SALON & SPAS

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Unique salon décor: The Birmingham nail salon featuring a piano as its reception desk

By Lilly Delmage | 6 January 2025

Founder of Birmingham-based nail studio, Icey’s Beauty Lounge, Aysana Druga, shares the story behind the salon’s impressive entrance… In 2015, Aysana and her husband spotted a piano in the window of a charity shop. She recalls: “We had no idea where it was going to go at the time, so…

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From DIY nails to owning a home salon: how one tech turned her passion into a business

By Lilly Delmage | 9 December 2024

Bedfordshire-based nail tech, Jodie Day of @talonsbyjodie, started her nail journey simply wanting to learn how to do her own nails, however she enjoyed the training so much that she decided to turn it into her career. Jodie began her training in 2021 while pregnant, seeking a creative outlet. She…

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Award-winning home salon owner: the 5 essential tips for success

By Lilly Delmage | 2 December 2024

Scratch Stars Home Nail Salon of the Year 2024 winner, Kirsty Brown of @paintbrushnails, shares her top tips for building a successful home salon… Having won the prestigious Scratch Stars accolade for her Stirling-based home salon, we asked Kirsty to share her top tips to inform and inspire nail techs…

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South Devon tech: At 30 I decided to train as a nail technician – and I’ve never looked back

By Lilly Delmage | 29 November 2024

Having undergone a career swap at the age of 30, Devon-based nail tech Bonni Higson, the owner of Bonni File’n’Style in Dawlish, shares her story… After having children, Bonni decided to train as a nail technician. She says: “I enrolled at South Devon College and qualified at NVQ level 2…

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The Suffolk nail tech who transformed her lockdown hobby into a thriving salon business

By Lilly Delmage | 7 November 2024

Jemma Cornell, behind JC Nails, started her nail journey during lockdown in 2020 and four years later, has transformed her hobby into a full-time career. The Suffolk-based tech felt she needed something to ‘keep her busy’ during the challenging Covid-19 period, and decided training in nails was the answer. She…

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How a part-time job at a nail brand inspired an employee to become a nail tech

By Lilly Delmage | 30 October 2024

Ellie Toms’ part-time job at nail brand, Lecenté, inspired her career change to become a nail technician. Here’s her story… The now tech ‘fell in love’ with the brand’s products, so much so that it inspired her to become a nail tech so she was able to use them. The…

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10 Halloween-ready salons to give you inspiration

By Scratch Staff | 27 October 2024

Halloween offers a perfect opportunity to have some fun in the nail space, so take inspiration from salons that have got clients in the spooky spirit with themed décor… 1. Beauty by Joan, Wisconsin, USA 2. Hope HQ, Manchester, UK 3. Hush Salon, Leeds, UK 4. Revel Salon, New York,…

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I visited TGB Spa in Brighton for a luxury pedicure – & here’s how it went

By Lilly Delmage | 24 October 2024

Nail brand, The GelBottle Inc, has opened its much-anticipated TGB Spa: a sanctuary for beauty treatments in the bustling city of Brighton. I was invited to explore the space and indulge in a Luxury TGB Gel Pedicure – and it didn’t disappoint. I arrived at Brighton train station and I tapped…

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Townhouse salon announces launch of Covent Garden location & Festive Collection

By Callie Iley | 13 December 2022

Scratch Stars Nail Salon of the Year 2022, Townhouse, has unveiled its eighth location in The Yards, Covent Garden, alongside the launch of the Townhouse Festive Collection. The salon Located within a few minutes’ walk from Covent Garden tube station, the salon sees Townhouse’s signature Insta-worthy décor brought to the…

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Gemma Hill Meraki Salon In The Spotlight

Salon in the Spotlight: Meraki, Bulkington, Warwickshire

By Callie Iley | 8 December 2022

Salon in the Spotlight: Meraki, Bulkington, Warwickshire Gemma Hill qualified as a nail technician in 2016, engaging in extensive training with CJP Nail Systems alongside 1-2-1 sessions with other nail technicians. She set up working in a salon, however due to the lockdown in 2020, the salon closed. This encouraged…

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Simply Perfection Beauty Salon In The Spotlight

Salon in the Spotlight: Simply Perfection Beauty, Canterbury, Kent

By Callie Iley | 1 December 2022

Salon in the Spotlight: Simply Perfection Beauty, Canterbury, Kent Shelley Read didn’t initially pursue a career in nails, despite wanting to enter the beauty industry when she left school. “I finally trained up in 2019, and I can’t believe I didn’t do it sooner,” Shelley beams. “My salon is located…

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Salon in the Spotlight: Indigo Pearl Beauty, Southend-on-Sea

By Callie Iley | 24 November 2022

Salon in the Spotlight: Indigo Pearl Beauty, Southend-on-Sea Having worked as a mobile beauty therapist for seven years, Victoria Marston dreamed of having her own home-based salon space. However, she was limited due to where she was living. “Business was put on hold when lockdown happened in 2020, which is…

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Salon in the Spotlight: SB Nails, Basingstoke

By Callie Iley | 17 November 2022

Salon in the Spotlight: SB Nails, Basingstoke After working in education as a learning support assistant and art therapist within a school, Sonia Brown decided it was time for a career change. “I knew that my new career path wasn’t going to be in education, it was going to be…

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Salon in the Spotlight: Sweetcheeks Salon, Shrewsbury

By Callie Iley | 10 November 2022

Salon in the Spotlight: Sweetcheeks Salon, Shrewsbury Sweetcheeks Salon, Telford was first established in 2015 by Sophie Williams, who had previously worked as a mobile tech for 12 years. Sophie branched into education in 2019, starting her own training academy, and the Telford salon began to expand. “I had been…

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