Meet Our Member of the Month: @alice_turnbull

The Nail Tech Org wouldn’t be what it is without its incredible members, and this July–we’re shining the spotlight on Alice from @alice_turnbull as our Member of the Month!

From her journey in the nail industry to her holy-grail products, goals for the year ahead, and what being part of NTO means to her—scroll to get to know her a little better…

Tell us a little bit about you!

Hey!!! I’m Alice, a nail artist from Sunderland in the North East of England. 

I’m 31, a true pisces girl, obsessed with going for coffee, my cockapoo, Gigi & being out in the sunshine. I’m definitely at my happiest in the summer! 

I live close to a gorgeous coast line so I love to spend my mornings outside watching the waves & listening to the birds. 

My favourite job in life is being an Auntie, my cute little gang are my everything. I’m super close with my family, my Mam is my absolute best friend in the world and my biggest supporter. 

I’ve been self-employed for 7 years now and work from my home studio. I’ve always had a real passion for cooking…and eating from a very young age so outside of the studio you’d usually find me in the kitchen cooking with the music blasting, singing like my life depends on it. 

How did you get into nails?

It was actually a total accidental business start-up!

I was working full-time as a Digital Marketing Executive for an online marketing agency in Newcastle and had absolutely no experience or qualifications in beauty.

Back in 2017, I randomly looked at a beginner’s gel course online. The website’s live chat popped up asking if I was interested, and they told me they had just one space left on a course starting the next day! They said if I could get there for 10am with a model, I could have the place.

If I’m honest, I’ve never been very good at saying no, so I booked it. I took my Mam as my model and came away qualified in gel polish application. I started doing nails on close friends and family from my dining room, never imagining it would become a career.

As my confidence grew, I started working Saturdays in a local salon alongside my full-time job. Then things became really difficult at work and one day I made the decision to walk out without another job lined up.

Looking back, that turned out to be one of the biggest turning points in my career. The time I expected to spend job hunting became time I could dedicate to nails and it grew from there. I started offering more days in the salon, word spread quickly, and before I knew it my diary was filling up. I realised I didn’t actually need to find another job.

That’s when my side hustle became a real business. 

Until recently, many people knew me as The Gel House, but I’ve since rebranded under my own name, Alice Turnbull, as I continue to grow my business and explore new opportunities within the industry.

How did you find The Nail Tech Org?

I’d followed Amy Guy on Instagram for as long as I can remember. I always loved her nail art and would use her designs as inspiration, and clients would often come to appointments asking for sets she’d created too.

I’ve actually been a member of NTO since 2021, which I think was during lockdown. I used to join their Instagram lives and take part in ‘Nails & Natter’, so it’s been amazing to watch the community grow over the years into what it is today. It’s lovely to feel like I’ve been part of that journey too! 

What’s your fave thing about The Nail Tech Org?

For me, it’s the in-person events. Being from a small city up north, there isn’t really anything like this and I don’t know many nail techs in my local area. It’s given me the opportunity to travel around the country, meet other members and catch up with the NTO team.

It’s also brought me out of my shell so much. A few years ago I wouldn’t have sat in a coffee shop on my own, whereas now I’ll happily travel across the country by myself to attend NTO events with sometimes hundreds of people I’d never met before. 

I’ve made some genuinely lovely friendships and connections through NTO, which is important when you’re self-employed, especially working from home like I do. The team have always made me feel supported, and I know if I ever needed help or advice, they’d be there for me. That genuine sense of community is what makes it so special. 

What’s your favourite course you’ve done with us?

Being involved in the Nail Tech Price Increase Day, along with the training Amy provided beforehand, was a really important step forward in my journey as a business owner.

Finding the confidence to charge your worth isn’t always easy, especially when there’s still outside noise telling you that you “just do nails” and that your prices shouldn’t increase. Amy really helped us look beyond that by teaching us how to delve into the financial side of our businesses, understand our numbers and price our services accordingly.

It completely changed the way I looked at pricing and gave me the confidence to start treating my business like a business.

What are your favourite kind of nails to do?

When I first started working in the salon, I built my reputation on my love for nail art. I became known in my area as the go-to girl for funky nails, my Instagram bio said, “the funkier the better.”

I do love the accomplishment of completing a really wild set of nails for a client. That doesn’t mean I’m not absolutely stressed to bits at times while actually painting the design but looking at the finished set, thinking wow as if i just did that, is such a good feeling. Even better when you see the clients reaction to what you’ve done for them and the amazement on their faces. 

However… if you’re my last client of the day and I’m struggling to string a sentence together or even see straight, I’m more than happy to finish with a plain colour! 

Tell us about a holy grail product in your kit.

For any type of nail art, you absolutely need a good liner brush in your kit. I use Brush H from Nails Luxe for pretty much every design you’ll see on my feed. A little tip from me is to trim the thickness of your brush with your cuticle nippers to make it even finer. It makes creating super crisp, detailed lines so much easier.

I also couldn’t live without my Lucy Pastorelli e-file. I honestly don’t know how I ever worked without it! It has completely sped up my appointments and saved my poor wrists.

As for gel polish, my go-to colour of 2026 has been Double Denim from The Gel Bottle Inc. If you follow me on Instagram, you’ll probably notice I find a way to sneak it into every set I wear! I don’t think I’m ready to move on from it just yet.

Who is your dream client?

My dream client is someone who’s energy matches mine, where we can just vibe together for 2 hours talking literally anything.

I love to ask deep questions to really get to know people and their lives rather than surface level small talk. I love to laugh, have fun and be daft whenever I get the chance so people who get me and join me in my weirdness are my kind of people. 

If we’re talking about a celebrity dream client I’d have to choose Dolly Parton. I’ve loved her since being a child so it would be fab to have her sit in my chair so I could delve deep into her life. 

Fun fact.. she actually wrote 9-5 using nothing but the sound of her acrylic nails as the instrument, which makes her even more iconic!

Do you have any future plans? Let us know!

I’ve recently returned to work after taking a few months away to focus on myself. It gave me the clarity to reflect on what I wanted from both my life and my business, and I’m coming back with a fresh mindset, renewed motivation and a much clearer vision for the future.

Making people feel good about themselves has always been my goal. If I can make even the smallest difference to a client’s confidence or brighten their day after they’ve spent time with me, then I’ve done my job.

I’d love to expand that impact beyond my own clients by supporting other beauty business owners too. Whether that’s through one-to-one mentoring, education, digital resources, I’m excited to explore new opportunities as I continue to grow my business.

This feels like the start of a whole new chapter for me for the second half of 2026 and I’m excited to see where it leads.

If you could sum up The Nail Tech Org in just 3 words, what would they be?

Empowering | Supportive | Lovely 

Interested in joining The Nail Tech Org and to be in with the chance of becoming our next member of the month?

Click here to learn more and make the best decision of your life, you won’t regret it.