‘I know Dad would be proud of our salon’
New nail bar helping mother and daughter deal with tragedy
WHEN 24-year-old Poppy Stubley lost her beloved dad, Phil Scadden, to a cycling accident last year, she said that she could not even get out of bed because of the grief.
But now, Poppy and her mum, Sam Scaddan, are just days away from opening their mother-daughter nail salon from the comfort of their home in Holmfirth - and they are fizzing with excitement.
Though it was a devastating time for them both, Poppy and Sam have said that losing the family patriarch was what encouraged them to forge ahead with this new business.
Poppy said: “I graduated from Edinburgh University two years ago after studying costume design, so I’d always been really creative and then after graduation I moved to Glasgow looking for work in that industry.
“But that industry means you don’t know where you’re working or for how long, so when my dad passed, my priorities shifted and I just wanted to be near my family.”
And Sam had a very similar experience, as she had been working for Kirklees Council for 13 years - helping at-risk families - but her job became untenable in the face of her own heartbreak.
Sam said: “I found it very difficult going back to work in that environment, I found it very difficult to go out anywhere really and the only place that I felt safe was when I’d go and get my hair and nails done.”
It was at this point that the motherdaughter entrepreneurs decided they would turn the bedroom Sam had shared with her late husband into an at-home nail salon.
Poppy said: “We miss him every day but I know how proud he is and that has made me feel better - he’s around in this room and this salon.
“In the beginning I couldn’t even get out of bed and all I could think was that I wasn’t making him proud, so I feel this helps in so many ways because we’re working and supporting each other which is everything he’d ever want in this little room.”
Sam said: “It’s hard, because every morning you wake up and it’s the same pain and you go to bed and it’s the same pain - the day is just what happens in between.
“But when you’ve got a drive and a focus, you gradually start to feel positive about something and he would be really really proud of us.”
Now, the ladies are determined to make the salon a safe space - so that their customers can have that same sense of security that they had felt at their favourite nail salons.
Poppy said: “We want it to be an alternative salon that is also open to the LGBT community and all genders, somewhere that people can talk to us.
“I’m bisexual and many of my friends are part of the LGBT community, we’ve been to salons where we didn’t feel as comfortable in so, when we did find one we felt comfortable, we wanted to stick to it.”
Sam is focusing on making sure the salon is open to all ages, too.
“For me, being 51, I would still feel as comfortable walking in here as
Poppy would in her mid 20s, so it caters to a wide age range,” she said.
One of the big hurdles for Poppy and Sam has been trying to launch a business in the middle of a global pandemic, which had already delayed their opening slightly.
However, they are now ready to open their doors to men and women of all ages and backgrounds.
They said: “We’ve found loads of support from people that are excited that something is happening in the area, even strangers have been in touch to say they think it’s great.
“Everyone has been so helpful. That’s the thing about coronavirus, it’s brought communities together.”
The Painted Parlour in Holmfirth is now ready to take bookings and the salon is kitted out with PPE and Covid safety measures.