I saw a post on Facebook recently from Hannah saying that NAILS Magazine was having a brainstorming session for new topics for the next year and asked all their Facebook friends for their input.

I started doing some brainstorming myself and came up with a few ideas of my own. However, most of those ideas, I think may be too controversial for the magazine.

One question that I have is why are the prizes in nail competitions so low? When I went to my first competition back in ’91 (I did not compete, I was a model), the 1^st place prize at the WINBA was, I think, $10,000, an 8-ft. trophy, a solid gold ring, and a trip for two to Hawaii!

Maybe it was $5,000? Maybe someone else remembers better than I do? But I do remember being shocked by the prizes. Who won that one? Mr. Tom Holcomb. Maybe he’ll read this and weigh in on it? One could only hope.

But my point is that after almost two decades of advancements in nail enhancements, education and economy, why have the prizes become virtually non-existent? $500 for 1^st place now? Barely a fraction of what the prize used to be.

I know that some people would say the reason for the small prizes are directly related to the lack of entries. I think it is the other way around. The lack of entries is because the prizes are so low. Raise the prize money to $5,000 and watch the competitors stampede to the arena.

That’s my two cents worth.

— Lynn