Better Together

TAMMY KOSLOWSKI, founder & director of House of NAF!, spills the story of a collaboration that serves to empower young people as they journey into the beauty industry

ABOUT TAMMY KOSLOWSKI

Fashion graduate turned nail artist, Tammy Koslowski, worked as a successful session stylist before founding NAF! Salon in 2015. The Glasgow salon scooped a Scratch Star Award in 2017, and the business is in the Scratch Stars Hall of Fame for its social media prowess. Tammy launched NAF! School in 2019 to offer opportunities to aspiring nail technicians, and in June 2023, she rebranded the business to House of NAF!, comprising the school and salon.

Tammy has dedicated her career to creating supportive spaces for beauty professionals, clients and students alike, and also boasts the NAF! Stuff and NAF! Pro range of nail and skincare products within her portfolio.

Our mission with NAF! School is to fill the gap in quality nail training in Scotland, while fostering a supportive community for nail newbies. Since 2019, the school has been running The GelBottle Inc courses and hosting training for brands including Willow Academy, so that aspiring nail techs can benefit from accessible education. We were delighted when, two years into our training journey, we were contacted by Glasgow City Council and invited to be part of its Towards Better Futures programme, which focuses on empowering young people in the Glasgow area. It married with our mission perfectly!

There are two main projects within the Towards Better Futures (TBF) initiative that connect with NAF! School:

1. TBF Awards & Destinations This supports young people who are still in school. It offers vocational programmes to those that are at risk of disengaging with education or leaving with few or no qualifications.

2. Next Steps These vocational programmes are tailored to young people who have recently left school and are unemployed, requiring support to find work.

Named ‘Nail Your Future’ (NYF), the NAF! School and Glasgow City Council collaboration provides people aged 16 to 25 with real-world experience in a salon environment. The aims of the programme are to arm them with confidence and open their eyes to potential career paths in the beauty industry.

Eligibility

Young people who have not yet gained a qualification are eligible for the courses, and are referred to the Towards Better Futures programme by their secondary education provider. Often, those who are referred to the programme are disengaged from school and require alternative avenues to employment. This process involves referrals, ensuring that those who join are well-suited and can benefit most from the training.

Course calling

We offer interested young people an insight into the Nail Your Future courses via taster days, spread over two half-day sessions, and kick things off by exploring various career paths in the beauty industry, before diving into practical activities. Participants create mood boards for nail designs inspired by a favourite celebrity and bring their ideas to life on nail pops, picking up handy tips along the way. This exercise not only boosts their creative problem-solving skills, but mimics working with client-specific briefs, offering a great preview of what they can expect after taking the Nail Your Future Beginners Manicure, Pedicure & Gel Polish course.

Wati Calley

Day two shifts to a focus on brows and lashes, which we don’t currently teach as full courses, but we hope to develop with key NYF educator, Wati, who runs her own salon providing these treatments alongside nails. We cover brow mapping and lash application techniques, using training eyes for practice. These sessions are more than just learning: they’re about having fun, getting to know the educator and easing into the learning environment. This approach helps students feel comfortable and confident before diving into more intensive learning. Plus, it’s a great way for them to gauge if they’re ready for the full course, which we’ve found helps with retention. If it’s not their cup of tea, they’ll figure it out early on.

The next step is the full Nail Your Future programme; a structured course that spans six to eight days, spread over three or four weeks. This is our focused training on Beginners Manicure, Pedicure & Gel Polish, equipping students with foundation knowledge, skills and techniques. We’ve designed the course to be a perfect blend of theory and hands-on practice, teaching the basics of application, and we provide kits containing all the necessary tools and materials that attendees need to provide a luxury manicure and pedicure. These kits are theirs to keep after the course, so they can practice at their own pace.

Our course books are vibrant and filled with colours. We encourage drawing, writing and doodling, and ensure that the students retain the information by making learning fun. This includes playing games to understand the answers, using celebrity references and transforming as much of the theory as we can into practical activities. It’s crucial for the young people to feel comfortable approaching the education team and know that they are supported. Retention can be one of the toughest challenges, so we often reflect on what would make us want to return the next day if we were in their position.

Inside NAF!

To date, we’ve proudly progressed 25 young people on the full NYF Beginners Manicure, Pedicure & Gel Polish course, who have each received an ABT accredited certificate of completion. We typically host one intake every eight weeks, accommodating up to six students, who gain a sense of independence when they visit House of NAF!, which houses the NAF! School. Our signature quirks in the training area, such as porcelain leopards and plenty of plants, help them feel relaxed and inspired. The teaching approach is interactive, with activities such as group tasks, games and and mood boards, as well as plenty of practical work to maintain engagement.

A huge part of the experience at NAF! is interacting with a diverse range of professionals. House of NAF! Is home to employees that work across the salon, education and product sides of the business. The premises also hosts self-employed residents, such as calligraphy tutor, Jen; tarot reader, Jade, and tooth gem tech, Corinne. Students get to meet and learn from self-employed technicians, employed experts, educators and engage with our clients. It’s a great space for a young person to be in, and the team at Towards Better Futures has been so great in supporting us to ensure our learners feel safe in the environment.

The team members create such a bond with the students, and watching them gain confidence is an amazing feeling. This industry is built on sharing knowledge, tips and tricks, whether online or in the salon environment. It’s all about community! We all learn from each other, so passing knowledge on and seeing how it inspires the young people is so cool.

Ultimately, our wish is for young learners to enjoy successful careers in the nail industry, but at the very least we hope they have a confidence boost after completing the NYF course and a better idea of the career path they’d like to pursue. I always say: “Nails might not end up being your passion, but if you complete this course, you have at least done something you can be really proud of. You’ll be able to do nails and earn your own money.”

In our future, we want to expand the programme by introducing the Build Your Confidence initiative to NYF students, which we already offer to our adult learners.

This will see them work in the salon alongside their educator for four weeks, gaining hands-on experience with real clients. I would also love to franchise the format of these courses and work with other councils and training schools to develop the programme across the UK. There is so much we can learn from young people. They are the future of our industry!

www.houseofnaf.com

www.towardsbetterfutures.com

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