A salon in Chandler's Ford has been shortlisted for a national award.

Jemma George Hair Artistry is in for a chance to win the Best New Salon award at the National Hair and Beauty Awards in Birmingham.

Taking place on Saturday, April 22, the luxury rep carpet event sees local hair salons recognised on the national stage.

Jemma, who owns the salon, said: “Just getting nominated for this award is incredible really.

“At the end of the day I’m just a girl from a council estate in Southampton and I don’t expect for these types of things to be happening to me.

“But everyone at the salon has worked really hard and it’s wonderful for us really, given the last couple of years everyone has had – we’ve had to work through some difficult times so it’s nice to have something to look forward to.”

Jemma has managed to put her own stamp on the business, transitioning from manager to owner during the Covid-19 pandemic.

“I was the manager of the salon before the Covid-19 pandemic but when the lockdowns struck, I had the opportunity to become the owner of the business.

“The previous owner no longer had the same motivation during that time, so I became owner on April 12, 2021.”

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Having owned the salon for not even two full years, Jemma is over the moon for the awards attention, on a night of celebrity guests and red carpet fan fair.

“We’ve never done anything like this before,” she said.

“It’s massive for team morale and I really wanted to put my stamp on the salon, so being nominated for a major award is fantastic.

“It’s one of the bigger awards in the industry.

“I was actually apprehensive about telling the girls because I didn’t want to get their hopes up.

“It could really be the start of something special for us.

“It feels like we’ve already won by just being there.”