Salon Blends Hair and Help for the Community

The owner of an award-winning salon has acquired yet another accolade not only for her hairdressing, but for the support she has offered to her customers throughout the coronavirus pandemic.

Sarah Jane Thompson started her first business when she was just 19. Since then, she has gone on to establish her own salon in Long Bennington - The Blossom Tree Aveda Hair & Beauty Salon.

Since being established, the salon has attained various awards and recognitions, including a Five Star rating by the Good Salon Guide, as well as being highly commended in the Best Start-up Category in this year's Newark Business Awards.

This time around, Sarah Jane's blossoming brand won silver in the UK's Best Business Women Awards 2021, having been selected from thousands of entries. The judges were particularly impressed of the help she and her team had offered to their clients - such as shopping or picking up a prescription - while the salon was forced to close.

"Best Business Women Awards recognise exceptional business women who stand out," said an awards spokesman. "The judges described the salon as a community within a community. Sarah has owned the business since the age of 19 and could not attend university, but she has still been an amazing success. Her drive and passion have created something very special within her industry."

Of winning the honour, Sarah Jane said:

The fact we can reopen with the award behind us is incredible. It has been very difficult throughout lockdown, so it is so nice to have your work recognised.

In helping our customers, we wanted them to still feel a part of the family. An older client I talked to the other day said I was the first person to speak to him in at least a month - so it was about keeping them updated.

Winning something like this shows other women they can be successful even if they did not go to university, like me. I have always strived to be successful. We are going for gold next year.

Sarah opened on Monday in accordance with government guidelines. The team will be working 15-hour days to start with to see a backlog of clients desperate for a trim!

This article was written by Abigail Hunt - [email protected]