Nail salon owner and new reality show star Katie Cazorla’s passion for nails is obvious from the minute she starts talking about her business and the industry. She’s up on all the latest trends and she networks with other salon owners.

Nail salon owner and new reality show star Katie Cazorla’s passion for nails is obvious from the minute she starts talking about her business and the industry. She’s up on all the latest trends and she networks with other salon owners.

The story behind Katie Cazorla’s success in the nail industry is a short one. Girl gets nails done. Girl has bad experience. Girl goes to nail school and opens her own nail salon. But it’s not just any salon. Located on busy Ventura Boulevard in Sherman Oaks, Calif. (just a hop, skip, and a jump away from celeb-packed Hollywood and Beverly Hills), The Painted Nail (with the friendly “hang out with friends” vibe and a pristine shabby chic decor) opened in March 2009. Nine months later Katie took over the space immediately next door to open The Painted Nail Boutique and Party Lounge. Now, after just two years, Katie is setting her sights on another neighboring space with dreams of opening a nail school. “I have my heart and soul set on having a school that’s just about nails.”

Salon photography by Alen Lin

Salon photography by Alen Lin

All this and she still found time to shoot and pitch a pilot for a reality show documenting her life — juggling her growing business and her odd-couple relationship with boyfriend Walter Afanasieff, a Grammy Award-winning songwriter and producer. (He’s written and produced hits for Mariah Carey, Barbara Streisand, Celine Dion, and Whitney Houston.) And pitch it she did. TV Guide Network picked up the idea last winter and filming began in January. The show was created and produced by 495 Productions, the team behind the mega-hit series Jersey Shore. Nail Files will premiere on TV Guide Network on June 21 and will run for eight episodes. (The show will also be available on TV Guide Network On Demand.)

“The producers have once again come up with a highly entertaining, non-scripted series capturing the fascinating lives of colorful individuals, this time against the backdrop of Hollywood,” said Diane Robina, executive vice president of programming and marketing for TV Guide Network. “Nail Files is a perfect fit for our audience, as it takes viewers on the star-powered fast track of Katie’s life of luxury, love, and entrepreneurial adventures.”

SallyAnn Salsano, founder of 495 Productions, added, “I love working with entertaining, raw, everyday people with some sass and a point of view. Watching Katie in her element both in and out of the salon wowed me. She grabbed my attention the first time I met her. It’s Katie’s will to succeed, confident do-whatever-it-takes attitude, and lack of filter that will keep audiences wondering what she will do or say next. I love her.”

QUICK STATS
Salon: The Painted Nail, Sherman Oaks, Calif.
Years open: 2
Owner: Katie Cazorla
Staff: 16 employees (includes 10 nail therapists, two boutique employees, one receptionist, two hairstylists, one in-house accountant) and one makeup artist who rents space
Products: Nubar, The Painted Nail by Nubar, Dashing Diva, CalGel, Me! Bath, and Martha Stewart craft glitters (Katie swears by these glitters under gel.)
Retail: Jewelry is 20% of their income. “When people get their hair, makeup, and nails done and they put on a ring or a necklace, it makes the outfit and it’s an easy sell,” Katie says.
Busiest Day: Sunday
Best-Selling Services: Glitter Dipped Mani, Virtual Nails, Ice Cream Sundae Pedicure
Website: www.thepaintednail.com

Filming 12 hours a day for 70 days is certainly a grueling filming schedule for anyone. But the spunky former actress, comedian, and host knew what she was getting herself into. The day after she finished filming, I drove up to Sherman Oaks to talk to Katie about the whirlwind that has become her life. Keep reading to hear all about it.

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Salon photography by Alen Lin

Salon photography by Alen Lin

NAILS: What was the process like before you got picked up by TV Guide Network?

Katie: When you came in last February to write your On The Road article, we had just finished shooting the pilot. So the next step was the production company went out to pitch the pilot to the different networks. At the time, so many of the networks were hot on salon shows and there were a million shows that will probably never see the light of day, but once a network commits to a show they say, “Sorry we already have a show about a hair salon.” And to network executives, a salon is a salon — hair, nails, waxing — they just don’t get the difference. Bottom line is it’s a salon. Finally TV Guide Network contacted us and said they were rebranding. They wanted to be more focused on programming that would cover fashion, celebrity red carpet, and all the other fun stuff that was going on in Los Angeles. They saw the pilot and thought it was a great opportunity to branch out into the reality world without it being trashy. I mean trashy sells, and it’s funny because all the press is saying “from the producers of the Jersey Shore” so I already have to deal with that stereotype.

 

NAILS: What was shooting the series like?

Katie: We found out in December. And in January I went to Sundance to do a gifting suite and the crew said, “OK we’re coming with you.” And all of a sudden, I was never alone. When they were filming in the salon there were 10 guys in here. The private pedicure room was closed off and they used it as their production room. All of the producers with the monitors were upstairs. It was absolute madness. We started shooting and I thought it was going to be for a month. The show is running for eight episodes and they’re only 22 minutes per episode. But we shot over 800 hours. This is their method and I really believe in it. If you set up things, you’re not going to get real stuff. One day I was in tears. The things that happen are crazy. They woke up with me; they were with me all day. At the end of the day, my staff was always happy that they were done and they could go home by themselves, but I still wasn’t done. The crew would all pile in the van and come to my house. They had to install TV lighting in my house and in the salon.

We filmed 12 hours a day, even if I was sitting at my computer all day answering e-mails. During the two plus months we were filming, there was practically always a camera on me. In the beginning I was like “Who’s going to want to watch this?” But then of course there would be a phone call or a customer having a breakdown or something would go wrong or the lights would go out. And it turned into absolute craziness. When things went wrong I’d understand why they were sitting there for three hours filming me on the computer. Nothing happens for two of those hours, but the next hour something happens and that’s what you’re going to see. But you’re also going to see me on the computer and going about my regular daily tasks.

 

Salon photography by Alen Lin

Salon photography by Alen Lin

NAILS: What else can we expect to see on Nail Files?

Katie: They’ll get to see me at work, at home, going out with my friends. I don’t think Walter and I ever actually went out together on camera. We just didn’t have time. It’s mostly going to be my day-to-day life. There will be a lot of functions. I throw a lot of parties. It was Walter’s birthday so I threw him a party. I don’t have children so when it’s my dog’s birthday I throw a party. In March when I launched my new spring/summer polish collection I threw a party. I’m always busy. And I’m going to do these things regardless if there are cameras there or not. I think I ran the production crew ragged. But that’s how my life really is. And I think all your readers know, it’s not easy to run a nail salon. This isn’t a made-for-TV salon. It’s all my money — my whole life.

So I think the show is probably going to be a third about my personal life, a third about running the salon, and a third about my life with Walter. It’s being billed as a docu-reality show about me building what they call a “mini nail empire.” But I still don’t know what will be shown because I don’t sit in the editing bay. 

 

NAILS: How did your employees and your clients respond to filming?

Katie: At the beginning it was very weird and I was like, “You guys need to loosen up. You can tell there are cameras on you. You look too stiff and nervous.” But after a week I think most of the employees forgot the cameras were there. The cameras and producers are really all over the place. But you do kind of get used to it.

Imagine if you were coming in here to get a manicure. You walk in and the windows are all blacked out. You immediately get approached by a producer asking you to sign a release. You don’t have to sign it. If a client said she didn’t want to be on camera, that wasn’t a problem. We’d film around that person and even if we did catch them on camera while they were in, we’d never be able to show that because without a release we can’t by law. And remember, it’s not just one guy with a camera. It’s two big cameras, a few more guys capturing you talking, capturing me at the front desk, capturing the nail techs. And then you’ve got the sound guys and everybody has to get mic’d. And it’s chaos. There are people running back and forth. Producers saying, “She didn’t sign the release, so stop filming her and go over there to focus on these people. Turn the music off.” So sure, some clients complained.

Another thing was they couldn’t film during kids’ parties unless all the parents signed releases and the kids got work permits. It’s a reality show so they have to have work permits. This one mom wanted to have her daughter’s birthday party here and she was so excited because we were filming. I told her that all the kids would have to go through their school to get work permits and they did.

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Walter Afanasieff is the calm to girlfriend Katie Cazorla’s storm. In addition to her life running her salon, the docu-reality series will also show how this odd couple makes their relationship work.

Walter Afanasieff is the calm to girlfriend Katie Cazorla’s storm. In addition to her life running her salon, the docu-reality series will also show how this odd couple makes their relationship work.

NAILS: Any drawbacks to the shooting?

Katie: It’s like having two crazy full-time jobs. The girls were coming up saying they wanted to talk to me about something but they didn’t want to do it on camera. So literally I’d be calling employees at midnight after the crew left saying, “There’s no cameras. You’re not on speaker.” It was hard to have a relationship privately when there were always cameras on your face. Every time the phone would ring the producers make you answer it on speakerphone.

 

NAILS: Did you get to say if anything was off limits for filming?

Katie: No. Nothing was off limits. I hate having myself filmed brushing my teeth. I think it’s the most unattractive thing ever. I’d wake up and the cameras would already be there. They had a key to my house, a key to my store. Walter would get up earlier than they were scheduled to come over so they wouldn’t catch him waking up. But I’d be so exhausted, I’d still be in bed when they got there.

 

NAILS: Did you have to do any set-ups to get good footage?

Katie: No. We really didn’t. But that’s part of why they filmed so many hours. So many reality shows are set up. The difference with a show like Real Housewives is there are six cast members to split up the shooting. They’re not following one housewife 24/7. There are five others they can follow, so they can pick and choose dates. This was all me. And none of it was set up. When they first met with me, they said, “What is your life going to look like in the next three months?” I knew I had the Oscar gifting suite, Walter was nominated for a Grammy so I was going to that. I obviously knew there would be kid parties and adult parties in the lounge upstairs. And I told them whoever comes in, comes in. I don’t know who’s going to walk in here on any random day. One day Vanessa Williams from Desperate Housewives came in and I just crossed my fingers and hoped she’d sign a release. And she did. Some celebrities wouldn’t sign the release. For the most part everyone was very compliant.

 

NAILS: So are you taking a vacation now?

Katie: No. I can’t. Now everything is happening. It’s like coming out with a hit song and not doing all the follow up. Now I have to do press and promos. They’re putting together a promotional bus that they’re wrapping with Nail Files imagery and outfitting the inside to look like The Painted Nail. We have a bunch of cities lined up already. I’ll be doing radio shows and have people come down to the bus for services and giveaways. Mondays are usually my day off but they’re scheduling all my promo shoots and stuff for that day because they know I’m available.

 

 

Salon photography by Alen Lin

Salon photography by Alen Lin

   

 NAILS: How are other people in the industry reacting to the news about the show?

Katie: So many people are so excited. At the ISSE show in Long Beach, people were coming up to me and asking to take their picture with me and saying how excited they are to watch the show. They’re like, “Yes! We’re finally getting a show of our own.” Sure there are also some people who say, “If I had a rich boyfriend I could own a nail salon.” But he has nothing to do with this. He just happens to be my boyfriend. The nail salon makes me money so I can do stuff. I started this nail salon with hardly any money. It’s hard and expensive to start your own business. I like to say I have champagne tastes on a beer budget. But look what I did with the salon all by myself. I worked every angle and avenue. There will always be the people who say it’s all because my boyfriend has money. But I think when they see the show they’ll realize that’s not the case. Jealousy will always rear its ugly head. But the majority of people in the industry who I’ve run into or talked to are really excited for me and they’re excited for the show for the nail industry as a whole.

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The Painted Nail by Nubar polish collection includes a Polka Dot Top Coat, Malibu Dreams, Electric Blue (named by ’80s pop star Debbie Gibson), Legendary Lavender (a percentage of proceeds will go to the Elizabeth Taylor AIDS Foundation), Fairy Wings, Citrus Sparkle, and Mestiza (named by High School Musical star Vanessa Hudgens).

The Painted Nail by Nubar polish collection includes a Polka Dot Top Coat, Malibu Dreams, Electric Blue (named by ’80s pop star Debbie Gibson), Legendary Lavender (a percentage of proceeds will go to the Elizabeth Taylor AIDS Foundation), Fairy Wings, Citrus Sparkle, and Mestiza (named by High School Musical star Vanessa Hudgens).

 

NAILS: Tell our readers one thing we wouldn’t expect about you.

Katie: I am absolutely obsessed with educating people about nails and that’s why I want to open a nail academy that would focus solely on nails. Students can not only become certified to do nails but will learn all of the new nail technology (gels, French wraps, Virtual Nails, nail art), plus customer service skills and the business side of operating a nail salon. Students would graduate ready to work in higher-end nail salons and spas or be ready to open their own nail business.

 

NAILS: Do you expect things to change once the show airs? How have things changed already?

Katie: I’m sure people will be more aware of everything we do. We are putting ourselves out there; and that can bring a lot of opinions — good and bad. Things have definitely changed already. People seem to be a lot nicer to me then normal and I have zero free time. I take five minute showers now!

 

NAILS: What’s your wish for the nail industry?

Katie: I just wish more people would look at nails the way I look at it. The nail industry is such a fun industry and I love all things nails. Why don’t people get it? Look at hair people. It’s totally different. I think a lot of people still see nails as the black eye of the beauty industry. But we are awesome too. I don’t understand. We deserve some respect. There are stars in the hair industry. Why don’t we have any nail superstars? I want everyone to love nails as much as I do.  

 

Read Katie’s Shgow Recaps

Nail Files premieres on TV Guide Network on Tuesday, June 24. Check your local listings to see when it’s on in your area. Katie will be blogging after every episode. So make sure to log on to blogs.nailsmag.com/editor for her weekly updates where she dishes about what really went down behind the scenes.

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