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SEARCHThere’s been a lot of buzz around Paintbox, a modern manicure studio located in the SoHo area of New York City. While in town for New York Fashion Week, I was invited to drop in and see what all the hype was about.
My nail art design from the fall collection using Gelish, as uploaded by Paintbox’s manicam.
The SoHo area of NYC offers an eclectic and artistic backdrop for this nail studio.
Creative director Julie Kandalec hand-picked the staff of 18 nail techs (some part-time, some full-time) to work at the salon.
> Clients are given a seasonal book of nail art to choose from. Nail tech Julie Ventura finds that giving clients a set number of options makes decision making easier, giving them a more relaxing salon visit. The half-moon design is currently the most popular.
This is currently Paintbox's most popular nail art manicure. The half-moon varies season to season as the colors are updated.
Coffee table books and glossy magazines greet clients as they wait. Seasonal lookbooks are also on the shelves so clients can choose a nail art look while they wait.
> Most clients go to Paintbox for nail art services in gel-polish. The studio rotates its polish and gel-polish collections by season. The back of the nail art book contains blobs of the colors available.
The nail bar located in between reception and the manicure stations is usually reserved for removal services only.
Kandalec recruited NTNA top four finalist Julie Ventura (left) after seeing her work in NAILS Magazine.
> Nail techs at Paintbox wear modern uniforms that consist of lightweight navy tops that can be paired with jeans. I actually didn’t even realize they were uniforms at first, because the look is so casual and relaxed.
Lamps at each of the stations are by Gelish, but remained covered for an aesthetically uniform look.
My nail art design from the fall collection using Gelish, as uploaded by Paintbox’s manicam.
> The studio has its own manicam built into the wall. Clients can stick their hands in the cube. The screen then tells you how to position your hands with the watermark. Once you approve, the image is photoshopped and e-mailed to you to be shared on social media.
A large variety of beverages from wine to Brooklyn-brewed coffee are available in the salon.
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