Like most things I find on the internet,
I can never quite remember how I came
across Boom Nails. But when I did, I
emailed it around to a few friends with
the comment ‘I want this lady’s brain’.
These crazy, bold, flawless nail designs
– all done by hand – blew my mind.
A few Saturdays after spreading the
Boom word, I found myself walking
through a crispily wintery November
in Queens Park in London’s north west
to meet Emma, founder of Boom Nails.
But not just to meet her. She’d kindly
arranged for me to come over to her
home in Queens Park and do a one-
to-one workshop. She was going to teach me how to create these awe-
inspiring nail designs.
When I arrived, we talked about how
she got into it. Until May this year, she
was a graphic design student spending
lots of time in the hub of Bristol’s creative quarter. She’d seen designs by Wah Nails, so different to the Korean airbrush designs most people were into, so she decided to have a go. And she was good. Her graphic design background, no doubt, helped.
Soon she started taking appointments
in Bristol’s Shop Dutty and attracted
lots of attention. Now she’s back in
London, she does a weekly drop-in at
Sugarlesque, a lingerie boutique in
Carnaby Street (we’ll talk about my
slight obsession with Sugarlesque
another time) and bookings for all
kinds of events from school fairs
to club nights.
Two things struck me during my time
with Emma. First, her openness and
willingness to share. No trade secrets,
and no competitive guardedness. She
talked me through each design as she
did them on my nails, and then she let
me have a go on hers. She encouraged
me to have a go when I got home. And
all the while, she happily answered all
of my questions.
The second thing is how popular she’s
become purely by word of mouth.
Twitter and social media have played
their part too, but apart from designing
her own logo and putting her latest work
up on her blog, she’s never done any
direct promotion. Which says a lot about
her work and her warm personality.
Check out the designs at boomnails.blogspot.com.
And follow her on Twitter @boomnails.
By Roshni Goyate (guest writer)
