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: Kelly’s Beauty Box

By Carter Rogers | 23 November 2023

Completing her training as a beauty therapist in 2009 and qualifying as a nail technician the following year, Kelly opted to open her own salon after six years of salon experience in 2016.  She kept her salon home-based for the first five years after branching out on her own, but…

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‘Here’s why I actively promote my salon as gender inclusive’

By Rebecca Hitchon | 17 November 2023

Is it clear that your business is inclusive to all? Some gender norms and discrimination can hold people back from entering salon spaces. Sarah Brown, owner of Angel Avenue salon and training school in Atherton, Lancashire, reveals that she was prompted to promote her salon as a gender and trans…

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Salon in the Spotlight: Claire Georgina Beauty Room, Worcestershire

By Carter Rogers | 2 November 2023

After a very successful business in the baking industry, Claire Welch decided it was time for a career change to allow her to have better time management in her personal life and swapped the bakery for the nail salon, an industry which she had been fascinated with for a long…

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Salon in the Spotlight: Crystal Tips, Kenfig Hill, Wales

By Carter Rogers | 1 November 2023

For Welsh salon, Crystal Tips, 2023 has been a year of recognition and success.  In May 2023, the team at Crystal Tips were delighted to be announced as the winners of Nail Salon of the Year at the Welsh Hair & Beauty Awards. From this, creative director, Sarah Nicholls was…

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Salon in the Spotlight: Nails By Rae Florence, Caldicot, Wales

By Carter Rogers | 26 October 2023

Rae Florence was set to begin her primary education training this September but in a turn of events, she listened to her gut feeling and set out to pursue her dream of running her own salon. From a young age, Rae had been fascinated with the world of nails and…

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Salon in the Spotlight: Beauty By Chelsea, Newhall Swadlincote, Derbyshire

By Carter Rogers | 20 October 2023

After training in 2009 and qualifying in 2012 at Burton Collage, Chelsea Tipper went on to train with CND™ Shellac before opening her own salon in 2020. “My little building has been various things in the past but everyone always talks about the time it was a chip shop and…

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