Competition Nails

3rd place set from Nailpro Sacramento 2009 by Maggie

The BF and I recently attended the IBS Las Vegas tradeshow-- "IBS" stands for "International Beauty Shows," btw.

While we were watching the awards ceremony for the Nailpro Cup nail competitions on Monday afternoon, a young woman wandered into the seating area for the main stage, chose a seat directly in front of us, and-- while the winners of the sculptured nail competitions were being announced-- turned around to us and, rather disgustedly observed that, "all the nails look the same."

Apparently she expected us to agree with her and be just as disappointed. Boy! Did she pick the wrong person to seek solidarity from at a nail competition!

First I looked at her oddly, like I thought she was an idiot-- at least, I hoped that's what the look told her. Then I crinkled up my brow and said, "Yeah, it's a sculptured nail competition." And I tried to get my tone to convey to her that she was an idiot for not understanding that.

Ok, Ok... I understand that not everyone is into nail competitions. I know that even people who know that there is such a thing might not be fully aware of all the different types of nail competitions and may not understand what a sculptured nail competition fully entails.

Still. Don't show up in the middle of the awards ceremony and act like it's lame just because you don't know what the hell is going on! Especially when it's rather obvious that the people you are talking to are paying attention to the announcements.

But it did make me think, A: I am behind on updating this blog, and B: Maybe I could share the amazingness that is a sculptured nail competition with the masses... are you ready?

First and foremost: YES! There IS such a thing as NAIL COMPETITIONS!

Practice set by Maggie

Nail competitions come in a variety of shapes and sizes (metaphorically speaking.) We have nail art competitions-- which is most people think of when we talk about nail competitions. What many many non-industry types don't understand is that, bottom line, it doesn't matter how good the art is if the nail underneath it is utter crap.


Which is why, from the very beginning of learning to do nails, a good tech focuses on creating a good nail-- you can't decorate your living room until somebody buids the house, right?

So the end all/be all Mother of All Nail Competitions is the traditional Sculptured Nail Competition.

This competition is all about creating a full set of nail extensions that exemplifies ideal structure. And that is tough to do.

Nail competitions are held througout the world, and competition is fierce! Rules differ from circuit to circuit... I am most familiar with the Nailpro rules, so that's what I'm mostly going to refer to.

In a sculptured nail competition, the goal is show off how perfect you can make a set of nails. You will be sculpting them on forms-- no tips! The nails must be pink and white with a 1:1 ratio-- the pink has to be the same length as the white. You have to sculpt moons at the base of one hand. One hand will be painted red, one hand will be left pink and white-- and the pink and white hand absolutely cannot have any polish on it!

That's right, NO POLISH. No basecoat, no topcoat, no gel coat, you cannot paint the white tip, the French manicure effect must be sculpted into the nail with pink and white product.

And that pink and white hand should have a mirror finish on it like it was made of glass... and you can't do that with polish, you have to buff it by hand and you can't use oil.

You can't use a drill. The entire set must be done entirely by hand.

The nails must be very thin, the rules suggest as "thin as a business card," which actually seems pretty thick compared to some of the sets I've seen.

The nails are judged very carefully on a number of issues:

• the pink to white ratio.
• How close to the cuticles and sidewalls the product comes without touching the skin, how perfectly the product is filed to the nail-- you shouldn't feel any ledge where the product starts and the natural nail stops.
• Color consistancy of the product: there should be no visible marbling effect of the pigment in the pink or the white.
• Arch and structure of the nail from cuticle to free edge.
• C-curve: when you look directly down the "barrel" of the nail from the free edges, the curvature of the tip of the nail and how it follows through the entire structure.
• Convex and concave shape and consistancy.
• Product control-- there should be absolutely no air bubbles in the product.

C-curve view of a practice set by Maggie.

It goes on. There are tons of tiny details that the judges scrutinize with flashlights, magnifying glasses, and rulers behind the curtain during judging.

The polished hand must be flawless. It must be painted with two coats of a red cream polish, absolutely no base or top coat.

They use red because it is absolutely unforgiving. Red cream polish shows every lump, dip, and rough patch. It also does not correct easily, so you can't just slap it on and then take your corrector brush around the cuticles to clean up your mess. Nope. You must apply those two coats of polish perfectly. And you get judged on that too.

Yeah. You end up with 100 sets of nails that all look the same... until you know what you're looking at. Then you learn to tell the differences. You learn to appreciate the careful skill that goes into each set. You see which competitors have perfected their "wax on/wax off" and which competitors have attempted to jump straight to the fight.

And believe me, it shows.

No. I guess it's not that interesting to look at if you don't know what to look for. Nail art competitions are far more entertaining to the uninitiated. It's easy to look at nail art and appreciate the WOW factor. But a competition where you have to do the exact same thing as every single one of your competitors, only much, much better is also much, much more challenging. There is no wiggle room, no chance to come up with a new interpretation, you simply must be the best.

C-curve view of much, much better nails by 3 time Nailpro Cup winner
 and 2009 World Champion Lynn Lammers.

Completed set of amazing nails by 3 time Nailpro Cup winner and
2009 World Champion Lynn Lammers-- this is what winning nails look like.

Sick Leave

In 19 1/2 years of doing nails I have only had to cancel clients due to illness 3 times. I personally think this is a pretty impressive record, seeing as how most jobs give you 5 to 6 days of sick leave a year.

Calling in sick isn't easy when you do nails. Especially not in any of the situations I have worked in. For one thing, I have been self employed for most of those 19 1/2 years. This means that if I can't work, I can't make any money. There is no sick pay, no paid vacation, no paid time off, no state disability or workers compensation funds to draw from-- if I am not doing nails, I am not getting paid, and I am simply SOL.

This goes a long way in the mind over matter phenomenon.

Also, I cannot simply call the boss and croak out a "I'm sick, won't be in today" and go back to bed. No. Calling in sick for me means calling each individual client on my schedule and hoping to get the message to them that I am seriously too ill to be trusted with a file. Knowing that you have to make 13 phone calls for one day off also means you really only do it when it's important.

The first time I ever found myself genuinely unable to make it through the day was about 5 years into my career-- around 1997. I was working in my first small solo studio then, and although more and more people had cell phones back then, they were still "for emergencies only" and not what people used as their primary number.

It was a Friday. I woke up feeling a little worse for wear, but was convinced that getting on with my day would soon leave my scratchy throat and general achiness in the past. I started my day as scheduled, finished my first two clients on the schedule and then had a break of a few hours before my evening would pick back up again... I was not feeling better. I tried to lay my head down and take a nap. It did not help. I had fever. My throat was sore. It occurred to me that there was no way I was going to make it through the evening and the following day. Not only was I not fit to hold a file, but it was irresponsible to expose my clients to whatever I had without fair warning... I had to reschedule 8 clients. And I had no voice.

I grabbed my appointment book and my client contact cards, put a note on the salon door, and jumped in the car-- my only option was to drive several miles across town in the opposite direction of where I lived, to the office where my mother worked at the time. I needed someone to call clients for me.

I walked into my mother's office and attempted to explain to her what I needed of her. I opened my mouth to speak but nothing came out but a harsh squeaking noise. So, with some wild gesticulating  and some pointing and pantomiming, Mom realized that I was sick.

Then she did what most mom's do-- she started fretting about me being sick. Held her hand to my forehead and announced that I was "burning up" and should go home.

Duh.

Finally, she got around to figuring out the part where I needed her to call my clients. Which she did, and everything worked out alright-- although the whole ordeal was highly embarrassing for me. As a young woman in my mid-twenties trying to build and run my own business, I would much preferred her to have called my clients and said, "I'm calling on behalf of Maggie Franklin. I'm afraid she's very ill and will not be able to keep her appointment with you this evening. She'll call you on Monday to reschedule."

But, being my mom of course, her calls all went more like, "this is Maggie's mom, she can't do your nails tonight because she's sick."

Well-- at least they got notified.

The second time I called in sick started very similarly; woke up feeling less than nifty, took a shower anyway... but this time, I didn't even make it in to work. I lay down on my bed, got dizzy and started throwing up. This was in the early 2000's and cell phones were everyone's go-to number by then-- so much easier knowing that if I don't reach the person immediately, at least my message will be received by the person I left it for and not erased by their teenager off the home answering machine!

Each person that I contacted listened to my voice and immediately agreed they wanted nothing to do with me that day.

And the third time I called in sick? Was Thursday. April 26, 2012-- just a few days ago.

It was also my birthday. A birthday that I was looking forward to. I was operating at a full 100% when I went to sleep just after midnight-- after staying up to watch the awesome electrical storm that started my 42nd year (actually, I guess I just started my 43rd year seeing as how birthdays mark the year that just finished) I love a storm and they are rare this late in April here. But I felt just fine when I went to sleep.

I woke up with a scratchy throat. I thought little of it. Allergies are common in these parts and considering the storm, it wouldn't surprise me if I'd been snoring all night long.

So I showered and got on with my day, felt fine for my first client although the throat still hurt. Started getting a little stuffed up by noon and by 2 in the afternoon I was full blown sick. Sore throat, couldn't breathe, achey, miserable, chills, nausea-- downright miserable.

But I was determined to push through to the end of the day... I made it through one more client. Then I started texting; creatively arranging my Monday schedule in order to reschedule my last client of the night in to a schedule for next week that was already fully booked.

Thank yous do not adequately express my gratitude to the clients who agreed to rearrange their appointments to make that happen.

I went home.

And started texting my Friday clients.

The scariest thing on my part was that I seriously have a very full schedule right now-- there just isn't space to reschedule people to. But I felt they at least needed to know what sort of nail lady they were likely to encounter if they didn't reschedule...

Somehow, everyone has found a spot in next week's schedule and I slept till 1 o'clock in the afternoon on Friday.

Then I got up, dragged my blanket and my pillow into the living room and took a nap. Then I got up, dragged my blanket and my pillow to the reclining patio lounger on the back porch and took a nap in the late afternoon sun... then I got up, dragged my blanket and my pillow back into the living room and took a nap.

When the BF came home he took my temperature 4 times. He doesn't trust the digital thermometer and I can't say as I blame him. He says my temperature was somewhere between 97.5 and 100.1.

It's Sunday now and I'm still not feeling great. But it looks like I'll be able to get back to work on schedule at least.

Kinda bummed about missing all my birthday plans. I'm 42 now. Which-- for other Hitchhiker's Guide dorks like me-- means that I am now the answer to Life, the Universe, and Everything. Which is a pretty substantial accomplishment. I'm also 21 twice now, I was planning on going out drinking double fisted.

I was also looking forward to some homemade ice cream and a tasty home made birthday meal with family.

It will all have to wait-- except for being the Answer to Life the Universe and Everything, that's the sort of thing that goes on whether you feel well or not.

But mostly, I wonder: while the existence and prevalence of text messaging surely made contacting clients to reschedule easier without a voice-- how many people just think that I took off my birthday to party since they never heard my pitiful voice?

The Delicate Question of Tipping

Yes, it's true: it is traditional to tip your salon professionals. Including the nail lady.

If you ask Ms. Manners, or Dear Abby, or whoever you go to for this type of advice, you will find that "etiquette" dictates a 15%-20% gratuity with each service and birthday and Christmas presents should be equivalent in price to one service.

If you ask me how much you are supposed to tip, I will blush and stammer and try to change the subject.

Yes. Tipping is standard in the salon industry and I would dearly appreciate it if you saw fit to slide a little extra $$$ my way to say "thank you" when I don't charge you for repairs, or when I do nail art for you anyway even though you were 15 minutes late, or when I don't enforce a policy like making you pay for a missed appointment.

I appreciate it when clients tack on an extra buck or two for my Starbucks habit or to go toward the glitter fund.

And I really appreciate the clients who take the time to do the math and actually calculate 20%.

But I also really appreciate the clients who don't tip. But keep coming back, week after week after week, and who refer me to their friends, family and co-workers. Who don't gripe about prices and occasional price increases, who understand why I have policies and why I need to enforce them. The people who respect me as a professional and enjoy me as a person...the fabulous clients who keep me in business-- whether they tip or not.

And tipping-- no matter how extravagant-- does not make up for being a lousy client or obnoxious person. I don't care if you tip 100%, it won't ingratiate you to me to the extent that it's ok to blatantly ignore my policies or treat me or my other clients rudely. No amount of money will make certain behavior acceptable and you can't buy your welcome.

And in today's salon business where most salon workers are booth renters and most salon owners are working their own booth-- the tradition of not tipping the salon owner is out of date. If the owner of the salon is the person who performed your services, then it's appropriate to tip according to standard practice.

It's a delicate topic all the way around. Some nail techs have opted to simply not accept tips at all. Some nail techs gripe about the clients who don't tip. Some-- most-- are much more concerned with whether or not their clients return happy than whether or not they leave more money than the price of the service.
It's far more important to build a happy clientele, full of loyal customers who return regularly and give positive reviews of your business and your work that perpetuates your success than it is to count on a few extra bucks on top of the price of service.

It turns out that a lot of people-- especially young people-- are genuinely unaware that tipping is a traditional practice in the salon industry.

It's always an awkward situation to find oneself in, when you learn that nail techs get tipped and you haven't been. And it's just as awkward for me when a client tells me they never knew they "should" be tipping me!

I don't want my clients to think that I judge their value to my business based on whether or not they tip-- or how much.

I hope that my clients know that I value them as people as well as clients and that I base their value on their loyalty to me, on their respect for me as a person and a professional, and on the quality of our time together during their visits to the salon. Much the way we all determine the value of the people in our personal lives-- based on the quality of the relationship.

So the answer to this frequently asked question is "Yes, it's appropriate to tip your nail lady." But most nail techs (and massage therapists and hairstylists) aren't expecting it, and would prefer a reliable, respectful, loyal client than a tip from someone who thinks it's supposed to make up for treating us poorly.

A Nail for Everyone

gel polish on natural nails

Of course I think everyone should get their nails done professionally on a regular basis; I'm a nail tech! This is what I do for a living, so it just stands to reason that I might be a little biased toward professional nail services.

But I don't think everyone needs to have fake nails. And although I do love fake nails, it's also important to note that not all "fake" nails are made of acrylic-- you have lots of options!

There's a nail service for everyone!

FAKE Nails-- also called "nail enhancements" "artificial nails" or "nail extensions"
   
Fake nails petty much means you have something over your nails that makes them longer than they are naturally. Eventually your natural nail will grow out under that product and be as long as the product over them, or you might even start out just putting a product over your natural nails without making them longer to begin with.

Making your nails longer means you have nail extensions. Just putting product over your nails means you have an overlay.

Extensions can be done by sculpting product onto forms or over tips. Tips are really common in the industry right now-- they're the plastic fake nails.

The biggest problem with tips is that there are a lot of salons that use them to cut corners and shave time off of a service. They just grab a bunch of plastic nails out of a box and glue them down to your nails without bothering to make sure the tips are the right size and shape to fit your natural nail. This means that they can break down over time because the plastic is pre-formed and wants to revert back to it's pre-formed shape and as your nails grows out, they don't always grow out together.

You get ledges at the corners where the tip is too wide or too narrow, your natural nails curls under and away from the sides of the tips... I've seen all kinds of problems. Not to mention when places use white tips to do a French manicure-- the smile line is almost always too far up the nail bed close to the cuticle, which looks like cheap work.

Tips can be done properly. It takes a little extra patience to carefully choose a tip style that fits your natural nails, and then choose the appropriate size and do some customizing if the perfect fit doesn't exist. When tips are done right, they make an excellent foundation for the product.

Tips are not where the strength of the extension comes from. They should fit to the very edge of your nail and only offer something for the product to be built onto.

The strength of the extension comes from the product and from being properly structured.

forms

Forms are usually foil-covered paper stickers that fit around the fingertip and then the product is built directly over the form. When the product is cured (hardened) enough to file, the forms are removed and the product is shaped into the finished extension structure.

I like sculpting on forms because it gives me a chance to create a more custom fit of the product to the nail.



Extensions can be made of several different products:


The most common sculpting products are acrylic (liquid and powder) and gel (a thick liquid that cures under a lamp.)

acrylic

Almost everyone who has ever had their nails done knows about acrylic: liquid and powder mixed on the brush and applied to the nail. It hardens with a few minutes.

Unfortunately, there are a lot of people doing nails who aren't very good at it, and many people have had bad experiences with acrylic because of this.

DON'T BLAME THE PRODUCT!

If you had a bad experience with acrylic, there's a very good chance that it's not the acrylic's fault. The person who put them on may have over-filed your natural nail, used MMA, or the acrylics may have been picked or pried off-- which will tear your natural nail up. Acrylic should be removed by soaking it off.

Acrylics also don't have to be thick or long, or yellow, or gross in any way. Acrylic can be an excellent choice for a strong nail extension and it breaks this nail-lady's heart that so many people think it's bad.

almond shape gel nails with 3D acrylic flowers

But you can also build a nail extension with gel:

Traditional builder gels are thick and can be used to extend a nail over tips or forms. Gel can build a strong structure that can support the weight and length of rockstar nails and/or stilettos and duck foot shapes.

Gel is also a plastic product, like acrylic, but not exactly the same. There are some tiny differences in gels that make them more suitable for some clients-- which is why it's important to consult with your professional to determine what the best product for you is.

Dip system over white tips

Other extension products include wraps and dip systems. Wraps can actually be done without plastic tips, but usually start with  tips. Dip systems involve a building the enhancement through a series of layers of nail glue dipped in, or sprinkled with, powder, and while it's theoretically possible to build them over forms I've never seen or heard of it being done.

Wraps use nail glue and fabric mesh made of silk, fiberglass, or linen, to add strength.

Enhancements made of nail glue (Often called "resin-based" services: nail glue isn't actually glue at all, it's cyanoacrylate resin-- like Crazy Glue) are fading from popularity. The resin breaks down over time and exposure to water-- it becomes brittle and gets cloudy.

Resin-based services were often a good Plan B option for clients who are sensitive to acrylic products, but several new gel products are hypoallergenic now without the breakdown rate of resins.

Don't want "Fake" nails? No problem!

Red "French" manicure with Gel Polish

The new light cured polishes are amazing! You can come into the salon and get a manicure and have your nails polished and the polish will actually last-- for several weeks on most people!

You can't find a manicure for $3.00 anymore. A manicure takes about as long as a fill, and it doesn't make sense to charge less for the same amount of time. So I totally understand that for a long time, people didn't really want to pay $20-40 for a manicure when the polish was just going to chip off after 3 days anyway... although, honestly, I would be willing to lay down some good money for a decent hand massage, with or without polish.

There are also a variety of gel products on the market now that bridge the gap between fake nails and manicures. You could get an overlay of thin gel to add strength and structure to your natural nails. It'll still need filled, but you can often whittle down your visits to the salon to once every 3 or even 4 weeks.

traditional polish on natural nails.

And there's always the old fashioned manicure! So traditional polish doesn't last very long, so what? There is nothing like taking a minute to take care of yourself. Sit down, turn off your cell phone, and just relax. Enjoy some pampering, some conversation, and a really good hand and arm massage with calming scents from luxurious products.

A manicure isn't a miracle-- you can't spend 30 years working in the garden without gloves and expect anyone to make your hands look like a hand model from a  lotion commercial in an hour. But if you don't take care of your hands on a regular basis, it's not a bad idea to let someone else show them some attention once in a while. Have your cuticles pushed back, hangnails trimmed, nails shaped and filed, and skin moisturized. Finish it up with polish or not.

Minx

Another cool thing for your nails are appliques. Products like Minx and Dashing Diva are popping up all over the place these days. Some of these are little more than stickers, some of them are more complicated. Some are easy to apply at home-- but some really shine in the hands of a professional. Basically, appliques fall into a category somewhere between enhancements and nail art, they typically fit over the natural nail and offer temporary design and delight.

Initially I was less inclined to include them in my repertoire, but as more options come to market, it's becoming more apparent that this is a legitimate alternative to other nail products and services-- especially for a temporary fix!

tie-dye design with gel paint

And don't forget your toes! When all else fails and you just can't see fit to get your nails done, remember, all the same options for fingernails apply to toenails as well!

Professional nail care is for everyone, even if not everyone needs nails.

Waiting to Hear From Me?

It's true. I was a terrible teenager. I have always loathed talking on the phone.

Now I have a business to run, and I do it by appointment, so you can imagine that it's important for me to be accessible, especially by phone.

Every so often, I hear someone complain that it's very difficult to reach me on the phone-- or that I never return calls. And sometimes they're right... sometimes they never left me a voicemail...sometimes I got a voicemail but couldn't decipher it no matter how many times I replayed it... or no one left a name.

Do you have any idea how embarrassing it is to call a total stranger and say, "Uh, this is Maggie from the Art of Nailz... did you leave me a message?"

That is totally unacceptably unprofessional. Makes me feel stupid. Stupid enough to not bother calling you back. I am not one of those people who simply calls every number that shows up in my caller ID just to say, "you called me?"

Other reasons I may not return your voicemail: Your number didn't show up on caller ID and you didn't leave it. Or you didn't leave a number, so I call the number that showed up on Caller ID and no one there had ever heard of you... or I didn't have a name, so all I could do was say, "did someone here call about getting their nails done?"

Or I couldn't understand your message. Sometimes this is because people leave messages while they are driving... with the windows down... and the radio blaring... and someone else talking in the background.

Sometimes people leave messages while 27 children are screaming in the background.

Or possibly while you are at a major sporting event, possibly from the pit at a Nascar race? I have no idea what all that noise is in the background, but I can't understand a thing you said.

Sometimes people  leave messages while their mouths are full of potato chips.

And, sometimes, it's not your fault at all. Sometimes there's interference on the line, with the network, or whatever, and even though you left a perfectly respectable message, all I hear is a garbled, crunching noise that sounds like something out of a Stephen King movie.

When I get those messages, I usually try calling my voicemail back from another line. Sometimes this works, sometimes not.

Sometimes you get the voicemail to begin with because I am up to my elbows in acrylic and glitter while my client is chatting away and I just don't have a good breaking point to interrupt the conversation and answer the phone. When you're the one on the phone, I realize this is quite annoying. But when you're the client that isn't getting interrupted-- it's quite considerate.

Making those decisions is a balancing act.

I also have to consider that-- most of the time-- the person calling will be asking about booking an appointment, which means I have to stop what I'm doing, turn to the computer, and look at the schedule.

This almost never goes smoothly. It's very rare that someone calls up and says, "I'd like to make an appointment." And then I say, "Great! My next opening is next Tuesday at 1:00 p.m., what's your name and number?" And then they say, "Awesome! That'll be perfect; my name is Nancy and my number is 123-4567."

No. Booking calls go more like this:
     Caller: "Hi, I seen your website and I was wondering how much you cost for a set of Rockstar Nails?"
     Me: "A new set of Rockstar Nails starts at $65.00 and goes up depending on how many colors and elements you want in the nails."
     Caller: "Oooooooohhhh. O...K.... So, if I wanted, like, 2 colors and maybe some rhinestones, how much would you charge me?"
     Me: "2 colors would be $70 and rhinestones will depend on how many and what size, figure about a dollar a nail unless you want to cover the whole nail."
     Caller: "Hmmmmmmmm.... ok. So when can I get that done?"
     Me: (at this point, I stop working and turn to the computer to check the schedule) "The next opening I have is next Tuesday at 1 in the afternoon."
     Caller: "Oh no, I can't do that, I don't get off work till 5. You got anything tomorrow?"
     Me: "No, sorry. My next opening isn't until next Tuesday... the next thing I have open after 5 is-- (pause while I check)-- Thursday, April 26 at 7:30 in the evening."
     Caller: "What?! You're really that booked up? You don't have anything for 5 weeks?!"
     Me: "Not after 5 p.m. Sorry. My evenings are really busy."
     Caller: "Well, what if I came in on my lunch? Could you get me done in an hour?"
     Me: "A new set takes about an hour and a half-- can you take a little extra time?"
     Caller: "Yeah, I could just say I have an appointment or somethin, that's ok."
     Me: "Ok! Then I could do next Tuesday at 1:00."
     Caller: "I take lunch at noon. Do you have anything this Saturday? I could come on Saturday."
     Me: "Sorry, I don't work on weekends."
     Caller: "Oh, ok. So you don't have any openings then?"
     Me: "I have next Tuesday at 1:00."
     Caller: "Nahhh, that won't work. I'll have to call you back."

This is not every call, but I'm not making this up. This is really how many calls go. Meanwhile, I have been sitting at the computer, checking the schedule for suitable openings for all that time... not finishing my client's nails.

It's surprising how much time it really takes to book an appointment--  or end up not booking one, as in many cases.

Sometimes I just have to figure out if I'm running on schedule enough to take that much time away from what I'm already doing. If I spend 10 minutes on the phone, I might end up running into the next client's time.

10  minutes is a big deal when it comes to a nail appointment. 10 minutes is the breaking point at which I determine that a late client  is no longer just "late" but has no-showed me. If I'm going to only give my clients a 10 minute grace period, then I owe it to them to value their time as much as my own.

Sometimes you get voicemail because I'm driving. I don't answer the phone while I'm driving. Aside from the fact that I don't think it's worth the price of the ticket, I know how annoying other drivers are when they're talking on the phone, I don't want to be like them. Also, I probably won't be able to help you if I'm driving. I can't drive, talk, and check the calendar all at the same time.

Or, you're calling while I'm on the phone with someone else. I hate call waiting. I wish I could figure out how to disable it on my current phone.

Or, you're calling at weird times-- or at least "weird" times on my schedule-- such as Saturdays or before 10 a.m. I know those are reasonable times to call most salons, but they are not in my regular business hours. And on most Saturdays, I'm off gallivanting where I can't hear the phone anyway.

Or you're calling at 11 p.m. on a Wednesday night. Or on a Sunday. If you call very late at night or one weekends or holidays, I rather assume that you're looking for the voicemail anyway. Those are weird times to call businesses.

But here's another thing: sometimes, technology just doesn't meet our expectations of it. For instance: Yesterday evening my phone suddenly chimed 7 times within an hour, alerting me of several incoming text messages.

I listened to them and thought, "Who's sending me all those text messages?" thinking that someone was either writing me a small novel.

When I put down the file to check, I discovered a number of messages had just been delivered from several people-- which made several emails, Facebook messages, and visits from people that had already happened, make sense.

Turns out, delivery was just slow. Who knows why these things happen? All I know is, if you sent me a text message before 6 p.m. yesterday, I didn't get it when you sent it.

And maybe that's what happened with my voicemail too? Because I checked voicemail as recently as yesterday... but today I have 11 of them, some of them dated as long as 2 weeks ago.

Now I have a list of names and numbers to call back and I'm seriously wondering if I should bother with the ones from 2 weeks ago? Do I call these people and say, "So sorry, just got your message, are you still interested?"

Or do I just let them fade away?

The problem with calling people and explaining that the techno-gremlins delayed delivery of their message is that the near-universal response is, "Who's your cell carrier?"

Because everyone wants to believe it's the cell company's fault. Oh, Sprint! They suck. My cousin has Sprint and her voicemail is ALWAYS down.

Or "Really? Verizon? I have Verizon and my voicemail always gets delivered on time."

Or, "Oh yeah, I have AT&T too, that happens to my voicemail all the time."

Point is: cell phones are not perfect. No matter who your carrier is, you will occasionally have issues with them. For the record: I rarely have problems with my carrier.

Then, last week, there was a lot of hubbub about the solar storm. I don't really understand solar storms or how they affect satellite operations-- or any other technology. But apparently they do. And apparently we had a pretty big solar storm a few weeks ago.

Maybe that's why so many voicemails were lost in the ether.

But whatever the reason, I'm looking at a list of 11 messages that I need to return. And I thought I'd blog instead.

The "Perfect" Nail

I was really nervous about doing a nail for an article called "the perfect nail." That's a very tall order, and technical skill is not as much my specialty as artistic interpretation. Still, it got me to thinking about what a perfect nail should be, who gets to decide when it is, and how to tell when you've done it:

Being tasked with creating an example of "the perfect nail" was stressful, knowing that my work would be used as that example and published where it will be scrutinized as such by my peers; I have visions of nail techs all over the world reading the article and looking at that nail thinking, "Who the hell did that nail and where do they get off thinking they know how to do a 'perfect' nail?!"

On one hand, the "perfect nail" has very  much been defined for me-- and the entire industry-- by sculptured nail competitions that set forth specific criteria to be met in order to achieve an ideal that has been preconceived for us. That concept is very finite and clearly spelled out. I think much of the industry's own idea of the "perfect nail" is based on the competition paradigm.

On the other hand... I started thinking how "perfect" applies in real life. It's so subjective. Some people love sharply squared nails, some people loathe them. Take, for instance, the growing popularity of the flared nail. More and more, I find myself coming to terms with this trend and learning to appreciate it for its own beauty. So, as demand for the look grows, I've decided that if that's what's going to be the trend, then at least I can do them as well as possible. So I'm working on making my flares stand out as at least still having technical skill behind them; with straight lines and clean edges. I can definitely look through photos and see the difference between well-done stilettos and nails that are simply filed to a point, and now I find myself also looking at photos of nails and telling the difference between nails that flare because they suck and nails that flare because someone took the time and effort to create an artistically flared nail.


Ultimately, our clients are the ones who determine "perfection." And I am fortunate to have an eclectic clientele that allows me to practice many different styles, and that drives me to keep an open mind regarding these ideals so that I am able to see the same perfection in a sleek stiletto or a extravagantly flared duckfoot: square, squoval, oval, almond; pink and white, rockstar, 3D, natural nails and even distressed manicures-- "perfect" is in the eye of the beholder, and it is achieved each time your client leaves the salon in love with her nails, and returns to have you do them again.

Cover Artist



Nails Magazine, April 2012: cover by Maggie Franklin
this is my mounted and preserved copy.


It might be safe to say that it is every nail artist's dream to do the cover for a trade magazine.

Here in the US, we have Nails Magazine and Nailpro Magazine to feed the obsessions of the professional nail industry. Abroad, magazines such as Nailure (Russia) and Scratch (UK) capture my attention and make me drool... sadly, the cost of an out of country subscription is a tad steep so I have to drool over the photos and articles online.

I have been blogging for Nails Magazine since 2008 now. I hope to keep this sweet gig for several more years (crosses fingers) mostly because it's a super fun blog to write, and also because being able to say that I'm a "professional blogger" is to girls what being a professional video game player is to boys.

But, in 20 years of doing nails, and 20 years of subscribing to both the US trade magazines for the nail industry, I had never been invited to do the cover nails of either, despite my obvious superior talents and personality.

Ok. Well, I looked into it many years ago: the thing is, the mags don't really reach out and invite people to their cover shoots.

The magazines tend to work with local artists (both magazines being headquartered in southern CA,) with artists who represent major product manufacturers or have connections with one. They offer those coveted cover shoots to the winners of competitions, or nail artists who are already accustomed to working on professional photo shoots.

This means that it's not uncommon to see the same artists credited for the covers over and over again.

For one thing, that can get boring. I've seen year after year of covers and when you use the same talent over and over again, it shouldn't be a surprise that the covers start to look like you're using the same talent over and over again.

Another thing that I came to understand from the git-go is that the cover art is rarely entirely representative of the cover artist: The magazine editors are the ones who put the magazines together and they are often the ones who conceive the issue's theme and tone. So when they select an artist to do the cover, it's less about showcasing that artist's style and talent than it is about hiring labor to bring the editors' visions to fruition.

I don't particular think this is the way it ought to be-- not for the magazines that serve the nail industry! These are supposed to be OUR magazines, about US, and OUR trade-- getting the opportunity to do the cover nails for should be all about the cover artist! The editors should select the artist, say, "You'll be doing the July issue, wow us!" And then the artist should come in, guns ablazing (metaphorically speaking) and get to show off!

This should be that artist's chance to really do something amazing that illustrates their individual style.

But it isn't-- at least, not usually.

But knowing this never dampened the hope that I would someday get the chance to do the nails for a magazine cover. It's a pretty fancy feather for the cap of a nail tech!

Several years ago, Nails Magazine started doing a cover competition. This might be the closest thing a cover artist really has to being able to go wild and do whatever they want. You do the nails, you set up the photo shoot, you get really high quality photos, and you enter them in the contest. Originally, the magazine editors chose the winner and the photo appeared on the January issue of the magazine.

I'm proud to say that it was actually one of my blog posts that helped to further the concept of the "reader-written" January issue combined with the cover contest so that now the readers are the ones who determine the winning photo for the issue each year (after the editors narrow it down to the top 10 finalists.)

But I've never entered the cover contest.

Why?

Oddly enough-- because I wanted my first cover to be at the request of the editors. I wanted them to want me to do the cover.

Maybe it's an ego thing? I wanted to do the cover, but I wanted to do a cover shoot too. I wanted the whole experience. And I wanted it to be because I had earned the exposure and respect in my industry to warrant enough celebrity to get invited to do a cover shoot.

Let me tell you right now-- if this is the way you choose to go about pursuing a goal, it is going to be a long, hard ride!

Nevertheless! Shortly after the 1st of the year, I received a phone call one afternoon from editor Tim Crowley of Nails Magazine.

I was in the process of rockstarring up Brenda's toes and I tried very hard to sound totally nonchalant on the phone while I was doing my happy dance when Tim said he was calling to ask if I could come do the cover nails.

First I was ecstatic. Then terrified. Then nauseous. Then I spent a week battling the impulse to run away and hide under a rock.

Not only would I be doing the cover nails, but also the nails that would accompany an article called "the Perfect Nail."

*Gulp!* "Perfect" nails is not my forte! I do stunning nails. I do creative nails. I do fabulous nails. I do artistic nails. I do nails that my clients love... but "perfect" to a nail tech (especially one who competes) is a different animal altogether than what you might envision!

Nothing like making my first professional photo shoot a horrifying experience! LOL!

But I didn't run away and hide. I drove to Torrance (a 3 hour drive-- I actually lived there briefly in the late 90s,) I got up early in the morning and arrived for my photo shoot around 8 a.m. ( and we all know that my personal clock has no A.M.!)

I was totally prepared for a high-pressure day of creating nails according the editor's vision, on a professional hand model, working with editors and art directors and models and photographers in a setting that is totally new and alien to my daily work environment. I had myself all psyched out to remember that I was not the top of these food chain, that I was merely there to get the job done according to the needs, desires, and time restrictions of a crew that has experience doing this stuff.

Which turned out to be a lot like when I psyched myself up for my state board exam! (Best advice I can give anyone who is headed for their CA State Board of Barbering and Cosmetology licensing exam is that it is NOT as scary as you've been led to believe!)

In fact, my first photo shoot with Nails Magazine was very relaxed. And I wish I'd been prepared for that.

I did not have to rush. I could have taken more time to get my bearings. I could have taken more time to talk with the editor, the art director, and the photographer about the nitty gritty details of the process outside of just doing the nails. So many things that I didn't consider when I sat down with my model.

I knew I would most likely be the only one on the set who hadn't done this before (and I was right,) I didn't want to get in anyone's way by needing someone to hold my hand during the process. I wanted to be independent and be ready to just do what was needed of me-- I could have relaxed and asked for a little hand holding, just a little.

Overall, it was a great experience. I had fun. I met awesome people. I learned a lot about how Nails Magazine does a cover shoot, and I hope that I get the opportunity to use what I learned to do it better the next time.

I have not seen the cover yet. I saw the photos that were taken, and have an idea of which shot will be chosen, but I have to wait with everyone else till the April issue comes out to see the final result-- after the photo editing!

The nails that I did are not indicative of my style, the don't look like the nails in my portfolio, they are largely the manifestation of Hannah's vision (editor of Nails Mag,) but they are beautiful, they were fun to do, and I think they fit into the theme of the cover and will look beautiful in print.

Currently, I am awaiting the arrival of the March issue-- which I believe is the one with the "perfect nail" article in it. I am terrified! I repeatedly made the art director assure me that she had mad skillz with Photoshop and would make my less then "perfect" nail look perfect in print!

my photo shoot crew