The NAILS graphics, editorial, and sales staffs enjoying themselves after two Maggie Award wins. Back row: Kim Pham, Michelle Mullen, Danielle Parisi, Cyndy Drummey, Hannah Lee; front row: Yuiko Sugino, Tim Crowley, Beth Livesay, Sree Roy (not pictured: Judy Lessin, Mary Baughman)

There are a lot of things I love about working at NAILS Magazine. Among them, our drive for excellence across all aspects of NAILS -- from the website to events to every page of every issue of the monthly magazine.

On Friday, NAILS was recognized for our excellence in two big ways at the annual Maggie Awards banquet. Hosted by the Western Publications Association (WPA), the 62nd Annual Maggie Awards recognized the "West's Best" in both print and electronic publishing. The 2013 Maggie Awards drew more than 1,200 entries from 24 states west of the Mississippi River (NAILS is based in Torrance, Calif.) 

Editor Hannah Lee and lead software developer Miljan Mihajlovic accept the award for Best Web Publication/Trade.

At this prestigious competition, we won for Best Web Publication/Trade for www.nailsmag.com. It's really amazing to be awarded a prize for having the best website of any trade magazine in the West!

Editorial staffers Sree Roy, Beth Livesay, Hannah Lee, and Kim Pham flank web developers Miljan Mihajlovic and David Broyles, as we're all smiles after winning the award for Best Social Media.

We also won for having the best social media presence. Considering how many publications have huge followings on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Instagram, and other social media sites, this was also a wonderful honor. Our Nail Art Gallery site is a huge part of our social media presence and a great way for artists to network online, so if you haven't joined the free site yet, I highly encourage you to do so.

We celebrated with other Maggie-nominated magazines that are also owned by our parent company.

We're also lucky here at NAILS to work in a building with other great magazines produced by our parent company Bobit Business Media. Several of our sister publications were finalists at the Maggies, and we congratulate them as well.

--Sree