Billinge salon Arch Rival nominated for prestigious award

Arch Rival Brows and Beauty on Main Street is up for Brow Experts of the Year in the English NBL Awards 2023.

The salon offers a range of treatments including laser hair removal, aesthetics, and permanent makeup.

Lydia Upjohn, owner of the salon, is ‘proud’ of her team and what they have achieved.

She said: "It’s really exciting; it’s completely unexpected as we didn’t know we had been nominated until we received an email.

"The whole team’s going to the ceremony; it’ll be nice to have all the girls together.

Lydia with team members Megan and Sophie (Image: Lydia upjohn)

"I’ve worked in salons all my life and for me, it’s important to have a positive working atmosphere.

"I’ve got such a lovely team and I’m so proud of what we’ve achieved."

The business faced a difficult start as 37-year-old Lydia opened the salon just a week before the first lockdown in March 2020.

She added: "It was quite tough because I had taken on staff and they didn’t qualify for a furlough grant because we were a new business, so we had to survive on my savings as I knew we would reopen, and I didn’t want to lose the staff because I found amazing girls to work in the salon."

Lydia and her team will attend the awards ceremony in Manchester on Sunday, July 9.