Ma Cherie Nails

I recently had my nails done at Ma Cherie Nails  and I absolutely love them!! It was SO hard trying to decide what to get, the ladies at the salon are incredible and can do anything so making a decision on what you want done is so difficut!

I wanted to know the story behind Ma Cherie Nails and so I asked Kelly, the owner, a few questions:

Why did you decide to do nail art?

I decided to do nail art in 2013 because I was so fed up with working in the corporate world and I wanted to do an art related job. I didn't just want to do just any job, I wanted to start my own business. I looked at the market and saw that there was no hand drawn nail art in South Africa. I don't do artificial nails but perhaps in the future I will look into it and start to offer that as well. 

What do you love about your job?

I love it when I do my clients' nails and see them smile, making them happy is what I love about my job.   

What don't you like about your job?

I don't like the South African Nail market because most nail technicians have no passion for thier job and many nail salon owners don't care about the quality of the products that are being used on their clients. This means that people's nails are being damaged simply beacuse they are not prepared to pay for quality. 

When did you open your salon and can you tell us a bit more about it?

Ma Cherie opened on the 15th May 2014. The name 'Ma Cherie' means 'My Darling' in French which I decided on because I wanted woman to feel like they are special in my salon.

There is not much decoration in the salon because currently all the existing furniture is from the hair salon below. Hopefully in the near future I willbe able to open my own salon and decorate it to my liking.

Who else works with you at Ma Cherie?

Alison and I met in a nail salon in Taiwan where we were both working. In October this year Alison came to visit me and she really liked South Africa and I needed a partner to help me with my growing client demand so she decided to join me at Ma Cherie.

What are your future goals?

My first goal is to open my own salon and create job opportunities for people who are talented in art to work with me as nail technicians.

My future goal is to start a nail association in South Africa as there is no such thing here as of yet. The association would help maintain a high standard of nail technicians and also increase the salary of nail technicians. Overseas nail salons charge a lot more for nail art but here it is not appreciated as much and so for the same time we spend doing nails we do don't get paid nearly as much as beauticians or hair stylists.  

Kelly and Alison do the most amazing nail art and I can see Kelly's goal of opening her own salon happening very soon!! The Ma Cherie salon can be found in the Virgin Active Bryanston Complex, 3 Cross Place, Bryanston. 

Here is their price list - 

Go check out more stunning nail designs on Ma Cherie's twitter - @MacherieNails, Facebook and Instagram.