A passion becomes a business with ‘Best in Show’
DOG grooming champion Kelly Murphy has opened ‘Best in Show’, her own grooming salon on the Vevay Road in Bray.
‘I was working out in Firhouse for the last three years,’ she said. ‘Before that I was working in a pet shop in Carrickmines.’
Kelly had always wanted to do grooming, and knew it was a hard industry to get into.
She had studied animal care at BIFE and wanted to go on to do further training.
‘You never stop training,’ said Kelly. ‘You’re constantly updating your skills and information. There are hundreds of dog breeds so there’s always more to learn.’
She went on to teach the night course in Dun Laoghaire in grooming. ‘When I was working in Firhouse, I started doing the grooming competitions,’ said Kelly, who is from Boghall Road.
For the competitions, she would use a dog belonging to a customer. The process involves growing their hair out over a number of weeks, doing research, and then entering into certain categories.
Those in the industry for more than three years go into the ‘open category’. For people with fewer years of experience, it’s the novice category. And people who win a number of awards go on to compete in the champion category.
Kelly has been doing competitions for about two years now.
Last October, she won the best novice in show at the Irish Professional Dog Groomers competition. She competed in two categories and came first with both dogs, as well as winning the overall prize in her category.
Then she went on to the open category, and came first in the open scissor category of All-Ireland Counties Grooming.
In January, she went to Kuala Lumpar in Malaysia for a 10-day grooming course, which was an amazing experience. ‘The standard of grooming is really high there,’ said Kelly.
She said that she is on the lookout for dogs for competing, as her previous canine competing friends were from the Tallaght area. They receive free grooming for months to get the right shape for the event.
A dog-lover all her life, Kelly has three dogs – Twiggy, Birch and Paris, two whippets and a poodle.
She went to Krufts in March with one of whippets and they got third.
‘Dog show days used to be very relaxed with the whippets,’ she said. ‘Now I have the poodle. As soon as we get there I’m scissoring.’
The opening of the business all happened quite quickly. Kelly was not working, due to Covid-19.
‘There was a dog grooming business on the same site before. ‘I saw the To Let sign outside and went for it,’ she said. ‘I’m loving it so far. I’m booked out for the next couple of weeks anyway.’
She said that the dogs themselves are a walking advertisement, so the better her work, then the better the marketing.
Her goal was always to have her own business, with her sights set on a luxury-style dog grooming parlour.
‘I wanted the training and experience to back up the grooming I wanted to do,’ said Kelly.
She has always had dogs, and doesn’t remember not having a dog at home. As she got older, her interest developed into the shows and grooming, combining her beloved hobby and career.
To contact Kelly, call 085 1636259.