Ladyboss Collective

Hey Edinburgh folks! Have you checked out Ladyboss Collective on Candlemaker Row yet? If not you need to pop in to Edinburgh's snazziest nail bar and concept store.

Ladyboss Collective was opened in May this year by Amber Vermeulen after studying Fashion, spending a couple years working in hospitality and doing some traveling she decided it was time to open her own 'dream store'. She had been playing around with Nail Art for a while and it dawned on her that it was the missing link to making her dream come true. Not long after qualifying as a trained nail technician an opportunity to open a pop up shop arose and she jumped at the chance! Through her art school connections and working in hospitality she already knew quite a few creatives on the Edinburgh scene. She teamed up with a bunch of her favorite boss ladies and the 'Sassy concept nail bar featuring a gaggle of the best creative Ladybosses' was born.

I caught up with the Ladyboss herself for a wee chat and to get my nails done in the shop. Amber had done my nails once before and came recommended by a friend and before this appointment she asked me for three words for things I liked so she could create a custom design for me. I didn't make it easy for her and chose; Cats, Space and Vintage as my three words. I had seen some universe nails she'd done on Instagram a couple weeks before and loved them and we all know I love cats and anything vintage. Amber did not disappoint! She had all her cat decals at the ready, including some vintage/antique looking ones and showed me a couple for her free hand cat designs too but I settled on the decals that had a strong resemblance to Grumpy Cat.

Space Cat Nails!!!!!!

We sat and had a catch up while she layered up the varnish and glitter to create the universe effect on my nails and then positioned one cat on each hand, we done want over kill now, and then added more glitter to make them merge with the design. 

We chatted about why she started Ladyboss, how she stocks the shop and what inspires her. As mentioned already she has a lot of contacts in the local creative community and uses them to her advantage, she chats to everyone who comes through the shop and reaches a few folk that way as well as recommendations from people already supplying her. She also makes the most of social media and says 'I sometimes randomly message people I like and ask them to get involved, there are so many talented people out there often it seems you just have to ask'.

Some of the huge selection of stock.

Amber finds her inspiration for her designs in all sorts of places but likes to keep up to date on the nail art trends through Instagram and Pinterest, while I was in she was showing me a practice nail she'd been working on for a festive Christmas jumper design and it was awesome. She's great at working with people to find out what their style is, when I walked in for my first appointment with her I didn't have a clue what I wanted and walked out with stunning blue Mexican Día de Muertos nails, perfect for my summer holiday. 

Some of Amber's other designs

So if you're out and about in Edinburgh then you should pop in and say hi, check out her amazing stock that ranges from prints through clothing (vintage and new), jewellry and zines. There are some amazing stocking fillers and presents to be found and maybe a wee something for yourself too. Obviously I would totally recommend making an appointment to get your nails done while you're there as Amber is a pro! You can check out the Collective on her website and check out her Instagram for her latest designs and whats going on in store. 

Ladyboss Collective - ladybosscollective.co.uk - 23 Candlemarker Row, EH1 2QG 

Date Night - Anniversary Special - Saiko Kitchen

The Rules of Date Night

Martyn and I started ‘Date Night’ well over a year ago when we were still living in Tollcross, Edinburgh. There are so many lovely independent restaurants in Edinburgh we are completely spoilt! In a quest to work our way around some of these places we declared ‘Date Night’.

The Rules of Date Night;
Once a month after pay day.
Must be local (walking distance from the flat).
We take turns on who pays.
When he is paying I choose the location.
When I’m paying he chooses the location.
We never go to the same place twice for date night.

This months Date Night was a special one as it landed on the 2 year anniversary of our first date. Martyn and I are a successful product of the Tinder dating app, we started chatting over the weekend of my 30th and his 27th birthday. His is the day after mine so we are birthday buddies and makes the end of June kind of like Christmas in The Clubhouse with all the cards, presents and parties. Since that warm Wednesday night at the start of July it's been a whirlwind of new jobs, him moving in to my flat and then us renting our own little place together, date nights, trips around the UK and other adventures.

Anyway I digress! So as this was a special Date Night we decided to declare it an 'Away Game' and left the usual limits of walking distance from the flat and jumped on a bus to Marchmont and Saiko Kitchen. I when quite rockabilly for the evening and wore my Dorothy Perkins 'Lyla' high waisted jeans, new H&M Bardot style stripy top, old faithful Mary-Janes and accessorised with my new Ladybird Likes butterfly necklace and H&M lipstick scarf.

About Saiko Kitchen
Saiko Kitchen is a pan Asian restaurant, specialising in a street food style. It is a small but varied menu with something for everyone. Their slogan is 'Fresh, Food, Fast' and I think they have hit the nail on the head. The restaurant is light and airy with subtle but bright splashed of colour scattered around. The menu consists of soups, salads, rice and noodle dishes, small plates, banh mi sandwiches, sides and sweet treats. A lot of the options are either vegetarian or vegan and they have quite a few gluten free choices too. They don't have a drinks licence and it's not byob so it's soft drinks all the way. We arrived just before 7pm to a very quiet restaurant but it started filling up as the evening passed.

The Food and Drinks
When it comes to this style of food Martyn and I are very predictable, I'll opt for the Pad Thai and Martyn will either pick Katsu curry or a chicken noodle soup, he just couldn't make up his mind this time but a very accommodating waitress let him order the Hanoi chicken noodle soup with a side of the Panko chiken strips served with Katsu sauce instead of the standard sraracha mayo they come with.

I went with the tofu Pad Thai and it was delicious, crispy coated tofu, fresh and crunchy veggies, soft noodles all coated in classic sweet and savory, spicy flavours. We also ordered a surprisingly large portion of 7 spice fries that even we didn't get through! 

Martyn loved his aromatic soup and dipping the crispy chicken strips in the Katsu sauce and although we both fancied trying the Sweet Treats - Banana and peanut butter ice cream cake or Raspberry and Mango sorbet - we couldn't even finish the food in front of us and had to admit defeat. 

 

Round up and Atmosphere
I'm already planning on heading back for lunch soon, it's not too far from my office, and trying one of the Vietnamese style Banh Mi sandwiches. Crispy tofu, pickled veg, salad, coriander and chilies with ginger and peanut sauce sounds like lunchtime heaven to me! 

Our waitress was friendly and the kitchen were very fast. They also do take away and there were a few customers in and out for their collections while we sat too. 

So go and check it out for lunch or dinner, the food is a delight, so fresh and tasty. 

Saiko Kitchen - 15 Roseneath Street, EH9 1JH - 0131 281 5613