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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Salon in the Spotlight: LEAF Beauty, Stoke on Trent

By Callie Iley | 26 May 2022

Working in a spa up until 2017, Zoe Cook made the decision to go self-employed, spending the first three years as a makeup artist in the wedding industry. “I was inspired by my own nail artist to expand and do more, and that’s exactly what I did!” “In January 2020,…

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Salon in the Spotlight: Merrifield Beauty, Preston

By Callie Iley | 19 May 2022

Qualifying in 2010, Emma Merrifield has worked in various roles during her time in the beauty industry. However, after the birth of her second child in 2020, Emma realised it was time to take the plunge and set up her own business. “Setting up a business in the midst of…

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Salon in the Spotlight: T’studio, South Ham, Basingstoke

By Callie Iley | 12 May 2022

Gemini Lad has been in the beauty industry since 2006, setting up her first beauty salon in Bath in her early 20s before moving salons to work as a beauty salon manager in the north of England. “I ended up moving back down south, so on 1 April 2022, I…

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Salon in the Spotlight: JLR Nail Design, Indiana, USA

By Callie Iley | 5 May 2022

Jordan Ramos worked at a salon for eight years, but when it was closed, she was left with a decision to make about the future of her career. “I decided it was time to open my own nail salon, which I have now owned since 2018. I have since moved…

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Salon in the Spotlight: Euphoria Nail and Beauty Salon, Maidstone

By Callie Iley | 28 April 2022

Euphoria Nail and Beauty Salon was formally a butchers, but was transformed in 1990 by Carole Lionet, with the help of her husband. “We quickly realised that the beauty industry was becoming more and more popular, so we added beauty room after beauty room, and it morphed into Euphoria as…

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Salon in the Spotlight: A Hint Of Beauty, Pembrokeshire

By Callie Iley | 21 April 2022

During her maternity leave, Sophie Raymond decided it was time to follow her dreams of pursuing a career in the beauty industry. “I realised that life was far too short to spend every day in a career that was making me miserable. I love nothing more than making others feel…

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