Magazine for the professional nail industry.
Issue link: http://nailsmag.epubxp.com/i/128780
Indulgent spa pedicure chairs contribute to the salon's relaxed and comfortable yet social environment. In the coming months, Polish Nail & Beauty plans to expand its pedicure area. of nail industry awards, most recently Professional Beauty's 2013 Nail Salon of the Year. Manicures start at £20 — roughly $30 — for a mini mani, and go as high as £42 — about $64 — for acrylic extensions. However, each week Polish Nail & Beauty runs one treatment off its menu at a highly discounted rate to keep services even more affordable. IN AND AROUND ABERDEEN Polish Nail & Beauty is based in a shopping complex in a large residential area. According to Grant, Aberdeen is known for its lucrative oil and gas industry. "Lucky for us, with a lot of oil comes a lot of women who love to pamper themselves," says Grant. "Our majority customer base is between 21 to 40 years old." Grant always felt Aberdeen lacked high-quality nail salons, so she knew it would be a good place to settle. In early 2010, she went on a hunt for the perfect salon premises. Her criteria included a location with high foot traffic, at least 1,000 square feet, and free, convenient customer parking. "I wouldn't have settled for any location that didn't tick all the boxes," says Grant. According to Polish Nail & Beauty's website, the salon is New York-inspired and created to bring the local beauty salon back into the social scene. The website boasts an easily accessible online booking system and countless images of the salon's nail art repertoire. "Due to the demand being high in the growing nail industry and the fact that we have very little competition 122 | NAILS MAGAZINE | JUNE 2013 because of where we're based, we have a very large target market," says Grant. Polish Nail & Beauty's annual revenue in its first year was approximately $205,000. Today, it's over $300,000. FREE-HAND NAIL ART FOR ALL While Polish Nail & Beauty offers a variety of nail services, including Bio Sculpture gel overlays and acrylics, the salon's free-hand nail art takes the cake. "Our nail art is really popular and basically based on whatever the customer wants or likes," says Grant. "Most of the time it's very personal." A handful of popular designs created by Polish Nail & Beauty nail techs over time are chronicled on the salon's Facebook page and website. "I found that the nail art demand has grown steadily over the past few years — now we hardly do any plain colors or French without adding some kind of extra detail," she says. Grant and her staff are improving their gel nail art services as well. "Since we received Be Creative Gel Paints recently, our average service time has decreased," says Grant, who's now an educator with Be Creative. "We offer gel-polish with full nail art in an hour's time — it's a great, quick turnaround." In-house training is offered on a weekly basis with a strong focus on nail art skills and troubleshooting. The staff keeps up to date with new techniques and products mainly through trade publications and social media. Grant encourages them to continue entering in nail art competitions around the U.K. "I've always been very nail-focused and have won a lot of