Ask Kate, owner of Essential Beauty at Castle Plaza what she loves most about her job and she will respond instantly: it’s the customers. “Loyal customers are what owning a business is all about. The relationships you make along the way are incredible,” she says. And giving each and every customer the gift of confidence is her goal.

Essential Beauty offers a full range of treatments, although Kate says customers can sometimes be surprised services on offer also include body piercing, laser hair removal and facials. Children coming into the salon for their first ear piercing are a particularly popular, and are a very special, group of clients. Kate says her team make extra efforts to make the children feel at ease and to make sure parents are also happy about their children being in the care of the salon staff.

“We make our lovely customers feel comfortable during their treatment and leave the salon feeling confident,” she says. “It is our utmost responsibility.”

Kate worked in the business before she and her partner James bought it about 10 years ago, and she also highlights Castle Plaza’s atmosphere as a plus for customers and retailers alike.

“The Centre has such a great atmosphere and we are friendly with most of the other retailers at Castle Plaza. We all look out for one another,” she says. Her team say they often drop into Drake’s for last minute items for the salon and they all love the range of food outlets on offer right on their doorstep.

We’re always looking for the latest on-trend gifts so we wrapped up our chat by asking Kate to recommend something special for a best friend. Her choice is a custom piece from Essential Beauty’s body jewellery range. “There is such amazing quality coming out of our business at the moment.” Sounds like it’s time to pop over to Castle Plaza for a look-see!

Click here for more information on Essential Beauty at Castle Plaza.