The Gel Club in West Street, Stamford celebrates opening and expansion

Setting up a salon is a dream for many people working in the beauty industry.

For Chloe Corbishley-Bull it has become a reality as she makes a name for herself under the company The Gel Club in Stamford.

For a number of years she worked as a call centre manager but after being made redundant at 27 she trained to become a nail technician.

Chloe said: “I realised I didn’t love my job so I wanted to find something that I enjoyed and gave me flexibility.

“As soon as I did my first course I fell in love with it.”

Initially she set up her business from home before moving on to getting experience working in a salon.

Chloe, who knew she wanted to own a salon since she first started, kept an eye out for new locations in Stamford as demand picked back up after the pandemic.

When part of the unit used by Milne Joinery in West Street became available she jumped at the chance.

“It has been a bit of a whirlwind since we opened in September,” said Chloe.

“When the opportunity came up I knew it was something I wanted to do.

“We now are all getting into the swing of things.”

Within months, Chloe looked to expand into more of the building to allow more beauticians and nail technicians to work there so they could meet the demand.

Work is now complete and the opening of the expansion was celebrated with a party at the salon on Saturday (June 10).

“Especially after the past few years the industry has really taken off,” said Chloe.

“People have all kinds of treatments and are investing massively in themselves so there is a good market for it.

“I don’t believe there are too many in Stamford - if anything there aren’t enough salons to take on new clients.”

A key focus for Chloe - who has 47,000 followers on the salon’s account ‘@thegelclubstamford’ - is education.

Inspired by the lack of training there was when she started out, Chloe has created courses at the West Street salon.

“There wasn’t any teaching about allergies which is so important to educate people on as we are handling chemicals.

“Now, there is a lot of scaremongering in news outlets and Instagram about certain brands but I teach people it is a training issue. I teach people how to prevent people developing allergies.”

As well as teaching the aspiring nail technicians, Chloe posts information on Instagram to ensure customers have all the knowledge.

The salon also offers services in brows, lashes and makeup.

Chloe said: “I hope to have a salon which is really welcoming and comfortable for people.”