A CLACKS salon owner who opened up a part time venture during lockdown has been nominated for three national awards.

Elle Adams and her beauty salon Sparkle by Elle has been nominated in three categories at this month’s Scottish Beauty Industry Awards.

It was just months before the national lockdown that Elle moved to Clackmannan. Working in the construction industry, Elle suddenly found herself with free time and rediscovered her passion for nails.

In August 2020 Elle started offering treatments such as nails, facials and waxing from her spare bedroom.

However, by the following year business was so busy she could no longer work from her spare room and so Elle, along with her help from her dad, built a small salon in her back garden.

Elle told the Advertiser: “I’ve never done anything like this before. I trained in 2017 but I didn’t do anything with it, I just trained and left it.

“I was construction based so it’s like a complete career change. I was working [in construction] then coming home and doing nails on the side and then I went full time in June last year.

“With Covid everything was so different and working from home.

“Moving town was bad enough but not being able to get out and about and meet people [was hard].

“In construction it’s more guys than girls so I just wanted to meet more people.

"I thought it would be good to start part time and then it got too busy to handle.”

Through her business Elle met her best friend Sophie almost two years ago and the salon has went from strength to strength.

Elle also runs a Client of the Month award where she selects a client and gifts them products from local businesses. She also uses the space in her salon to promote and stock local business’s products.

Sparkle by Elle is nominated for three categories in this year’s Scottish Beauty Industry Awards: Five Star Beauty Salon, Five Star Nail Salon of the Year and Nail Team of the Year.

The awards will take place at the Marriott Hotel in Glasgow on June 26.