Jozi salon Tenfold gets a high five for embracing a natural nail-care ethos

11 November 2018 - 00:00 By Zodwa Kumalo

Listed last year in a US Vogue article titled "Where to go in Maboneng, the coolest neighbourhood in Johannesburg", Tenfold is bang on trend - as much as its media-shy owner, Georgia Shekeshe, is loath to admit it.
For starters, Tenfold Nail Salon is perched on the rooftop floor of Hallmark House, one of Joburg's newest and hippest design hotels and residential spaces - the vision of Propertuity's Jonathan Liebmann and architect David Adjaye of Adjaye Associates.
The reimagined building has played host to the impossible-to-get-into Pot Luck Club as a pop-up concept and the invite-only Joburg launch of Littlegig, the Cape Town-based, 24-hour food-and-music festival, among other niche offerings.
The minimally decorated salon with its custom-made furniture and spa accessories in muted tones blends in beautifully with the black, industrial railings framing the 270° view of Johannesburg's skyline. You couldn't conjure up a better view of the city to enjoy while having your nails painted or your feet soaked and tended to.
Tenfold's natural nail-care ethos, social responsibility and mindfulness about hygiene are in sync with the global back-to-basics movement. "We don't offer acrylic or artificial nails and our nail polishes are five-free," says Shekeshe.
In recent years, people have become more conscious of the safety of beauty products, and more brands such as Shellac, J.Hannah and OPI Gel Color (which are used at Tenfold) have eliminated the use of five toxic compounds (formaldehyde, dibutyl phthalate, toluene, formaldehyde resin and camphor), without sacrificing quality or performance.
This is Tenfold's third manifestation. Since moving to live in Pretoria, Shekeshe would make many trips to Johannesburg to have her manicures and pedicures done at trusted vendors. She soon realised that a specialised nail service was missing in Pretoria, so she cashed out her pension and opened up Tenfold in Pretoria's Menlyn Maine in 2016.
This was after she had reluctantly resigned from her job in local government as a personal assistant a year before, after she met her husband, Kgosientso Ramokgopa, the former Tshwane mayor. "I didn't want to leave but he insisted we couldn't be married and work in the same office.
"My husband thought it was going to be a hobby at first," says Shekeshe. But when she relocated the store to the Cosmopolitan Hotel in Maboneng after identifying that Pretoria just wasn't ready for her natural-nails concept, it was clear that he had not married a stay-at-home mom.
From Monday to Saturday, Shekeshe travels between Joburg and Pretoria.
Ramokgopa is still active in politics and Shekeshe recounts the recent Cosatu march to the Union Buildings against what it called e-toll bullying.
That morning, as the couple prepared to go about their respective days, Shekeshe says, he asked her whether she was coming to the march, to which she replied: " 'I have to work.'
"I try to stay out of politics as much as possible," she says.
Tenfold has been based at Hallmark House since moving out of the Cosmopolitan Hotel in October.
"I had gone to Hallmark House to market Tenfold and ask them to refer their guests to us," says Shekeshe, who says that visit turned into a proposition and, after months of persistence, Propertuity development group successfully wooed Tenfold to set up there.
"Opening a nail salon is not something I've been dreaming of for years. I stayed at home for a year raising my son and looking after the family and started to get restless. I spotted a gap, I had an idea and I finally decided to take the plunge. I just knew I couldn't stay at home anymore, doing nothing. There was so much more of me I wanted to explore," she says.
Still on a high after the salon's Professional Beauty Award 2018 for best nail salon of the year, Shekeshe talks excitedly about the plans for Tenfold. In the next few weeks, the spa will also be offering massages in three treatments rooms, which are nearing completion. Early next year, a new branch will be opening in Rosebank.
The journey has certainly not been without its lows - and she has faced a few difficult months with finances and staff that brought her close to giving up. But Shekeshe's renewed vision for her salon is mirrored by the clutter-free space.
"I enjoy making people happy; the salon is just over a year old and I want to work harder at delivering consistently good service and seeing walk-ins become regulars. If we get that part right, the money will come," she says.
• Visit Tenfold at Hallmark House Rooftop, 54 Siemert Street, Maboneng Precinct, Joburg...

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