Meet the mum bringing style to the nails of Portsmouth people

A GLAMOROUS nail salon in Hilsea is thriving thanks to the efforts of Portsmouth entrepreneur and mum-of-two Laura Davenport.
Laura Davenport at The Nail Boutique. Picture by:  Malcolm Wells (190424-9093)Laura Davenport at The Nail Boutique. Picture by:  Malcolm Wells (190424-9093)
Laura Davenport at The Nail Boutique. Picture by: Malcolm Wells (190424-9093)

Laura, 34, owns and runs the Nail Boutique, a gold and black salon in Yorke Terrace, off Copnor Road, which has recently been redecorated.

The Nail Boutique now operates in a purpose-built extension to the home Laura shares with her husband Chris and two children, aged six and two.

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Laura said: ‘I’ve always taken my business wherever I go. I started the business on my dining table and moved it to the front room until we bought the extension.’

Laura Davenport (34) with her two and a half year old daughter Addison. Picture by:  Malcolm Wells (190424-7381)Laura Davenport (34) with her two and a half year old daughter Addison. Picture by:  Malcolm Wells (190424-7381)
Laura Davenport (34) with her two and a half year old daughter Addison. Picture by: Malcolm Wells (190424-7381)

Laura started doing nails at just 17, when she was a model for a friend who was applying for a job at a nail bar. Her friend was given the job and Laura asked if she could have one too.

‘Everything to do with nails I love,’ she said. ‘I have a go at any design, and the designs people go for these days can be really exciting.’

She particularly enjoys paint one-stroke roses, and has taught her team of five technicians how to make acrylic roses by hand which are then applied to nails.

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Laura said the salon is always busy and some clients have been coming to her for 17 years.

Emma Fuller (29) from Anchorage Park had her gel polish removed and her nails prepared by Nail Technician Emma Green for a new design that she liked and this is the final inspection. Picture by:  Malcolm Wells (190424-7369)Emma Fuller (29) from Anchorage Park had her gel polish removed and her nails prepared by Nail Technician Emma Green for a new design that she liked and this is the final inspection. Picture by:  Malcolm Wells (190424-7369)
Emma Fuller (29) from Anchorage Park had her gel polish removed and her nails prepared by Nail Technician Emma Green for a new design that she liked and this is the final inspection. Picture by: Malcolm Wells (190424-7369)

Laura said: ‘We do great nails, so customers are constantly returning. We love nails, we love our jobs and we love to have a laugh.’

Her team are always learning new styles and Laura is undertaking the AET educator training course so she can teach. She started mentoring by accident and is keen to start training others.

She said: ‘Teaching wasn’t something I thought I’d get into but people kept asking me so I started mentoring the girls. They’ve loved it and it’s been the most rewarding thing. Girls can come in with confidence issues and by the end of three hours there’s a vast improvement and they’re blown away.’

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