Salon in the Spotlight: Kaitlyn Jay Studio, Newport, Wales
By Callie Iley | 08 June 2023 | Feature, Salon & Spas
Wanting her Newport-based salon decor to reflect her own personal style, natural nail tech, Kaitlyn Jay, opted for an on-trend, neutral colour scheme.
“I love the minimal vibe,” Kaitlyn beams. “It’s not necessarily outwardly unique, but it’s a total reflection of me, and I love it.”
“The theme in my salon is calm and minimal,” she explains “I’ve opted for neutrals with a hint of black, to not be so harsh on the eye or mind.
“I chose this theme as it totally relaxes my mind when I’m at work. I work best in these types of environments, and I think this also reflects on your clients experience.”
Kaitlyn’s training began at a local college when she was 16, qualifying in 2018. She also worked in a salon alongside her studying, training with brands including The GelBottle and HD Brows.
She moved to her own location in 2023, with a client of hers starting her own business by leasing rooms out to small local businesses.
“The studio is located locally to me,” Kaitlyn explains. “It’s based in a newly refurbished workspace building, decorated with minimalist style decor in neutral tones.
“I love minimalism. It helps me work better as it helps to create a calm space. The decor reflex’s my personality, my work, and my clients.”
“I opened Kaitlyn Jay Studio because I wanted to work for myself,” she shares. “I wanted the freedom to promote what I love and create work that I love to do.
“Because of this, I attract clients to my business that also love the specific style of work I create. I’ve also got added flexibility and I’m able to set my own hours.”
Kaitlyn shares that her most popular service in the salon is builder gel in a bottle overlays. “My clients have fallen in love with being able to strengthen and grow out their own nails,” she says.
“My typical client is definitely someone who loves plain colours and french. I definitely do a lot of French in the salon! They tend to opt for a clean, fresh aesthetic and I love it.”
“The studio is very on-trend aesthetically right now. I feel like we’re all loving the minimal vibe! My clients love the salon too, and we all agree it makes us all feel so peaceful and relaxed.”
“I loved the whole experience of designing my salon. It’s wonderful – picking all of the furniture, and adding the tiny little details,” Kaitlyn beams. “It’s so special watching all the hard work come together to create a beautiful space that you can call your own”
“I honestly love the fact that it’s all mine. You can look around and see all the hard work paying off. Creating a safe, relaxing space for your clients to come to and be pampered and chat is amazing.
“Everything is to your taste, and you have everything in its place exactly how you want it,” she smiles. “The space is yours and you can do whatever you want with it, there’s nobody to answer to. The freedom is the best.”