Primped and Pampered
When did you first start doing nails? Did your artwork or nail work come first?
I started my career as an aspiring Silicon Valley tech entrepreneur. I am both left and right brained, so I thought designing software was a great way to marry both art and logic. I was 19 and co-founded a Q&A platform that was supposed to modernize Yahoo Answers. I got my first taste of how amazing it felt to create things that could make a difference in people’s lives. My first company flopped along with a few more that followed. In 2012, I was asked by one of my first angel investors to join the founding team of a new on-demand massage platform --Soothe. I worked as a UX designer, front end developer, customer service representative, fundraiser, you name it. I learned a lot about the health, beauty, and wellness industry as well as formed some beliefs on how I could improve upon the industries. There’s not a ton of great career options for all these skilled laborers and there’s not a standardization anywhere such that skills can be shared and marketed. We were nickel and diming people who had spent hundreds of hours, thousands of dollars, just to marginalize them under gig economy wages.
When I left Soothe to start Pamper, I springboarded off the same tech-based on-demand concept and iterated from there, and concentrated on the nails industry. The ultimate vision was to create a place like Pamper Nail Gallery, where nail artistry can be taken seriously as a real and lucrative career. At the time, I was extremely enamoured by Instagram-famous nail artists, who made me fall in love with long nails and the possibility that it can be used as a canvas for serious art. My talent for nail art was a byproduct of me needing time to relax while building the company. I like to keep busy, and my mind is always racing with ideas. A very talented gal named Regina who worked with us gifted me with a watercolor set a few months before the salon opened (January 2017). I was familiar with watercolors, so I sat down to paint a portrait of Sailor Pluto on my own nails. The product was actually pretty good! I was hooked.
I read that you think of nail art as a collaboration between you and the client. What kinds of questions do you ask them when deciding on a design?
I always ask what their interests are, it helps me gauge the genres of art we can explore. The sets we create are original and tailored. I enjoy creating art for clients that they can appreciate. Longtime clients come with central themes and leave the rest in our hands. Those are the best.
What do you think makes you stand out from other nail design salons?
We consider all current and future Pamper Nail Gallery locations to be unique design houses because of the mix of creative minds in the group. Because of our business model, our nail artists are financially well taken care of and have no reason to compete for clientele. This makes for an extremely collaborative environment with the right combination of standardization and eclecticism. We freely help each other build one another's social media presence as well as have one of the most effective apprenticeships in the nail world. We’re also extremely focused on hand-painted, handcrafted nail art. We exclusively do nail extensions (no manis, no pedis). This helps us become highly specialized in what we do.
What is the craziest design you have ever done?
Most would say all the art I post is crazy so I’ll go with some of my favorites, my handpainted Dwight Shrute (from The Office) paired with Jim Halpert dressed as Dwight, handpainted Thanos complete with Infinity Gauntlet, and handpainted Bob Ross!
What was the most difficult part of starting your business?
The biggest challenge is trying to overcome difficulties (i.e. misconceptions and unsafe salon practices) associated with an evolving, underdeveloped, and fragmented nail industry. The traditional nail industry is not one that is taken seriously both from a client’s perspective and from a career-development perspective. What we’ve created is not a “nail salon” in the traditional sense. We do not offer manicures or pedicures, and we focus only on handcrafted luxury nail art. This niche service sector didn’t really exist prior to social media, and so we find ourselves having to be extremely mindful of educating clients on safe practices, product quality, and appropriate pricing. Every client we acquire, we educate.
A lot of the long term career options for aspiring nail artists are still challenging. Accumulating wealth as a single nail tech is very difficult and highly risky. We’re helping out young nail artists with high potential for success to be able to have a real career (this means a steady salary and commission, full medical/dental/vision benefits, and in the near future, 401k, and paid vacations).
What do you think makes you stand out from other nail design salons?
We consider all current and future Pamper Nail Gallery locations to be unique design houses because of the mix of creative minds in the group. Because of our business model, our nail artists are financially well taken care of and have no reason to compete for clientele. This makes for an extremely collaborative environment with the right combination of standardization and eclecticism. We freely help each other build one another's social media presence as well as have one of the most effective apprenticeships in the nail world. We’re also extremely focused on hand-painted, handcrafted nail art. We exclusively do nail extensions (no manis, no pedis). This helps us become highly specialized in what we do.
What is the craziest design you have ever done?
Most would say all the art I post is crazy so I’ll go with some of my favorites, my handpainted Dwight Shrute (from The Office) paired with Jim Halpert dressed as Dwight, handpainted Thanos complete with Infinity Gauntlet, and handpainted Bob Ross!
What was the most difficult part of starting your business?
The biggest challenge is trying to overcome difficulties (i.e. misconceptions and unsafe salon practices) associated with an evolving, underdeveloped, and fragmented nail industry. The traditional nail industry is not one that is taken seriously both from a client’s perspective and from a career-development perspective. What we’ve created is not a “nail salon” in the traditional sense. We do not offer manicures or pedicures, and we focus only on handcrafted luxury nail art. This niche service sector didn’t really exist prior to social media, and so we find ourselves having to be extremely mindful of educating clients on safe practices, product quality, and appropriate pricing. Every client we acquire, we educate.
A lot of the long term career options for aspiring nail artists are still challenging. Accumulating wealth as a single nail tech is very difficult and highly risky. We’re helping out young nail artists with high potential for success to be able to have a real career (this means a steady salary and commission, full medical/dental/vision benefits, and in the near future, 401k, and paid vacations).
What kind of art are you most inspired by?
I try and pull inspiration from everywhere, not just things considered to be art. I think about things that make me smile. This happens extremely haphazardly. I could be watching old TV re-runs or pick up a book somewhere or see something at the market. Lately I’ve been really into medieval, Byzantine, and Renaissance art. I also have other alterior motives in the form of trying to capture the attention of people who don’t normally have an appreciation for nail art. As you can probably tell, my favorite nails are the ones that get a lot of attention from a variety of people. They’re not “pretty”, but they do better at getting a chuckle out of you.
How did you find your team?
We’re big on culture-fit here. Though our initial batch came from the likes of Craigslist and word of mouth, our most successful new recruiting tool is our apprenticeship program. We look for highly motivated and driven individuals who really want to make a career out of nails and we start them as customer service representatives. They spend a lot of time with the team, they have access to 1:1 time with anyone. One of my favorite things to do is collaborate with our apprentices after-hours and do their nails so they can get a private lesson in simultaneously. Our work environment is predicated upon every team member being responsible, respectful, self-starting, and motivated. All the girls here are forces to be reckoned with. They learn fast and they enjoy growing in their careers.
What is the longest it has taken you to do someone’s nails?
8 hours! To paint characters on all 10 nails. Mario Brothers!
Dream client?
I am my own favorite client...I know this is strange to say, but when I’m doing my own sets I am most free and it’s when I experience the most growth and satisfaction. A close second is doing nails on the girls at the salon. It’s rewarding to draw with zero pressure. We’ve coined the term “Pamper After Hours” as the most mentally recharging and creatively prolific time of the day.
How important is your Instagram for your business?
Instagram is the reason why the nail industry is taking a huge turn towards art and thus it’s extremely important for any nail art business to have a strong presence. It’s how we attract the right clientele and showcase our abilities. We almost exclusively acquire clients from social media.
How did you come up with the name Pamper?
The original intention behind the name was geared towards our origins as an on-demand beauty app. It was short and sweet and thus good for an app name or web address. It also embodies the intent behind the service we sold. Later, when we pivoted to the nail art-only salon, we adapted the name to Pamper Nail Gallery, which was halfway between nail salon and art gallery.
