(left to right) NAILS Magazine's Cyndy Drummey and Erika Kotite, Heather Herr and Randy Currie of Currie Hair-Skin-Nails Salon.

(left to right) NAILS Magazine's Cyndy Drummey and Erika Kotite, Heather Herr and Randy Currie of Currie Hair-Skin-Nails Salon. 

Last year, when nail technician Jackie Bicow-Menardy sent off photos of her work to the North American Hairstyling Awards (NAHA), Heather Herr, her colleague at Currie Hair-Skin-Nails in Glen Mills, Pa., had never even heard of the prestigious event. This year, when Herr submitted her photos for judging, the whole Currie team was hoping to continue its winning streak. Which is exactly what it did.

At a January 18 ceremony in San Diego, NAHA honoured Herr with its Passion trophy for excellence in the art of nail makeovers. “You can’t believe the excitement when they opened up the envelope. We jumped up and p’“ down, screaming and carrying on,” says Herr about the lavish evening which was sponsored in part by the Nail Manufacturers Council and member companies Creative Nail Design Systems, King Research, Menda Products, Tweezerman Corp., and Ultronics. Herr selected one of the salons hairstylists, Michala Dash, as her model.

“Her nails were in definite need of attention,” says Herr, “but I knew she could have beautiful natural-looking nails. And because she’s so unique looking, I felt she needed no jewelry or props.” Since Dash has square-shaped nail beds, Herr thought square nails would best complement the look of the whole hand. “It’s beep a great experience, and it was such an honor to meet all the greats of the beauty industry at the awards,” says Herr. “When you’re in beauty school you never imagine things like this.”

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