IT was 21-year-old Kelly Clarke's childhood ambition to open her own business in her home town of Widnes.

The only thing she couldn't decide on was what line of business she was going to enter into.

That was until she went on holiday to Canada and came face-to-face with a golden career opportunity.

"In towns such as Widnes there is a hairdresser on every street corner but in Canada and America they have nail studios on every corner," said Kelly.

"Looking after your nails is just as important as looking after your hair over there. In Britain we're a few years behind them in that respect but it's starting to really take off over here now, especially with nail art which is a huge fashion in the States.

"When people go out they buy their outfit, get their hair done, make-up and perfume and then you get your nails done - it's part of the whole look."

Kelly continued: "Over in America you're not a woman if you haven't got talons.

"And it doesn't matter whether you're well paid or not. There's nails to suit everyone's price range."

She set up Kelly's Nail Studio - the first of its kind in Widnes - in partnership with her mother, Linda, at 138 Albert Road and has just expanded to incorporate the first pedicure specialist in the town.

A former Fairfield pupil, Kelly studied for her business qualifications at Halton College and the Bolton Institute.

Kelly and Linda run the business along with Rebecca Tomlinson and Sandra Looker who are all qualified nail technicians.

Rebecca can boast doing supermodel Kate Moss's nails while she worked on London Fashion Week with Vivian Westwood and Paul Smith.

"Even though the models model clothes they all have nail extensions and that's what I did for Kate," said Rebecca.

The World tested Kelly's acrylic nails and the results were amazing.

Extensions have come a long way since the days of the "glue and plastic nail" sets that last all of five minutes before snapping off. Nowadays they're more authentic than they've ever been and look natural even without nail polish.

And they're long-lasting too and should only require infills when you're natural nails grow underneath.

"Extensions are stronger than normal nails, the polish does not chip and you don't need to file or maintain them after they are done," said Kelly.

"They're ideal for nail-biters. You can have them filed into the shape and length you want."

Kelly's Nail Studio offers gel extensions for everyday wear, acrylic extensions for more durable wear, particularly good if you have a manual job such as working in a shop and fibre glass which allows the water to run through, ideal for hairdressers.

But it's the nail art which is really gripping the imagination.

"Nail art can be as loud or as subtle as you like, it's affordable and it's guaranteed to get you loads of attention," said Kelly.

"You can do just about anything with nail art. From beautiful patterns to designer prints. You can have your toes painted with palm trees for your holidays or with pearl jewellery for your wedding day.

"Nail art is not just for young girls. We have a 64-year-old client who comes here regularly to have her nails painted."

Nail art starts from just £8 and can last a couple of months.

When you think a blow-dry at the hairdressers which lasts a couple of days can cost you the best part of a tenner it's really value for money.

As well as nail extensions and nail art, Kelly's also specialises in silk wraps (reinforcement for natural nails) and nail jewellery which starts as little as £2.

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