JUST THE BUSINESS
Rising to the challenge of changing times
A Wishaw nail technician took the chance to retrain during lockdown and has brought her new creations to work as she reopened her store.
Frances Smith was forced to close Beauty Box in Glasgow Road as restrictions were tightened across the country.
But after hearing the UK Government’s call for workers to retrain, she decided to put her spare time to good use.
And as Beauty Box opened back up this week, Frances showed off some of her stained glass and rock artwork which she believes will help her business survive the Covid crisis.
She said: “Before Covid began we had various beauty therapists and I was doing nails.
“Now I have two beauty therapists back, but only part-time – so I was thinking how is the shop going to survive? I’ve had the shop for seven years and I was worried.
“The government grants have helped the shop survive and stay in the high street, without which would have undoubtedly meant closure.
“I saw Boris on the telly speaking about retraining and I thought I’m going to have a go at that.
“I’m dyslexic, so I knew I wanted to do something artistic and have been doing stained glass artwork.
“I’m a keen Munro bagger and especially love hiking up the side of Ben Lomond to collect rocks and I’ve been incorporating rock into my glass art as well.
“For example, I’ll make a mountain scene from the glass then I’ll run the rocks through the glass to create more texture for the mountains.
“It’s a truly Scottish artwork as the glass is made in Glasgow.”
Frances’ artwork is now on sale at Beauty Box and has received great reviews on the store’s social media channels.
She is now very optimistic about the future providing the UK does not have another lockdown.
“We are fully booked over the next few weeks so that’s been great to see,” said Frances.
“On the first day we opened I didn’t realise just how much I missed speaking to so many people.
“My dogs are great but their patter isn’t very good!
“But I’m positive about the future. Wishaw isn’t a bad old place.
“All the comments we’ve had have been really positive so I’m hoping we can keep that going.”
Log onto the store’s social media channels to view Frances’ stunning artwork.
A former bus driver is celebrating after launching his first sweet shop.
Candyman Marc Welsh, 33, from Wishaw opened up his new unit in Airdrie last week, after a lockdown project proved more successful than he bargained for.
Marc initially set up the business through Facebook, but its ongoing popularity and increased demand encouraged him to expand his confectionery empire.
Specialising in classic pick ‘n’ mix fayre, Marc’s shop has a choice of scores of different sweets.
He said: “The popularity of the page just grew and there’s now more than 180 different types of pick ‘n’ mix sweets available.
“From retro to the in-thing products with the younger generation, I knew I had to take the next step.
“After a few months of ill health, I decided to leave the bus industry behind and make this a full-time project.
“We have had lots of positive feedback so far and hopefully as we grow the feedback will only get better. “I have such a fantastic customer base back in Wishaw. “Even though the new unit is in Airdrie I am still committed to offering my regular customers a great service by providing home deliveries from Monday to Saturday.
“The aim is to have this unit in Airdrie and a shop based in Wishaw in the coming months.”