Art for art's sake?

[JuicyLucy]

I want to play devil's advocate a bit here.

I keep seeing the most amazing nail art, particularly on very long stiletto enhancements. One stroke blah, blah, blah. However, the only people who seem to be wearing these types of nails are other nail techs and competition models. I want to ask if there really is an every day market for this kind of enhancement and art?

Personally, I would love to be able to do this kind of stuff and I have been on three art courses now. I am pretty sure that given time and practice I could hone the skills. Therein lies the problem. I have not one client in my very busy salon who would want such nails and therefore I cannot get any practice. So I have to ask myself if there is any point - I am in business to make a living.

These days everyone wants a perfect French or perfect painting mainly with gel polish on their natural nails.

On one of the courses I was amazed to see the tutor's sample work. However, when she told me how long the art had taken, I worked out that a client would have to pay me approximately £220 to make it worth my while in terms of time used, and that is only if I could do it as quick as the tutor (which is doubtful).
a) are there any clients who want to pay this much?
b) are there any clients who want to sit with me for that long!?
c) can I afford to use my time this way on one client?

I see really a lot of nails on here and on the internet where the basic skills i.e. well balanced and shaped enhancements and precision painting are badly lacking. However some of these same awful nails have loads of nail art on them.

Are people spending too much time concentrating on nail art and forgetting the core basic skills and the skills that keep clients coming back?

How much value, in terms of profit against your time, is nail art really adding to your business?

 

[Chickafish]

I'm with you on this, especially the part about the lack of basic skills. I've taken a few nail art specific courses myself just for personal interest. I really don't see any of my current clients wanting any of what I can do. It's always basic colors, perfect french, maybe the occasional glittery accent nail or a couple of swirls and dots here and there. I do know of one nail tech/educator that does the one stroke, foil nail art, ect on a regular basis. her basic work is practically flawless, and her nail art is even more amazing. She's very quick as well. To make it worth her while, she charges by the hour. I suppose that's one way to make her work appreciated... cut out the small chit chat and just let her quietly focus on her craft.

 

[squidgernetball]

I have to be honest here and say that I'm not a big fan of nail art. The most I offer is a bit of glitter or a decal or two which I'm happy with. I don't have the time or inclination to do more than that. I think some of it looks amazing and some looks awful but that's just me.

My client base like nicely painted nails and think a bit of glitter is rather whacky so we are well suited.
Are you passionate about offering nail art? If not, I just wouldn't bother but so often, if we wear it and promote it, our clients suddenly discover they can't live without it lol.

Vic x

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[Nikki May]

I recently got a new customer come to me because her old tech doesn't do any kind of nail art. I think there is a market for it but yes you have to be amazing at it and also market it as your USP.
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[LieLash]

I love nail art but as a nail tech before I specialised in lashes I found I couldn't make money out of it

The basic stamp and decal fine but people won't pay for the intricate detailed nail art that can take hours / because u need to charge

So for me it was pointless !

 

[Russian doll]

I have to agree that often the time it takes to do some really detailed nail art just doesn't really pay off, as me for example, I can not charge more then a certain amount because nobody would pay it. BUT, more simple things like transfer foils, glitters, craving, a bit of rhinestones, a simple one stroke on accent finger-I'd say it gives me some extra profit, and doesn't really take that long. Plus, it gets me TONS of referrals, because I do something different, which people can't just get anywhere, so it keeps them coming, which then already makes it worth my while. I do have a couple of clients though that like more complicated one stroke for instance, and even though I don't actually charge them big amounts for it, they leave me the price of another manicure in tips, so I don't mind spending that extra time at all

 

[JuicyLucy]

Yes, I also do the odd bit of stamping, colour fading, glitters etc. they all take very little time - its the huge projects I'm talking about, I just don't see the point.

 

[Deena]

I'm with Chickafish, too, on this. Short answer is no, it doesn't stack up for most to bother with learning the more complex nail arts. It simply wont pay because you can't wave a magic wand and knock it up in the same time as a decal and people simply wont fork out for it. A couple of accent nails with a one stroke flower and a leaf or two is about all you can expect to charge for, but even that's a good selling point once word gets around.

If you like it, enjoy doing it and it's for personal interest and development - fine. Anything else, unless you want it for competition/educator purposes in the future, forget it and stick to the usual flicks and dots etc!

 

[fluffyclouds]

just adding my own experience.... yes i started doing nail art because i just wanted to see what i could do, my clients were intrigued with it and soon i started having people come from larger towns miles away for me to paint their nails and give them art this amazed me! so i carried on challenging myself doing new art and letting my customers see it they in turn told friends, work colleges clients etc i now have a large amount of people coming to me because of my art it is a niche market but if you crack it its worth it. Also alot of people who see it come to me for simple nails too a classic colour or french i think seeing what im able to do fills them with confidence in my talent and passion for the business. I dont charge hundreds for my art but i do charge what i feel its worth in skill and time. Anyway long and short of it is that people come to me because if my whether its art they want or not i do it because i enjoy it and it has in turn increased my client base and income

 

[ch-ela]

I too agree with Chikafish. Most of my clients are happy with a simple accent finger of swirls, foil bits or a couple of hand painted roses. Even the young hairdressers I work with don't want fancy nail art. But they do like to see some of the simple designs that I do (and that's ALL I can do) I'm not sure why. Maybe I should ask them.
Some of the work that you can see is truly amazing, and I would love to be able to do it. Long stiletto's and one stroke nail art. But only to satisfy my artistic needs, not as a business prospect.
To answer your questions JuicyLucy

a) are there any clients who want to pay this much? Couldn't afford it
b) are there any clients who want to sit with me for that long!? Yes
c) can I afford to use my time this way on one client? Probably not but it would give me the opportunity to pick your brains! Your posts on here encouraged me to return to nails after a break.

 

[beautyxperts]

If I specialised in nails & only nails then I would offer art like one stroke, 3D etc. I do offer nail art but it's a case of ring fingers, rock star nails, hand painted nothing too intricate. I loved to do more but like other I don't have the time plus for the amount of time it takes clients wouldn't want to pay. Some of the nail "art" I see at the moment seems to cover badly applied nail enhancements and frankly I'd rather do a beautiful set of enhancements than cover with stick on bows etc. X

 

[cute-ickles]

So glad this post is on here!! Fabulous nail art looks, well...fabulous and if you're not extravagantly creative in that area (like me) it's just something nice to ooh and ahh over.

Personally none of my clients have ever asked for it, like many of you said gel polish, crystals and a bit of glitter is as far as it would go. As that's pretty much my style it works well.

Pleased to hear that we don't all feel like we need to capture all markets to succeed.

x

 

[Claire@OBNMK]

I'm getting new clients cos they love my nail art but I'm finiding that they love what i call simple stuff (glitter fades, effects, foils the odd freehand lace stuff and stamps) they think its the bee's knees because all they are used to is flicks and dots that the salons in town do.

I would love to do more intricate art work but most wont pay for it (and im not doing it for free) and it's the time element too, so I end up doing it on myself or on display sticks. However i do have a couple of clients that love "mad stuff" so thats good.

but im not going to stop doing it because the more i do the better i become and i feel that im just expanding my creativity more which is a good thing for me. Plus working on fine lines is important, there is nothing worse than trying to do freehand lace and it coming out chunkier than granny's handknited cable jumper :Scared:

But i do agree some people do forget the basics of good structure (I've seen some shockers covered up with lots of art on FB, and whilst other techs are singing their praises I just keep quiet)

I'm still in the learning/newbie phase myself but I'd like to think that I'm not slapping on art for art sake to cover up dodgy nails lol :o

 

[Stook]

So far I've not used it on clients. The most adventurous I've been asked for is rockstars.

However, I really enjoy nail art and am spending some lovely time just stamping my nails and playing with things like Empower and nail art stickers. I am taking a lot of pictures of the finished products and am finding that whilst out and about, my nail art is attracting a lot of attention which gives me the opportunity to hand out business cards.

I guess when/if it starts impacting on my working time, I'll have to rethink in terms of pricing.

 

[JuicyLucy]

Yes Stook, I think stamping is a good option and perhaps something I should perfect for the occasional client that wants nail art. I already have loads of plates and polishes but I've never spent much time practicing. It's a good option because it's so quick and effective and you could easily add a few pounds onto the treatment cost for it.

Claire, you nail art is fab and so are your nails.

 

[Sam.hop]

I obviously can't speak for anybody else but in my area, York, I am yet to see a therapist or client whether it be in the street or in my salon etc that wishes to have such long intricate and detailed nails.
However, I have always looked at these competitions and fabulous nails that have taken 2 weeks to complete, as I would a fashion catwalk. The idea is there for us to gain knowledge of perhaps a popular or trending colour combination, as well as selecting details to replicate in a more manageable 'everyday' way.
I enjoy nail art as it allows me to be slightly more creative however, quite understandably the vast majority of my ladies can only go as bold as an accent finger or some glitter or stamping.

I do of course like most techs, spend hours sprawling Instagram and Pinterest searching out said art, but it's more out of wonderment and interest.

I have to add - when I visited America I did saw quite a few ladies with extremely extravagant nails.. Maybe they're just braver than us?

 

[BobSweden]

I'm married to someone who is a nail art competition champion, an international judge and whose work has been published in most nail magazines, so I should be a little careful what I write .

I love good nail art - for me that's when I see creativity and great technique blended together. Unfortunately, most of the nail art I see is disappointing and often let down by the poor nail shape, or that the NT has not received any formal nail art education (e.g. to learn 3d acrylic sculpting in Russia/Ukraine is a 4 day class, not one day as in most other European countries).

The bread and butter business for nail salons is French, overlays and manicure. So it's important for all new NT to first get the basics right and produce high quality nails that will earn your reputation, help you to stand out against low cost salons and charge more for your services.

Most customers won't pay much extra for nail art. My wife did have some enthusiast customers who would even drive long distances to visit her, and they paid depending on the time spend for each creation. But again the day to day work was mostly French.

I do think that nail art is a big distraction for many NT, who are creative people but get into nail art before they have mastered the basic skills (my level of basic means creating well sculpted nails that complement the clients finger shape).

Magazines are partly to blame for this. How often can we see an article on how to create a perfect French almond, oval, etc? Instead the magazines are filled with nail art, much of it not really very good, because editors like to have lots of nice photo's to enhance the magazines image. From this perspective, nail art is a great marketing tool because it's relatively uncomplicated to get your work published in magazines. This is actually how we started to create my wife's reputation 7 years ago.

And then we have some beautiful nail art on Facebook etc, but what they don't explain is that they took 4 to 8 hours to produce one set!

So my advice is start by honing your skills so that you can create nails with a good shape and do a refill/balancing in a reasonable time. Then progress to different nail shapes and master those. Then, if you are motivated, take a class with a good teacher on painting techniques because this allows you to add some nice decoration in a short time. One-stroke could also be included - several of our salon partners offer this and compared to other decorations it's fairly popular. Few customers will want or ask for 3d acrylic, so treat that as a hobby.

 

[Claire@OBNMK]

Yes Stook, I think stamping is a good option and perhaps something I should perfect for the occasional client that wants nail art. I already have loads of plates and polishes but I've never spent much time practicing. It's a good option because it's so quick and effective and you could easily add a few pounds onto the treatment cost for it.

Claire, you nail art is fab and so are your nails.

Mwah! mwah! :Love: