Salon in the Spotlight: Blackheart Beauty, North Shields
By Chloe Randall | 21 September 2023 | Feature, Salon & Spas
After working in the beauty industry since 2004 and training with Kirsty Meakin, Emily Ferguson and other prestigious nail techs, Tara Stephenson opened her dream salon in 2020 but sadly it was closed due to the pandemic. Now, she has transformed her spare room into her own nail sanctuary with her own quirks…
When the salon closed, Tara’s confidence was knocked and she decided that the best option for her was to work from home.
“I had regular clients at the salon and I thought I could build my brand back up slowly with the safety net of working from home as the uncertainty from the pandemic was still in the air.
“I anxiously opened my diary with the hope that maybe one person would at least book in but as soon as I opened my diary, I have been fully booked since and gained new clients along the way. I am so thankful for this as I was terrified that working from home would put people off and would affect my bookings, but because I have put a lot of energy into creating a salon environment it really hasn’t.
After making the decision to work from home, Tara turned her spare room into a little nail sanctuary and tried to make it resemble a salon as much as possible. “My inspiration for my nail space has come from tattoo shops and alternative beauty salons. I collect weird nik naks from charity shops and art from small businesses. I am always getting complimented on all the weird bits I have in my salon and I love it.
“The feeling I am trying to create is a safe, inclusive space for anyone. A lot of my clients are very alternative like me and the standard nail salon environment isn’t usually for them. I want to create a space that is a feast for the eyes and somewhere people really enjoy coming to.
Working alone in the salon, Tara offers a range of nail services including gel polish, builder gel and extensions with nail art, using products from The GelBottle Inc. “My most popular treatment is builder gel with nail art.
“I promote healthy nails and growth for my clients so when I gain a new client, it is usually because they would like to grow their nails and other ways and salons haven’t worked.
“I have my own unique alternative style and I feel it is not like many other home salons in my area. I offer hand painted detailed nail art and extra long appointments to accommodate my client’s nail art requests. I also I like to create a strong social media presence in which I interact with my clients a lot so I feel like my business is an extension of my social life.
“My favourite thing about my salon is the style and décor and the fact that I can continually change it up. It is my own private art gallery to showcase my art work on client’s nails.
With a dream to one day reopen her own nail studio again, Tara also wants to grow her brand and start teaching budding nail students after recently completing her qualification.