A TOP Scottish award has come to Benarty and winner Vicki Murphy sees it opening up an exciting 2020 for her.

Lochore lady Vicki won the Outstanding Nail Salon of the Year gong at the Scottish Hair and Beauty Awards event held at the Double Tree Hilton Hotel, in Glasgow.

Vicki’s business is called ‘Glamtrix by Vix’ and is based at the Eclipse Salon, in Benarty Square, Ballingry, where she has built up a large clientele.

The thing is that just four years ago the 43 year-old was working in the banking industry with Lloyds TSB.

Said Vicki: “I only went full-time as a nail tech in September 2018 and I honestly had no idea I had been nominated for the Outstanding Nail Salon award by clients.

“I started in 2015 combining my work in the bank with working from home, helping people find their best nail solutions and bit by bit things grew and I started to feel that this was the way ahead for me.”

Vicki admits that husband David’s encouragement eventually persuaded her to leave the bank, and go into creating beautiful nail designs for people, on a full-time basis.

She added: “David said to me ‘you clearly are loving what you are doing so just go for it’, and that gave me the confidence to leave my comfort zone of the bank and start in a salon in Dunfermline.

“Bit by bit things started to develop well and I was delighted to get the chance to rent my space at Eclipse and my client base has grown so well.”

Such is how impressed her clients are with her work, they nominated her for the national award and it was about eight weeks later that she realised she was in the frame for this prestigious Scottish award.

Vicki had to put together a portfolio of her work and submit it to a judging panel and when she found out she had made the final she was ‘shocked’.

Her portfolio included items on her work on transforming extreme nail biters into ceasing the habit and working with disabled people.

“When I found out that I was in a group of ten finalists, from places like Aberdeen, Glasgow and Edinburgh, I thought I had no chance of winning,” said the Benarty nail tech.

“When I went through to the final, in Glasgow, I felt just enjoy the experience and when the MC announced that I was the winner I could not believe what I was hearing.

“It was the icing on the cake of a marvellous evening where I met so many very interesting people and found myself learning by just being there”.

It has been a great way to end 2019 but already the Lochore lady is looking ahead: “I am hoping to do more training for there are always so many things coming along and I want to keep pace with it all.

“I hope to keep building my client base but I have to thank husband David for his input and the support from the rest of my family.”

Vicki will also have an interest in the Fife Retail Industry Awards in February as Eclipse has been nominated for the finals.