As you may have seen on the social media accounts of your favorite nail industry pros, CND held a VIP brand summit in New York at the end of November. As a nail industry specific news source, run by a session manicurist, we were invited to participate in this meeting of the nail industry’s iconic artists to discuss our respective visions for elevating the nail industry. WE RSVP’D FOR THE CND VIP SUMMIT
Nail icons from across North America and Europe gathered in New York city for four days of collaboration, discussion, and CND training at Revlon headquarters in the 50th floor penthouse Inspiration Room.
The attendees included:
- Ashley Craig, winner of reality show Nail’d It! and CND guest artist at New York Fashion Week, @kickashnails
- Ashley Gregory, session manicurist and creator of this very blog, The Nailscape, @ashleygnails
- Buddy Sims, creative director of Tat’z Nailz, and NTNA Top 3 alumni, @buddysimsnails
- Christie Truc Tran, President of California State Board of Barbering and Cosmetology
- Fleury Rose, session manicurist, named one of the most creative people in business by Fast Company magazine @fleuryrosenails
- Kathy Phuong Luu, Owner of a leading Washington DC based salon, @katlogic13
- Lauren Wireman, owner and educator for Wildflowers Nail Academy and products, @wildflowersnails
- Lavette Cephus, Winner of Nails Next Top Nail Artist, salon owner, @beaute_asylum
- Marian Newman, industry icon and revered session manicurist, mentor of Nails Mastered program, @mariannewman
- Miss Pop, New York based session manicurist and lead manicurist for New York Fashion Week, @misspopnails
- Nellie Neal, pedicurist extraordinaire, educator for LCN products, master pedicurist, @getnailedbynellie
- Sarah Waite, blogger, licensed nail technician, creator of Chalkboard Nails, @chalkboardnails
- Tan Nguyen, member of Team CND, nail artist @tan_nailsn2art
- Torie Bastian, CND guest artist, nail artist, salon owner @thepolishedpinky
- Winnie Huang, winner of last season of NTNA, nail artist, CND guest artist, @winnieisawesome
The three-day summit began with a tour of the Neue Gallery, a private gallery showcasing the work of Austrian and German artists at the turn of the 20th century. Our tour focused on the works of Gustav Klimt, an Austrian artist known for his mysterious portraits and his use of bold color, pattern, and texture. As attendees, we were paired with a partner to gain inspiration for a later art challenge. The gallery was a highlight of the trip, as we got to see and study the painting “Adele Bloch-Bauer I,” which is the subject of the film “Woman in Gold,” starring Helen Mirren.
From the gallery, we were whisked to a lovely restaurant for a reception and welcome from CND co-founder and artistic director, Jan Arnold. Jan touched on our focus for the summit, and our raison d’être for being there; elevating the industry through our unique perspectives and backgrounds.
Our first full day began by learning about the CND family of products, lines, the history of the company, and the vision for the future. We were taught the rules and systems, in an effort to encourage us to go out and break the rules and push the boundaries of the products in our respective careers. We were treated to several live demonstrations by Team CND educators Heather Davis and Shelena Robinson, which were also being simulcast on Facebook Live.
The finish of the first full day also included an art challenge inspired by our tour of the Neue Gallery, and Klimt’s paintings. We were partnered with another artist attendee, and we got to work with master pedicurist Nellie Neal, to create five nail tips inspired by the gallery, the art, and our experience in New York.
We were provided with every CND product imaginable to complete this challenge, along with some art products from Wildflowers Nails. Our partner Nellie was inspired by the beautiful mansion that was the gallery, and in particular, the beautiful crown molding in the Parisienne apartment-style mansion. We loved the portraits of Adele Bloch Bauer, and the story of how these painting became pawns in an international incident including Nazis, the Austrian Government, and the Supreme Court of the United States. (Really, go see “Woman in Gold” if you haven’t yet. It’s an incredible true story.)
For the challenge, we turned Adele Bloch Bauer into the Queen of Diamonds, as a nod to how her image was dealt like a playing card by the Nazis, the Austrian Government, and how this portrait of her transcends borders and time. We used CND Vinylux in Brass Button and Locket Love to create a custom gold, Fine Vermillion accents, glitter, art paints, and water decals to achieve our nail set in just over an hour and a half.
Day three at the summit consisted of invaluable training on personal presentation skills, whether speaking in front of a group, appearing on TV, or being interviewed for a publication. We can’t overstate how valuable we found this training, as we all learned so much about ourselves and our tendencies when speaking, from body language to word choice. It was fantastic.
Throughout the summit, we each met individually with representatives from CND to discuss our vision for elevating the industry, and how we can bring our passions together to continue to put nails at the highest levels of the beauty industry. More to come on that subject, as we can only imagine what this phenomenal group of nail visionaries came up with!
Many thanks to CND, Jan, Roxanne Valinoti, Heather, Shelena, Revlon, Team CND, and the rest of the lovely attendees for making this brand summit one of our favorite memories. We sincerely enjoyed every moment of our time in New York with this inspiring group of people, and we can’t wait to see what happens next. WE RSVP’D FOR THE CND VIP SUMMIT