A Swindon resident who dreamed of being a professional chef has been named as a finalist of a national award in her new line of work as a nail artist.
Panther Nails is a finalist at the 2023 Hair and Beauty Awards in the category of ‘Nail Technician of The Year’.
Agnes Miro runs the nominated Swindon business and is beyond delighted with making it to the national finals.
“I am my biggest judge for myself and I always have in my mind that I can be better, so when I became a finalist was really proud of myself,” she said.
“I am proud of myself now. It’s a great feeling when someone who is really professional picks you to compete for the first place.”
Yet curiously, being a nail artist was not Agnes’ first aim when it came to careers as the 27-year-old initially wanted to be a professional chef.
“Working in the beauty industry has not always been my dream as I always wanted to be a chef and I actually tried working as one but realised that cooking on professional level is not for me,” she said.
“My decision to work as nail technician was a bit random and impulsive but that worked well. When I look back, I can see that I was doing my own nails since I was 15 years old a few times a week and it was something calming, a kind of meditation.”
The 27-year-old moved to the Wiltshire town from London in August of 2018 after finishing her first nail course in the capital city but was working a full time job aside from her beauty endeavours.
“After moving to Swindon, I then had my first model in the middle of 2019 and it was very stressful for me as I am really shy person,” she said.
“Since I moved to Swindon I had no friends and only colleagues at my main job but my first model Simona was super nice person, she was very happy with her nails and she really supported me on the day and that motivated me to go on.
“As I got the initial confidence with several models I started to offer my nail services, but it wasn’t a full time job then, it was more like a hobby with one to three clients a week in evenings or on weekends.”
Following the lifting of Covid restrictions, Agnes decided that she wanted to pursue a career in health and beauty, never looking back since.
“After first lockdown I lost my main job and became a full time nail technician as soon as restrictions were lifted,” she said.
“Many of my clients become my friends and I am really happy that I found something I really love to do and something I am doing with passion.
Panther Nails provides several options for its customers and the aim is to continue to provide these popular services to the people of Swindon.
“Manicure and pedicure services are the only ones I am offering as I can’t see myself doing something extra in terms of beauty services, since it will shift the focus and will affect the end results,” said Agnes.
“My work is my main hobby and I am striving to improve my working techniques constantly, looking for trending designs or researching new materials.”
The finals will take place between Friday, April 21 and Saturday, April 22, while the results for Anges’ category will be announced on Friday.
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