Salon in the Spotlight: BeautyHour by Carlianne, Blaydon

Training in December 2022 with Nicole Dowling of Totally Polished, Carlianne Elliott-Purkins had previously studied beauty therapy at college upon leaving school but initially pursued another career.

Deciding to take the leap and retrain, Carlianne notes beauty and nails as her main interests, encouraging her to make the decision. “I’d always wanted my own salon but never thought it would be achievable, but here I am now, absolutely loving it.”

“I decided to open my own salon in my garden because I wanted the perfect work-life balance as a mother. I had initially looked at getting a premises elsewhere, but when doing the cost calculations it was more cost-effective to take the leap and build our own. The space before was a garden, and the maximum dimensions we could go for were 10×8.

“It was perfect for a little nail salon. We had a company build the salon, put in electrics and lighting,” she explains. “We opted for a wooden salon as this was in our budget, and with the help of family and friends, we managed to create a beautiful space in approximately three weeks from start to finish.”

“The theme of BeautyHour was a calming, neutral, boho environment where clients could come and feel zen when they walked through the doors. With its neutral walls, and decorative pampers, it truly is a calming and peaceful place for any treatment. Clients come in and have that small amount of time for themselves, forgetting reality for a short while.

“The key features are the large pampas arrangement on the wall facing the client, alongside a gold metallic BeautyHour sign, which compliments the surrounding area and the gold Navy Pro Tools that are used.”

Offering nail extensions, natural nail overlays, gel polish and builder gel, Carlianne creates all her nail art by hand using products from Halo and Navy Pro Tools for her prep. “I love the PolBuild system, I love how it’s flexible and durable on the nail and love the range of colours and products Halo have to offer.

“My salon creates peace and calm when entering the salon. Clients sit on a comfy chair, offered refreshments throughout and even biscuits if they’re lucky. The salon is in the back garden, with a separate entrance for all clients to get to. Parking on the drive is available and my salon attracts many residents of our local estate and further afield due to word of mouth and social media.”

“My salon is unique because it’s a garden salon, it’s a completely different experience and a simply beautiful space that all of my clients seem to love. They don’t need to worry about where to park or paying for parking. A lot of my clients are from my residential estate, meaning that clients can walk to my salon within minutes. I do lots of later appointments in the evening and weekends. I accommodate where I need to as I want my clients to be able to come when it’s suitable for them also.

“My favourite aspect of the salon is that it’s mine and has been built with nothing more than love, time and patience.
I love how peaceful my salon is and I love the compliments the salon gets from every single person who enters,” Carlianne smiles. “I’m hoping that one day my salon is fully booked from morning to night that and people are dying to get an appointment with me. I want to be known for the hand-painted nail art I do, and I want my clients to bring me designs that test me.”

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