Nail art's popularity is continually rising. It’s been seen on the catwalks, illustrated by Marc Jacobs, and Nicole Sherzinger is the amongst the latest celebrity to announce the launch of her ‘nail cover’ line.
The origins of nail fashion is ambiguous, but SalonGeek is reports that it dates back to 3000 B.C, when the Chinese applied a type of enamel which would turn the natural nail to a pink/red colour. The Zhou Dynasty (circa 600 B.C.) saw aristocrats embellish their finger with bejewelled nail guards (the ancient vajazzle) as an indication of prosperity and affluence. In the year 2012, the nail art trend consists of leopard print, diamantes, nail foils, and marbling effects, to name a few.
As Doris Lessing said: “If you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em.” And that is exactly what Emma Zentner, owner and creator of Boom Nails has done. Emma, 23, is from Kensal Rise and was in her second year of university when the passion took a hold of her life. And so the story unravels…
How and why did you get started with the nail art?
I ordered my first nail art pen nearly two years ago. I was in my second year of uni, living in Bristol. I'd seen some amazing nail art on blogs, and just really wanted to try it myself. It became a pretty big hobby from then on and it just sort of took over my life by accident!
Your inspiration for your designs?
Everything. Life! There are some amazingly talented nail artists out there, but I try not to draw inspiration for my own designs based on what they have done. I used to want to try out stuff other people had done for practice, as well as the fact that I loved the designs - but I don't do that anymore! It's just better to have something that's completely original. I've done nail designs based on fabric, art, nature, clothes, jewellery, food, animals, flowers, and a load of other random stuff. I have a folder on my phone of stuff I've taken pictures of that I think would work well on nails.
What makes your designs stand out amongst other nail artists?
I don't know! I guess most nail artists have their own style. I like patterns a lot!
Who’s nails would you most like to a paint?
Beyoncé! Katy Perry would be cool too, as she's really into her nails. Would love to nails for Vogue!
Who’s nails have you painted already?
I'm currently doing nail art tutorials for Boohoo. In the past I've done stuff for River Island, Motel, Nokia, Trap Magazine. I also did Eliza Doolittle's nails.
I also do my friend Georgia's nails quite a lot - she does presenting for SBTV, so I'm sure some people know who she is. It's weird to think of her as a celeb though!
What is your favourite design?
The ones I have on my nails at the moment are my favourites actually! They are inspired by African fabrics. They're really colourful and have quite intricate patterns on them.
I also really like the colourful mixed animal print, and the nails I did based on Kate Moross's amazing work. Those ones aren't on the blog yet though! I'll put them up soon.
Do you do your own nails?
I do indeed!
Which nail products & brands do you use?
Anything and everything I can get my hands on! A lot of Orly, Models Own, Barry M, Revlon, Gosh. I buy my nail art pens from ebay - but not one particular brand, I try out different ones. Top coat is always Seche Vite, which is amazing. If I run out of Seche Vite before I've ordered another bottle, I'll use the Barry M topcoat - which is actually surprisingly good. It's the only topcoat I've found on the high street that doesn't drag the nail art and completely smudge the whole design.
What are your future plans?
I'm definitely going to focus on nail art for now, while people are still interested in it! There are some nail related ideas in the pipeline which I hope will be fun.
I did Graphic Design at uni, and have a serious love for photography, so I see myself coming back to those things for sure at some point. To be able to do them all would be amazing.
Any exciting up and coming projects?
There's a bunch of stuff whizzing round my head but there is nothing solid yet, so nothing worth mentioning! I am going to be selling sets of hand painted fake nails very soon though! From my new website! (www.boomnails.co.uk)
Do you one day plan to own your own salon?
I'm not sure! I think owning a salon is a massive commitment, and a kind of lifestyle that I'm not ready for yet. At the moment I'm enjoying being freelance, but maybe one day a salon would be on the cards - who knows what the future may bring!
How can people book appointments with you and how much roughly do you charge?
By emailing me - emmazentner@gmail.com ! Or via Twitter or telephone. My contact details are on my website
Prices are from £15, and go up depending on how complicated and time consuming they are. Prices to suit everyone's budget!
Last of all – any nail tips for the readers?
Always do a basecoat and a topcoat. Be imaginative. And practice!
Just a few of Emma's amazing designs:
(all photos courtesy of Boom Nail's)
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