Beyond the Beauty opens its doors Sunday, September 20, from 5 to 8 PM, marking Vida Aesthetics’ one-year anniversary with an intimate creative experience at 414 W. Berks Street. The event is deliberately small, capped around 40 guests, and built around a specific question: what actually happens before we see the finished piece?
Beyond the Beauty Marks a Year of Building Something Bigger Than a Studio
“For me, Beyond the Beauty is a way to bring my community into the vision I’ve been building for the past seven years,” said Susie Calle, the Philadelphia-based creative and entrepreneur behind Vida Aesthetics. “I want people to see that VIDA can be more than a beauty studio. It is a photography studio, an event space, a creative hub, and a place where ideas and experiences come to life.”
The evening blends live art and creative work, photography and visual storytelling, beauty and self-expression, and wellness elements including massage, all woven into one shared space rather than kept in separate rooms. It’s built to be interactive rather than observational, with guests invited to participate in the creative moments rather than just watch them happen. Tickets are available HERE…
Seven artists make up this year’s lineup, spanning photography, visual art, and other creative disciplines across the evening’s programming. None of the seven are treated as headliners over the others, a choice that tracks with how Calle describes what actually makes VIDA distinct.
“What really sets VIDA apart isn’t necessarily the space itself,” she said. “It’s the people connected to the brand, the network we’re building, and the energy we bring into it. I’m intentional about who I collaborate with and the experiences I create, and I want VIDA to reflect that.”
Beyond the Beauty Reflects Calle’s Own Identity
That intentionality extends beyond who’s in the room. “As an Ecuadorian woman and a woman in business, it means a lot to build something that reflects my culture, perspective, and taste while creating opportunities for other creatives and entrepreneurs to connect and collaborate,” Calle said.
It’s a framing that shapes who the event is actually for: artists and creatives, beauty and wellness professionals, entrepreneurs, content creators, and people already embedded in Philadelphia’s culture and lifestyle scene, rather than a general public looking for a typical gallery opening.
For the anniversary specifically, Calle described what guests should expect in plain terms: “art, music, culture, good food, good drinks, and good energy.” Numbers aside, she said the part she’s most looking forward to isn’t the programming itself. “I’m most excited about who will be in the room and the connections that can come from it.”
Most creative industries sell the finished product and keep the process invisible on purpose. Beyond the Beauty is betting that the process is the more interesting story, and Calle is already thinking past this single night.
“Going into year two, I want VIDA to continue growing as a space for events, creative collaborations, and experiences, while helping other people bring their ideas to life,” she said, the kind of ambition that turns a one-year anniversary into a starting point rather than a finish line.
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