A Year in Nail Art

In January of last year we introduced our #31NAILS2014 game where we challenged participants to complete a different nail art theme every day and share it on social media. We published some of our favorite results in issues of Nail Art Gallery Magazine, but we were especially impressed with these two nail techs who completed approximately 360 out of all 365 challenges. We asked Shannon Rooney (@seriouslynails) of Las Vegas and Kelly McNair (@kikiandcompany) of Toledo, Ohio, about what it took to produce a new nail design for almost every day of the year.

NAILS: How were you able to fit this challenge into your daily schedule?
Shannon Rooney: Some days I would do three to four challenges so I got most of them done and still have a job.
Kelly McNair: I work full-time as a nail artist/salon owner so doing the challenges became part of my daily routine. After the first month I used one hand one day and the opposite hand the next. As it got popular in the salon I had clients asking to be involved by volunteering to let me do a challenge on them.     

NAILS: What did you like most about the challenge?
SR: It challenged me to dig deeper into my creative mind. I am also so pleased that I got to connect with a lot of like-minded people. I have made “cyber friends” with people from all over the world through the challenge.
KM: Meeting awesome nail artists from all over and seeing how each one interpreted each topic. It also gave me the inspiration to challenge myself and expand on my art skills and try new techniques.

NAILS: Which was the most challenging? Which was your favorite?
SR: The most challenging was learning how to do water-marbling and stamping. But again, thanks to the network that I got to build through the challenge, I found people who did tutorials or gave me great advice. My favorite challenges were the ones that made me go outside of my comfort zone. I was also pleased to find out how much I enjoyed working with acrylic paints.
KM: The most challenging days were my two days off and the one month I tried to do two different challenges. My favorite challenges were the ones NAILS published.