Marcela Morkovska has been doing nails for about seven years—not long by American standards, but something of record in the Czech Republic, where the profession is only about seven years old. Along with her husband Lubos, Morkovska owns Nailstudio 4U in the country’s second largest city, Brno. The busy salon employs five nail technicians to service a wide range of clientele, the majority between the ages of 25 and 30. A set of artificial nails—primarily light-cured gels—costs $20US, which is about 1/10 of the average citizen’s monthly salary. A natural manicure costs about $6US, or the price of dinner for two at McDonald’s. Though they do not currently offer pedicures, Morkovska the plans to introduce the service in the future. When it comes to style, Czech women are up to date and interested in what colors are popular worldwide. “French manicures have been very popular for the last three years,” says Morkovska, “and dark metallic blue polish was the fashion last year.” Morkovska is also an accredited instructor and teaches technique to interested technicians from within the country and from the neighboring Slovak Republic. Right now they rely solely on German-made nail products, but the enterprising couple hopes to form business alliances with American manufacturers and act as a general distributor. If Brno isn’t part of your summer travel itinerary, perhaps you can visit the Morkovskas at their website:http://gm.gity.cz/xgen/4U.

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