Refurb wins salon prize at beauty awards
A Leicestershire salon has recently won the top prize in a prestigious regional hair and beauty awards.
Salon 45 Hair Lounge received the Best New or Refurbished Salon 2020 at the Salon Awards.
Owner Bethany Sole and her partner, Marc Grant, purchased 8 Woodgate, Rothley, in February 2020 just before the initial outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic.
After the UK went into its first national lockdown, salons across the country closed, and the couple did not know when they would be allowed to open their doors again.
Bethany and Marc were left with a dilapidated building and a cabbage patch for a garden, so they decided to start renovation work on the premises, which at one point had a skeleton exterior.
Bethany said: “We really do consider ourselves to be not only the best new salon in Leicestershire but the safest one too!
“Just being a finalist would have been a massive achievement, but to win the award was amazing considering we have only been open for five months.”
The couple used lockdown and their knowledge of the restrictions to make Salon 45 Covid-secure, ensuring each new section remained two metres apart. They also included bifolding doors to increase airflow and a spacious garden area for customers to remove their mask while waiting for their appointments.
Salon 45 won after submitting an essay, pictures and a video, highlighting how their business was different to others in the county, to a panel of four judges.
Bethany said: “Usually, we would be invited to an awards ceremony for the finals, but this year it was 2020-style - pyjamas and Zoom!”
“We are so proud to receive this award after months of uncertainty. Hopefully it will be one of many.”
Leicester football legend Alan Birchenall was one of the salon’s first clients, and he cut the ribbon to mark its opening day, right.