Nails by Tina Zubiate @tinatupac; Photography by Ariana Gillham @arianacoralphotography

Nails by Tina Zubiate @tinatupac; Photography by Ariana Gillham @arianacoralphotography

When the idea for a nail tip with a snow globe effect popped into Traska French-Artis’ head, she had no experience with nails, but she loved the concept. After getting positive feedback from her twin sister and female cousins, she decided to create a handmade prototype using nail tips and supplies from Hobby Lobby. The process of trial and error taught her more about nails, and ultimately led to her pre-made aquarium nail concept. “It is just not the two-nail process that you normally see others doing,” she explains. “My way is very different.” As her next step, French-Artis consulted with a patent attorney and decided to patent the nail design, a process that took six years. After successfully arguing that her design was unlike any similar nail product, she won the patent rights in 2010.

Photography by Ariana Gillham @arianacoralphotography

Photography by Ariana Gillham @arianacoralphotography

French-Artis has partnered with Nails 2000 International in Garden Grove, Calif., to mass produce the nails, which are sold at nail supply stores. The new pre-made tips are available in pre-filled and empty varieties. The pre-designed tip comes with liquid and floating items inside; nail techs can simply attach them and do an overlay. The empty nail tip comes with a “cork”; nail techs can fill the nail cavity with liquid, gems, glitter, microbeads, foil shapes, or other decorative items, then apply the cork to seal the tip. “I personally love baby oil with a mix of glitter and microbeads,” says French-Artis. The tips don’t necessarily have to be used to create aquarium nails: “I have done sand art nails like the little sand art bottles,” French-Artis adds. “People can pretty much put whatever they want into the cavity from scorpions to flowers.”

Photography by Ariana Gillham @arianacoralphotography

Photography by Ariana Gillham @arianacoralphotography

Find out more at www.nauticnails.com.

Katherine Fleming

Associate Editor

Read more posts written by Katherine

For reprint and licensing requests for this article, Click here.

Read more about