An inspirational Lanarkshire entrepreneur is celebrating after winning big at the Scottish Hair and Beauty Awards.
Maryann McArthur, owner of Bedazzle Your Digits, was overwhelmed to scoop the top award in the 'nail salon of the year' category.
The talented nail technician was shocked to win in the hotly contested category, which saw her compete against 10 other prestigious salons from Lanarkshire and across the country.
The mother-of-two lives in Upperton with her husband Ian and two sons Jack and Nicki.
She told Lanarkshire Live : “I was shocked and over the moon and the night was a blur, but after that I was on cloud nine.
“My husband Ian is very proud of me and he has helped a lot with the salon and has been my backbone and is always encouraging me.
“I wasn’t even going to go to the awards night, but my husband and my family encouraged me to go along.”
The former St Margaret’s High pupil is passionate about her nail art and was delighted to win the award having been open for less than three years.
She told us : “It’s a wee bit unbelievable in a way. There were definitely a lot of great businesses in the same category and I thought I had no chance.
“My customers were over the moon and some of them bought me flowers and cards and they all helped me get there and are really pleased that I have won.”
However, it has been a long road for Maryann, who after qualifying as a nail technician from New College Lanarkshire’s Coatbridge campus in 2017, had to put her career on hold after she was diagnosed with breast cancer.
But following successful treatment she was finally able to open the doors to her own salon in the former Airdrie Savings Bank building in Stirling Street, Airdrie just two years later.
She explained: “I qualified in 2017 and then I got diagnosed with breast cancer and I had to take some time out for treatment.
“Once that was done, I registered as a nail technician and did a wee bit of work in a hairdressers in Airdrie and after that I worked from home for a while.
“It was then that I spotted the premises in the former Airdrie Savings Bank and I haven’t looked back.”
She told us: “It has been challenging but that has made it even better to win the award because I’ve not been doing it for that long.”
And now Maryann is looking forward to a bright future and is determined to take her thriving business to the next level following her recent well deserved accolade.
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