8 minute read
Local People
Beauty boss Nicole Gale
KOA means brave and one Plymouth woman is living up to that title
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Nicole Gale has made a dream a reality and launched her very own salon — all during lockdown and all before she turns 25! Nicole from Woolwell launched KOA Lounge in April 2021 but if it wasn’t for coronavirus then her business never would have happened. Prior to the coronavirus lockdown, Nicole, 24, and her boyfriend Chay had always dreamed to move to Bristol for a few years but due to the pandemic they had to put that on hold and stay where they were in Plymouth. While in isolation they reassessed their plan to relocate. ‘COVID taught us that we didn’t want to move away and be without our friends and family, and that we loved our lives here,’ Nicole said. ‘But what I did know was that I was ready for a change.’ Nicole had always wanted her own salon and began to wonder if she could become a beauty boss. Thanks to the support of her family and Chay she began to look for properties to rent. She found a run down unit in Crapstone, Yelverton that she felt was perfect but this was three weeks before Christmas 2020 so decided to wait. Ten days later the letting agent called and informed her that another company had shown interest. ‘I felt gutted,’ said Nicole. ‘I knew that was my body telling me that I really wanted it and that I should go for the unit. If I didn’t have this push then I would have overthought it and it probably would never have happened.’ During the lockdown in the New Year, 2021, Nicole and her family worked hard to turn the salon into her vision of a luxurious, relaxing - and green - haven. The name for the business was inspired by the Acacia KOA tree which originates from Hawaii and means to be bold, brave and valiant. ‘For the name I didn’t want any clichés, nothing with my name in it or the word beauty, I wanted it to thave meaning so when I found KOA and found out what
it means I knew it was right.’ Everything along the way has ‘slotted into place’ for Nicole, from the location, the name and the refurbishment of the unit. ‘It was like it was meant to be,’ she said. ‘Having my own salon has always been at the back of my mind but I never felt brave enough to do it and this is now a reality thanks to the support I have. ‘I have so many friends in the industry as well that were with me every step of the way Nicole overseeing the refurbishment and I was reassured by all the lovely people around me.’ of her dream salon After she fi nished college at Saltash, Nicole spent seven years working at First Glance, a beauty and hair salon in Tavistock, where she furthered her skills in the trade and made some lifelong friends. ‘I was so fortunate to have such loyal clients who have watched me grow from a nervous trainee to a salon owner, they’ve supported me with my dream and followed
me on my new adventure. ‘My team and I are so lucky to be busy being the only salon in Crapstone. ‘Being able to off er everything within beauty was really important to me. So having a team to be able to do that is great, we can off er all things beauty, holistic therapies, nails and even aesthetics. My personal favourite treatment is waxing or creating something crazy on my clients’ nails.’ Nicole, who was born and raised in Woolwell, has big plans for her salon: ‘One day I would love to have KOA as a teaching academy to pass my love and passion on to other up and coming therapists.’ Watch this space! n
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Headteacher Vicky takes the reins at Widewell Academy
New headteacher of Widewell Primary Academy Vicky Broughton has said her main aim is to bring the community back to the heart of the school following the eff ects of coronavirus. With more than 20 years of primary school experience under her belt Vicky took on her brand new role in September 2021 replacing outgoing headteacher Claire Prynne. Vicky, who was born and raised in Plymouth, completed her teacher training degree at MarJon University and was lucky enough to begin her teaching career at Torpoint Nursery and Infant School, a school she loved and where she worked for 13 years, before moving to Pennycross to become a deputy headteacher for almost ten years. Never one to shy away from a new challenge, this will be Vicky’s fi rst placement as a headteacher — and it’s a school where she knew she would be happy. ‘I enjoy a new challenge and when this job came up I visited the school and I loved it — I got a good feeling as soon as I entered the building and met the children and staff .
Widewell is clearly a school which is very much loved by the community. Coronavirus has changed how the school is connected to the community so my drive is to get back to normal and get people back through the doors and move closer towards a sense of normality. ‘We have a lot of Naval service children here so we want the school to return to a place that people can go and mix and feel that they are not alone. Some “ ‘I enjoy a new challenge and when this job came up I families have moved away from their own homes to come here and then their partners have been visited the school and I loved it deployed and it’s isolating for — I got a good feeling as soon them, so our job is to bring people as I entered the building and met the children and staff. ” together and support them through these diffi cult times.’ Vicky has said a few times that she ‘loves a challenge’ so learning 230 children’s names is certainly that! ‘I have been busy teaching in every class, in the
playground before and after school, trying to learn every child’s name, which is certainly a challenge and one I am trying to fulfi l,’ she laughed. Being headteacher of her very own school is a dream come true for Vicky: ‘I have been very fortunate that I have loved all of the schools where I have worked, I only left to take on a new challenge. ‘I have always wanted to be a headteacher, so now I am here I want to enjoy that Widewell is already a great school. My challenge is to make sure we don’t stand still because if you stand still you start going backwards as others around you progress. I need to make sure that we are continually developing; that we are the best we can be for all of ‘We want the children to feel safe – we see children come in to school with a smile on their face and they leave with a smile on their face and that’s lovely to see and that’s why we are here.’ Vicky lives in Peverell with her husband, Charlie, and two sons Edward who is 13 and Oliver who is 10 and she has her extended family close by. In her spare time Vicky loves to walk and bake: ‘We have a dog called Otto, an Hungarian wire-haired Vizsla, and we go walking a lot. I also love cooking and baking and watching the Great British Bake Off .’ When asked what her favourite dish was to create, she replied that it was normally what her children requested! n
