SALON IN THE SPOTLIGHT: Tammy Hobson at Fingerlicious

Starting out in 2011, Tammy Hobson  orginally turned to nails while she was on maternity leave. “While I was preganant with my second child, a sought out nail courses to keep busy and found that I really enjoyed them,” Tammy explains. “I started off just practicing on myself, family and friends but when I returned to work my oldest son started to show problems at school. This lead to a diagnosis of autism, ADHD, PDA and sleep disorder. I was regularly called home from work, so I realised I had to do a job that could fit around my son better.”

This led Tammy to consider pursuing her passion for nails full-time. “Fingerlicious was created, and I started working out of my dining room at home and mobile to fit around school. I discovered quite quickly that I enjoyed the art side of things and my collection of stamping plates, colours and brushes grew to the point that storage became an issue while still being mobile.

“I convinced my husband to convert our play room into a permanent work space for me and my business has grown and grown from there. I’m currently still in my little room but plan on renting a premise locally in the near future as now my son is at secondary and life is a little more predictable.

Working from her home has seen Tammy create a private, welcoming space for her clients. “Fingerlicious has a friendly feel,” Tammy smiles. “Clients will often have a cuppa and a chat even after the appointment is over. My husband pops in to chat with regulars, as some even bring their children over to play with my boys.

“As I’m the only girl in the house, I took the opportunity to create a girly feminine space. I used soft pinks and a vintage-feel feature paper; the room isn’t the largest so I tried to keep things light and fresh. Clients have commented that it’s a relaxing space and they feel they get some down time during their apps which is lovely. I display my certificates as I think it’s reassuring for people to see that although I work from home I am qualified and up to date with my skills and even GDPR. I purposely incorporated them into the room decor but without being the main focus.

“I offer gel polish manicure and acrylic nails services, as well as pedicure, cluster lashes and classic lashes, lash lifts and tints. I’m lucky to have a lot of clients that love nail art and I get to do really out-there designs. They know that they can bring an outfit or something to me and we’ll create a design to complement it, or we can create a look combining their favourite Disney character. I set time aside to really put the effort into the art without being restricted to a salon timed slot.”