Creative Ways to Display Designs

Looking for a fresh idea to showcase your nail art to clients? Well, look no further. Here are some clever concepts from veteran nail artist.

TABLETOP ART

With this unique nail art display, clients can sit and look at variety of decorated tips while Elaine Watson, owner of Nail Envy in Biddeford, Maine, works on their nails. Her custom-made wooden table, which was painted with stone craft spray, has a sunken center and a glass top. She filled the display with beach sand for summer.

3-D DELIGHT

Dusty Darrah, owner of The Nail Garden in Highlands Rach, Colo., displays her nail art in a shadow box for a sophisticated presentation. The 8-inch by 10-inch 3-D picture frame is about 1- to 2-inches deep with a 1- to 2-inch space between the matting and glass. To affix each nail tip, she applied a drop of acrylic on the back to attach to a straight pin, then stuck it into the cardboard backing.

POTTED PERFECTION

Everything is coming up nail tips! Sherri Cassell, a nail technician based in Camarillo, Calif., bought a terra cotta plant pot and placed a piece of green foam inside. Next, she arranged some artificial moss and silk ivy in the pot. She took a wooden skewer and glued each nail tip onto the blunt end and poked the sharp end into the foam. She suggests tying a ribbon around the pot to make it more colorful or painting the outside of the pot to match the season.

WHEEL OF DESIGNS

Rebecca Moore, owner of All About Nails in Northampton, Pa., has found an Innovative way to showcase her artwork by mounting nail discs to the wall. Each disc is numbered as well as the back of each nail tip to easily identify the color used, which is listed on the charts below. Most of the disks (insert photo) contain every day designs, such as flowers and stripes. Holiday nail art is also popular among Moore’s clients. For Easter (not pictured), she cut out a bunny from tissue paper, then adhered the tips to it using Magic Tak (a stick, removable putty), which is available at stores like Kmart. She also used Magic Tak to adhere Valentine’s and St. Patrick’s Day designs to her workstation, then decorated around them with confetti.

SIMPLY STATED

Something as simple as a cork bulletin board can serve as the backdrop for nail art. Traci Suggs-Johnson, owner of Great Lengths in Columbus, Ohio, spray painted her bulletin board black, but also suggests covering it with fabric or wallpaper. Next, she placed a ball of acrylic on the back side of each tip and used a push-pin to adhere it to the board.

HAPPY HOLIDAYS

Clients of Pamela Ryan, owner of Tips & Toes Nail Studio in Cornwall, N.Y., are treated to her creative holiday displays year-round. She used picture frame boxes, then decorated them with craft paint. She adhered the tips with nail glue, then simply slid the frame over the nails. She recommends using size 3 nail tips because they show the artwork better.