Searching for chic nails in Ann Arbor? Look no further than Ally Cool Cat, a nail artist who has amassed more than 216,000 followers on Instagram for her incredibly intricate nail sets. Ally, University of Michigan Stamps School of Art & Design alum, creates and mails out press-on nail sets entirely on her own, and has created scenes that depict everything from Lorde songs to floral fantasies. She’s not alone, either. In recent years, online nail art has exploded; now, business is booming.
In an interview with The Michigan Daily, Ally Cool Cat described how she was driven to start her business through her own dissatisfaction with the limited designs offered in most salons.
“I saw an image on Pinterest, this really simple design: a nude color base with black stars painted on top. … The thought of presenting one of the nail techs at the salon with that image, I just felt like I could not do that” Ally said. “At salons, it’s pretty basic, just a flat color and maybe a French tip. So I just went online on Amazon and bought an at-home nail kit for gel. And I just did it myself!”
The support of her friends, who would let her practice on them, fueled her hobby, which eventually grew into a self-made business. According to Harper’s Bazaar’s Arabelle Sicardi, the nail art explosion has been a long time coming. Acrylic sets first appeared on the market in the 1950s, and eventually became an important form of cultural expression within Black and Asian communities, who have been pushing the boundaries of nail art since the medium’s creation. Nails are now crucial aspects of runway looks around the world and even on display in museums – Sicardi highlights Bernadette Thompson, who became the first nail artist to have a museum exhibit of her nail designs at the MoMa. But Sicardi credits the most recent uptick in nail art to the COVID-19 pandemic, when, in the absence of salons, press-ons became essential for those who wanted expertly crafted acrylics. The press-on nail side of the industry, and the internet, has continued to surge in popularity since then.
Ally Cool Cat used that creative independence to her advantage. She initially viewed her nail art business as a side hustle, a way to make money during her time in college. But soon, she found personal value in the medium.
“I was in art school (at the Stamps School of Art & Design) and I was really focused on printmaking, which is a pretty physical medium and labor,” Ally said. “And then that was gone. So I really threw myself into nail art. Rather than trying to make a profit off of the set, it became, ‘I want to make something that I really love and use this as a form of creative expression.’”
Entrepreneurship comes with its challenges, the biggest of which is the time commitment, which Ally also discussed.
“It’s a pretty long work day, usually six to 12 hours,” she said. “It is so time-consuming. If I’m being completely honest, I spend almost every day at home working on (nails). I’m lucky enough to be able to do this as my full-time job, but it is all I do. I see friends when I can here and there, but my mind is always on this and I’m always doing this. And it does get a bit overwhelming. When orders pile up, it gets so stressful.”
But she doesn’t let that get her down. The core of Ally Cool Cat’s business is a positive attitude.
“When you do what you’re passionate about, you enter that zen state where it really goes, and you’re in this mode of relaxation” Ally said. “It doesn’t feel like a lot, but it is a long time.”
Ally Cool Cat has to make sure her social media stays up to speed, too. At the beginning, when she had to exclusively make commissioned designs instead of following her own artistic endeavors, finding inspiration was a challenge.
“Sometimes it makes me feel a bit anxious that I can’t keep up with it — the trends and stuff on social media,” Ally said. “I really try to remember it’s not about the likes and the followers, even though I love them. I just try to remind myself that as long as I’m still doing what I love to do, it’ll be okay. It’ll work (itself) out.”
Thankfully, it has. A huge part of Ally Cool Cat’s virality is her masterful attention to detail and beautifully thematic nails based on pop culture and online aesthetics. She cites Inner Bloom Nails and Srorrim Mirrors as important influences for being more adventurous by incorporating 3D elements into her work.
“(The nail) is like a little mini canvas, that’s how I see it,” Ally said. “I try to make each nail feel like I spent a good amount of time on it and that (the full set goes) together.”
Ally Cool Cat’s personal favorite from her own collection is a ceramic-tile-themed set inspired by the work of ceramist Emily Margaret Ulm. It combines elements of outer space with an aquatic energy, a creative combination that is just one example of her ingenuity. She told me more about this set and where she finds her inspiration in general.
“I love (finding) inspiration from unexpected places (and) I really like incorporating textures into sets,” Ally said. “Creating nails that looked like ceramic tiles was just so cool. I saw (Ulm’s) work and I thought it’d be insane to try and replicate that on a nail. …(And then) other people bounce off of that and do their own thing, I thought that was really cool in the community. Seeing other people have their own take on these styles, it just feeds into more inspiration for people to pull from.”
When taking a look at Ally Cool Cat’s success and talent, it’s hard to believe she ever doubted her abilities. Still, she recounted how much anxiety she had upon creating her new account, fearful of how others would perceive her work. Her biggest advice to new artists is to not listen to that pessimistic part of yourself.
“You just have to do it,” she urged. “I remember at the beginning I was so nervous to post nails on an Instagram page, but you just have to do it and be consistent. Make an Instagram with the intention of showing your work, and you just have to coast. You can’t keep thinking about it, cause I was stuck in that loop. There were so many things I wanted to do and I was just too scared of what other people would think. Thinking about it now, it’s kind of ridiculous. But at that time, it held me back so much. Until one night I decided I would do it and hit ‘post.’”
Luckily, the nail art community was, and still is, incredibly welcoming to newcomers. Ally Cool Cat has cemented herself as one of its leading creators, and is finally able to create nails that reflect her true self. But she’s not stopping there — she wants to explore other mediums as well.
“I’ve been talking about it with my family, and they keep pestering me: ‘You’re doing all these nails and we don’t have any of your bigger works anymore!’ I really want to work on a large-scale painting because I’ve never done that, and I’m a lot more confident in my painting skills now.”
The future is bright for Ally Cool Cat, who can be contacted at allycoolcattt@gmail.com, and whose creations can be purchased on her website. It’s clear her biggest lesson to offer is that there is great value in taking a chance — and some nail polish — and seeing what comes of it.
Daily Arts Writer Isabella Casagranda can be reached at ijcasa@umich.edu.
