Bognor Regis woman celebrates as she is named hair and beauty award finalist

Working independently out of Genesis Hair and Beauty Salon on Chichester Road, Miss Margeliene provides a range of services for her clients, including manicures, pedicures and top-shelf eyebrow treatments.

But it’s been a long-road for the successful stylist. She first moved to Bognor Regis from Lithuania 12 years ago and had to requalify as a stylist despite not speaking a word of English. Learning the language, she said, was the first of many challenges, but she was determined to push through.

"Leaning English was very hard for me,” she said. “I remember shopping and when one of the ladies behind the till asked me if I wanted change, I started crying because I didn’t understand. So, when my son started school here, I would study and learn the language with him. It’s so different, and there are so different things the same word can mean. In my country, the way you write is the way you speak.”

12 years later, business is booming, her English is better than ever and she feels like Bognor Regis is her real home. For her, this year’s shortlisting is the culmination of all that hard work, representing all the time and effort she put into building her brand and expanding her skillset.

"For me, it’s amazing,” she explained. “I just feel so good about it.

“I was always interested in beauty, ever since I was little. I started out working on friends and family back home in Lithuania, before I applied to study it at college. I’m very proud of myself, and very happy to have got this far.

"I worked in a factory when I first moved here, and I remember thinking ‘this isn’t for me.’”

She hopes all that hard work inspires her teenage son to follow his own dreams, regardless of the obstacles life might put in his way. “My son is very proud of me. He will be 17 soon, and I want to show him we have to follow our dreams, and not let anything stop us.”

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