TECHS & SALONS
Get to know the Scottish nail stylist who led nail looks for Victoria Beckham
In Sammy Mac’s two decades in the nail industry, she’s won numerous awards, opened a thriving nail salon chain and led multiple teams backstage at Fashion Week events. So what’s left on the career tick list for this Scottish nail pro? “Leading the nail team for the 2024 Victoria Beckham…
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Unique salon décor: The Birmingham nail salon featuring a piano as its reception desk
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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I’m a Scottish nail artist working in London. Here’s what I miss most…
“If anyone from outside Scotland asks me, I say I’m from Glasgow, but as Scottish folk will read this, I’m actually from Livingston,” smiles Becki Menzies. The nail pro lived in Scotland for 28 years before moving to East London in 2023, where she works within tattoo space, Soteria Studios.…
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Why nail technicians should enter the Scratch Stars Awards: tips from a nail competition maestro
Bespoke nail artist, Jiak Hing, who has won the Scratch Stars Gel Polish Stylist of the Year accolade for three consecutive years, shares insight into the competition, what to expect on the day and the benefits of entering. Why did you decide to enter the Scratch Stars Awards? To…
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Introverted nail techs: how to grow your skills & clientele comfortably
Do you love the creative aspect of being a nail professional: perfecting enhancements and getting arty, but find it challenging to converse with clients and colleagues? You’re not alone. A need to recharge after client interactions or feeling most comfortable in quiet environments are signs of introversion. The word ‘introvert’…
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From DIY nails to owning a home salon: how one tech turned her passion into a business
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
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
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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Starting as a cosy salon, Buffed Beauty Bar in Keighley, West Yorkshire, has grown with Bethany Savage’s career. After moving to a bigger premises in November, the salon has now become a Glitterbels training academy and shop. “We have an amazing team at Buffed,” smiles Bethany. “We offer everything from manicures…
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Nikki Patterson of Eat Sleep Polish, chats to Scratch about her career, hopes for the future, and how to create this perfectly peachy design… “I have been doing nails for four years and work from home in my little nail room, having trained in gel polish, acrylic, hard gel and…
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LA-based celebrity manicurist & Scratch columnist for 2020, Britney Tokyo reveals how social media helped boost her career… Before moving to the U.S., I worked as a nail artist in Tokyo and I felt such a large gap in the reality of advanced Japanese nail art and the lack of…
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Scratch chats to Eloise Oakes of Elle’s Gels & Beauty in Hertfordshire about her journey as a nail tech and the next steps in her career… “I found my love for nails as a child aged around seven or eight. I used to play around with my mum’s nail polishes…
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Jaki Logan, of Nova Nails, found inspiration within the weeks of lockdown in order to keep her business alive by launching Break Hearts, Not Nails – a clothing and product line for both professionals and consumers alike. “I started doing nails around three years ago,” explains Jaki. “I was approaching…
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After becoming a new mother last year, Alice Whitehouse decided to pursue her dream of a career in nails. Working from a newly converted home studio, Alice opened in time for the 2019 Christmas rush and business has soared since. “We had a small lean-to room off the kitchen which…
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