Quarff sisters to open salon in town
Two sisters are opening their own salon - offering everything from tattoos to makeup, nails, eyebrows and eyelash services.
Nicole and Anneka Coutts, from Quarff, will soon open the doors of their Lerwick business - with the first clients set to arrive next week.
The salon, which they have taken over from Maraki hairdressers on 57 Commercial Road, has been renamed as Jemka in honour of their family.
“Jemka is wir granny, grandda and wir mam and dad’s initials,” Nicole told this newspaper.
“It’s for all the folk that’s helped wis to get where we’re at, we thought that would be quite nice.”
Anneka’s love of makeup began during the coronavirus pandemic when she would experiment with different looks.
“I started doing makeup on myself during lockdown and I absolutely loved it,” she said.
I’d do my makeup at silly hours of the morning.
“I would do this crazy, creative makeup then I’d wake Nicole up at four in the morning to take pictures of it.”
Anneka initially did not believe she could “go into a job doing that” but her frequent lockdown practice gave her the confidence to pursue a career in the beauty industry.
Alongside makeup, Anneka will also be offering a range of other services including nails, eyebrows and eyelashes.
Once she gets settled in the salon, she is also aiming to offer courses to those interested in following a similar career path.
One of Anneka’s favourite things about nails is the variety - with excitement building as Halloween is just around the corner.
“What I love about nails is everybody wants something different. I do a lot of arty, creative nails and I really enjoy it.
“I think Halloween is my favourite time of the year to do nails because it’s dark, spooky and you get all the horror kind of nails, it’s always fun.”
While she is excited about the new venture, Anneka also said she would miss her old colleagues at Inbu Beauty in Quarff.
“I’m at Inbu just noo and leaving is going to be bittersweet because it’s really nice, they’re all lovely and it’s such a welcoming space. But naturally for me, this is the next step.”
Nicole qualified as a licensed tattoo artist in March 2023 and has spent the last two and a half years working as a fine line tattoo artist.
A standard needle is five small needles which creates a “standard line” whereas fine line tattooing involves using a single needle - which means it has more intricate detail and less ink goes into the skin.
She said her and Anneka’s experiences in the beauty industry had been vital in their journey to eventually owning their own salon.
“We needed that experience in salons and see what it’s like to build it up and say ‘this is what we want to do’”
After the salon she worked at closed, Nicole was also able to continue her work on the premises until she found somewhere else to go.
“I’ve only worked in House of Boujee which was a busy salon. When it closed I was still in the room in the back,
“IFlooring took it ower they were really fine and said I could keep using the room until I fun the right place. I am honestly so grateful to them.”
Although the salon has not yet opened, Nicole said they have already been flooded with requests from their loyal clients.
She also revealed there will not be set hours at the salon as her and Anneka are aiming to work around the clients’ needs.
“We try and accommodate folk outwith working hours as well, so it will be a case of accommodating to our clients hours. It’ll be less of a set nine to five and more of a ‘what works for you’ kind of thing.”
The sisters wished to thank all their clients and everyone who has helped them to get their salon ready for the weeks ahead.
“We’ve had a lot of folk taking time off work or coming in during their weekends, they’ve been amazing. Especially our dad he’s been the main man and made it perfection.”