Mr Pretty Nails

Alanah Nicole

TELL ME ABOUT YOUR HISTORY. WHO ARE YOU? WHERE WERE YOU BORN AND RAISED?

My name is Nicholas LeMere. I grew up in the small town in Wisconsin. It was magical. I loved growing up there. It was a place that really cultivated a sense of imagination and creativity.

HOW DID YOU GET INTO NAILS?

I waited tables for a long time and was doing my own nails for years. I started to get really crazy with intricate designs, and challenging myself to the point where, while I was at work waiting tables, my customers would ask me, "Hey, where did you get your nails done? Those are amazing nails,”. After enough people asked, I figured I could make money out of nails. I had a little bit of money in savings so I invested in going to the Aesthetics Institute where I studied under Monique Mendoza as kind of a one-on-one instructor and nail technician mentorship program. I graduated in about three and a half, four months with honors.

WHERE DID YOU BEGIN YOUR CAREER?

I got hired immediately at a very prestigious salon, specializing in a lot of custom hand-painted nail art. You can currently find me at Bridgeport Nails where I am encouraged to push my abilities in a beautiful, family-owned salon.

IS THERE ANYTHING THAT PEOPLE WOULD BE SURPRISED TO KNOW ABOUT YOU?

The one thing that I would think people would be surprised about is the fact that I ran away to join the circus in Montreal That's kind of a shocker for some people.

HAVE THERE BEEN ANY SURPRISES OR CHALLENGES YOU'VE EXPERIENCED SINCE LAUNCHING YOUR NAIL CAREER?

Expectations are sometimes very high and you want to deliver a perfect product for your client. Whether it be a very intricate design or a simple gel manicure or pedicure. Each set is a new challenge and opportunity to continue learning and growing in an industry that's constantly evolving and changing.

THE WHOLE NAIL ART SCENE IS STILL SO KIND OF NEW-ISH. HOW DO YOU STAY EDUCATED AND KEEP UP WITH TRENDS?

YouTube really helps. Instagram also. You can see different techniques and how they're done, or you wonder how they're done and try to take your own spin on it. There's also a lot of videos you can watch to get in-depth knowledge of product usage. There’s always so many new products coming out. For example, Apres is a new soak-off gel extension system that I feature, and love. It's really taking off right now. People always want the new product and the new design. That's what's so fun about it.

WHAT'S THE ONE THING YOU'D LIKE TO BE KNOWN FOR?

Oh, gems are my jam and bling is my thing! I love rhinestones. I love pretty things. I love 3D. I love building it up. I like getting really creative with it. Making teeny tiny little works of art on teeny tiny canvases is really fun to do.

WHAT DO YOU WANT TO DO IN THE FUTURE?

I’ve only been licensed for a year and a half now. I’ve already come along way and I'm excited to see where things go. I plan on sticking around this salon for a very long time and learning a lot because there's always so much to keep up with but I'd say in maybe five years, I would like to open my own salon, Mr. Pretty Nails. I think it would be great to have my own space, my own thing.

FINALLY, A LITTLE PLUG FOR THE APP. WHAT DO YOU LIKE ABOUT ZIBAHUB?

I love the concept because it's bringing the beauty industry together in a way that we haven't been able to. There are opportunities to do things for trade to sell equipment to each other that we might not need another person is dying to get and that's just not on Craigslist. It's really wonderful to see what other people are doing in the community and it's just really good to support each other. I think ZibaHub an amazing app. Highly recommend it to anybody in the beauty industry in any way, shape, or form.