Nail boss converts old Staffordshire church to pink fairytale HQ
What started out as a fairytale-themed nail salon for Annabel Maginnis has expanded into a global brand, with the recent opening of her new headquarters in a former Staffordshire church. Ms Maginnis , owner and creator of Nails by Annabel, began her journey painting nails from her mum's kitchen table in Newcastle-under-Lyme.Seven years on, her global brand is now called Glitterbels, and she has moved the salon and headquarters to a nearby converted methodist church, decked out in a fairytale theme.The original church columns have been transformed with gold leaf, clouds on the ceiling, and the walls, floors and radiators painted pink with 100 gallons of paint.
The £500,000 transformation of the church on Watlands View took two years, Ms Maginnis told the BBC. She said: "We wanted to find a building that was large enough for everything we wanted - multiple training rooms, stock, product shop and our salon."When we walked in, we got a really nice feeling for it. It's quite unusual, it's a fairytale immersive world when you walk in now."She said the main room of the church has become one of the largest training facilities for nail technicians in the UK.
With over 17,000 nail students across the world, the company supports nail tech, as well as selling its own brand of acrylic and gel nail powders and polish. "My original salon [in Lower Street] was a magical wonderland with a full sized white stallion unicorn who had a pink mane and Swarovski crystal horn - and this HQ is several stages more extra than that," she said. The new 850 square metre space has a nail salon with space for up to 10 nail technicians, as well as a retail space open for customers.The headquarters was launched to the public on 17 May with 50 guests receiving hour long complimentary treatments. Ms Maginnis said: "I love bringing glitter and joy into people's lives, whether that's the customers or the thousands of nail techs I help to train every single year. "I used to be a nail tech and now I help nail techs."
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