TECH TALK

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Brighton nail artist: mixed media allows me to create nail art with greater impact

By Lilly Delmage | 13 June 2025

Get to know Scratch Stars Mixed Media Artist of the Year finalist 2025, Sabre van Dijk, in an exclusive interview on her career journey and why she applied for the competition… Tell us about your nail journey… I’ve studied art for as long as I can remember: Photography at the University…

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Award-winning nail tech: How I’ve found success despite suffering with fibromyalgia

By Guest Writer | 7 June 2025

Kirsty Brown is the owner of Paintbrush Nails, Stirling, Scotland, which is the Scratch Stars Home Nail Salon of the Year 2024 & a finalist for 2025. Here, she shares about her experiences with fibromyalgia… Fibromyalgia is a long-term condition that causes widespread pain, fatigue and cognitive difficulties. It can be…

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Powys nail salon: where rustic charm meets luxury beauty treatments

By Lilly Delmage | 7 June 2025

Jodie Evans, owner of Wales salon, Nail Envy, speaks to Scratch about the journey of building her thriving nail business. “Nail Envy is designed to feel like a luxurious home-from-home, combining rustic charm with modern elegance,” says Jodie. “The interior features brickwork, warm wood tones and plush velvet chairs –…

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Greater Manchester nail tech: Why I closed a bustling salon to open a home-based business

By Rebecca Hitchon | 22 March 2025

Nina of Wigan home salon, Nina Nicholson Beauty & Lecenté lead educator, shares why a huge career switch was the best decision she ever made… Nina Nicholson opened her first salon at the age of 18, and went on to acquire a larger premises a few years later. After building…

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Lancashire manicurist: How I built a business & community by mentoring nail techs

By Hannah Beth Clayton | 20 March 2025

Hannah Beth Clayton, natural nail specialist, CND™ UK ambassador, educator & mentor, kickstarts her monthly online column by sharing her mentoring journey… Years ago, if you’d told me that I’d be mentoring and educating other beauty professionals, I probably would have laughed. Like most people in this industry, I started…

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Kent nail artist: How I navigate nail competitions with autism & ADHD

By Guest Writer | 18 March 2025

Jade Barber, founder of Nail & Beauty Excellence & Scratch Stars L&P Tech of the Year 2022, shares her experiences of neurodiversity in the nail arena… I began competing early in my nail career, as my educator entered me into a student category at a Professional Beauty nail competition. Without…

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Staffordshire tech: Working from a home salon has been the best decision I’ve made

By Lilly Delmage | 15 March 2025

Katie Pritchard of Katie Lou Nail Artist and Educator opens her salon’s doors to Scratch and shares the benefits of becoming a home-based tech. Having been in the nail industry for 20 years, Katie has experimented with a variety of ways of working. She says: “I have worked as a…

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Becoming a nail tech at 16: I was the youngest student Bryony Howell had ever trained

By Lilly Delmage | 9 March 2025

17-year-old self-employed nail tech, Ruby Galluzzo, opens up about the journey that led her to pursue a nail career at such a young age. “I first became interested in nails when I was only eight-years-old, but my passion grew massively in 2020 during lockdown. That’s when I really started dreaming…

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Meet Corrine Jackson: the nail tech behind Molly-Mae Hague’s manicures

By Lilly Delmage | 5 March 2025

Nail tech & educator, Corrine Jackson, who has tended to the nails of influencer, Molly-Mae Hague, for over five years, shares her experiences of and advice for working with high-profile clients. Working with celebrity clients “I started doing Molly-Mae’s nails after the first lockdown, when my husband, who’s a builder,…

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