Sutton beauty salon wins top award

The Lash and Brow Bar were named Brow Experts of the Year for the East Midlands in the Nails Brows Lashes Awards 2020. They were also highly commended in the Lash Bar of the Year category of the awards.

Salon owner Katherine Redshaw said she was delighted with the award and the efforts of her staff.

"To win the award was a huge reward for myself and all the team, as we try so hard to provide an excellent service,” she said.

“We dedicate time to training and development, so we are always up to date with our skills.

"We were overwhelmed to have been chosen by the judges to win, it is such a fantastic achievement. To get through the first stages, you have to be nominated by your customers. Many businesses encourage their customers to vote for them, and provide links on their social media to enable them to vote more easily.

"However, we were totally unaware our customers had voted for us, as we had not done any promotion for the award this year.

"It made it all the more overwhelming knowing our customers must have voted for us in secret, enabling us to reach the finalist stage."

Since the Lash and Brow bar first opened in Sutton in 2010, demand has been so high that a further two salons have now opened – one in Alfreton in 2012, and another in Mansfield in 2018.

And the success of the business has also seen Katherine helping to inspire young beauticians in the area.

"We will continue to work closely with the local college and maintain our excellent apprenticeship scheme, encouraging and supporting our local young people to train with us,” she added.

"We have a 100 per cent proven track record of offering full time employment to all apprentices who have trained with us over the years."

Gregg Thompson, part of the apprenticeships team at West Nottinghamshire College, said: "It's really good to work with successful companies like the Lash and Brow Bar. It gives the students the opportunity they need within the customer service industry to learn and develop key skills.

"The hair and beauty industry is so popular. Its all about image today. Running an apprenticeship scheme with a company that continues to win awards is a really exciting prospect for our students."

And Katherine said there’s more to come from the growing business.

"Our goals are always to stay ahead of the game, to be leaders in our field. We strive to keep our professional edge and maintain the highest of standards. For the last two years we have won "Platinum Customer Service" in our local area (assessed by an independent outside agency).

"I have the most fantastic team consisting of a manager, senior lash and brow technicians, junior technicians and apprentices. Its a busy industry and quite demanding at times, but to keep winning the awards is the icing on the cake and goes to show that with effort, hard work and attention to detail, anybody can achieve anything they wish.

"Hopefully there will be many more awards won in the years to come."