Aberdeen nail salon owner Sammy Grant explains why Polish is such a success Sammy Grant is sitting in a cosy cafe in Rosemount, just a stone's throw from just one of her Polish Nail and Beauty bars. She's cradling a cup of tea when I arrive to chat to her about her award winning nail art, a discipline that is so intricate, precise and quite often quirky. I have to admit that I am slightly disappointed to notice that wrapped around said cup of tea are a set of perfectly manicured fingers - finished cleanly in a glossy shade of red without so much a hand painted love heart in sight. "I'm a classic red girl," she explains. A classic red manicure is what I like, it's my statement look! For this 28-year-old, it might be a statement look, but for her clients there is only one thing they want from Sammy - her expertly crafted nail art that takes its inspiration from the latest movies, client's pets and even seasonal sweets. "There has never been anyone come in with a design and we've said "no, we can't do that." If we don't know how, we find out how!" she laughs. Dreaming Big Intricate works on ten tiny blank canvases may be Sammy's true calling, but it was a chance six month course while waiting for her university degree to begin that uncovered her creative talents. Encouraged by her mother to do something in the interim period, she picked a beauty course at the local college and in her words, exclaimed: "I'll do that; it will be nice and easy." She never thought she'd love it and never want to leave. Ever since that moment, Sammy has built up a clientele any salon owner in the city would buff, file and gloss to have, setting up her first salon Polish in Bridge of Don in 2010 - and winning UK Nail Salon of the Year just three years later. "I couldn't get my head around why we had won when we were up against the big London salons - just couldn't understand it," Sammy reminisces. When you see their salons and you see their set up and the money they have and how professional they are, I couldn't understand it. But when I spoke to the judges, they said [Polish] was the friendliest salon they had ever been in. It isn't hard to imagine though - Sammy's smiling down-to-earth demeanor seems to rub off on her staff and one would imagine stepping in to one of Polish's two salons is like heading for a girly night in with a friend. Nailed It What is curious though is why Aberdonians have swapped their classic one-colour manicures for sharp tapered talons, high shine gel polishes and nail art so striking, it's practically passé if at least one nail doesn't feature even a tiny rose or a smattering of ombre glitter. Sammy explains: "The growth of the nail art industry has been phenomenal. People aren't scared of it like they used to be. We still have our die-hard customers who want a standard French, but not like we used to. What began as a complimentary addition soon grew through word of mouth and Polish's nail art quickly became its signature - and had customers lining up, fingers outstretched to have the latest looks adorning their nails. "There was so much demand - I think because nobody else in Aberdeen has really offered the service that we offered," Sammy adds. Since then, Polish's unique take on talon artistry has completely taken off, regularly drawing in customers who want more than just a pretty design. Sammy adds: "We do have a couple of customers who like really crazy designs, like, really crazy! "They'll come in with a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles box and say "can you put this on my nails?" Personally it's not what I would put on my nails but I love doing it, and seeing the end results. My favourite has been the Creme Eggs because we did them right on Easter for a regular customer who comes in every two weeks and it's her who gets a lot of the crazy ones. She came in and she said "I want Creme Eggs" and it was just perfect timing." The Nail Revolution Now with her nails firmly gripping a number of awards for her beautiful works of art, the next step for Polish is to give a little buff and shine to Cults salon Beauty Uncovered, which is set to become the chain's third site in the city. But that's not all. With hopes to have five salons in the city by the end of the year, dreams to take the Polish name national and an idea to launch a line of nail polishes, it seems like Sammy Grant has well and truly nailed the competition. With a slick of that red polish of course. Have you given your nails a makeover at Polish before?