019: Kristie Lee Laskes
Photo | Erika Sidor
From the 20th anniversary of WBJ's 40 Under Forty are (from left) 2019 winner Kristie Lee Laskes, 2019 winner Ricky Gala, 2012 alumni Paul Belsito, 2001 alumni Kristine Bostek and 2019 winner Jessica Rubinow at Worcester County Club.
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Kristie Lee Laskes, 37
Owner & esthetician
Nkd Waxing, Lashes & Makeup Corp., Worcester
Residence: Auburn
Birthplace: Leominster
Colleges: Mount Wachusett Community College & Catherine Hinds Institute of Esthetics
In 2011, Laskes started Nkd in little more than a cubicle with her makeup in a corner. Yet, it wasn’t so long before she had to expand – twice, with a third on the way. She moved in 2015 to a 1,250-square-foot space with three treatment rooms in Worcester’s Kelley Square, and a year later expanded to a second floor to include four more treatment rooms. Lakes first offered – as the company’s name implies – lashes, waxing and make-up. But with those expansions came skincare, spray tan, massage, hair and microblading services. Laskes has established Nkd as a safe place for men in transition to come for hair and other beauty needs. Now, she is eyeing moving to a 2,000-square-foot space in the Trolley Yard development in Worcester, set to open early next year. Laskes makes time in addition to raising her 3-year-old daughter, Aleesia, at home for a range of fundraising efforts. Nkd has held a 1990s prom event to benefit Dress for Success to provide professional attire for women, as well as for a winter coat drive, a food bank drive and a handbag drive in partnership with a local Girl Scout troop. She volunteers for the nonprofit Officer Ronald Tarentino Jr. Charitable Fund – named for an Auburn officer killed in the line of duty in 2016 – supporting first responders and military families in need. – Profile written by Grant Welker
Favorite Central Mass. restaurant? Mare E Monti – best bolognese around, and I love the ambiance.
What would you say to an intern entering your field? Find your passion, excel at it, and people will notice. That was how my business was built.
What will the inscription say on the statue they eventually build of you? She giggled, she lashed, she conquered.
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