I had always been passionate about nails and art since I was a little girl. Because it was not commonly accepted in my culture to pursue a career in creative fields, I went into the medical field initially. It was not until I had my first child that I realized it was finally time to follow my passion and make my dream a reality. After getting licensed and working in different salon settings, I noticed there was a huge need for a clean, sanitary salon that allowed nail techs the freedom of expression through nail art. Many salons lacked proper training for nail artists, which inspired me to start a business where we could provide training that nail techs might not have gotten in school or working in other salons. This way, we can confidently let our artists express themselves and perform top-of-the-line services for our clients.
OWNER: Amy Pa Vang
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I had always been passionate about nails and art since I was a little girl. Because it was not commonly accepted in my culture to pursue a career in creative fields, I went into the medical field initially. It was not until I had my first child that I realized it was finally time to follow my passion and make my dream a reality. After getting licensed and working in different salon settings, I noticed there was a huge need for a clean, sanitary salon that allowed nail techs the freedom of expression through nail art. Many salons lacked proper training for nail artists, which inspired me to start a business where we could provide training that nail techs might not have gotten in school or working in other salons. This way, we can confidently let our artists express themselves and perform top-of-the-line services for our clients.
The Look
When you enter Little Luxuries, you will first notice our signature flower wall installation, which is a fun background to our waiting area as well as our selfie and nailfie booth. Our salon is filled with primarily white and silver furniture and nail stations with accents of soft lilac purple scattered across the space. We chose white and silver as our primary colors because they feel luxurious, bright and clean. However, high ceilings and all-white interiors can sometimes feel a little sterile, so the purple accents serve as a reminder that self-expression is a huge part of what we do! Our favorite part of the salon is our custom throne pedicure chairs! We wanted our clients to feel like royalty, hence the high-back, tufted white and silver thrones that sit atop a platform with square pedicure tubs. We drew inspiration from our high ceilings and floor-to-ceiling windows when initially designing our space. It felt bright and lively, which led us to choose light colors that would look best in natural lighting.
Signature Services
We provide regular and gel polish manicures, pedicures, in addition to acrylic and hard gel enhancements. We are most well-known for our intricate nail art and embellishments. We are proud to say we were one of the only salons in the Twin Cities that provided these additional services when we first opened. We would consider our nail artists’ work to be our signature service. We truly encourage our artists to express themselves and find their own style through working and communicating with their clients, which builds a strong bond and trust between the two parties.
I [Amy] am also a nail educator and offer one-on-one classes on acrylic application and designs and customize courses to fit the needs of my students.
The Goods
We use a variety of professional brands in our salon. As for acrylic powders, it ranges from Young Nails to Tammy Taylor and Glitterbels. Gel polish brands we use are OPI, DND and Perfect Match by LeChat.
We use our very own Little Luxuries Nail products as well. We launched our brand of nail products late last year and proudly use our acrylic brushes, nail art brushes, drill bits, nail tips and cuticle oils on our clients. Soon we will be releasing a line of professional acrylic powders, monomers and other tools that will aid in the growth of any nail technician’s career.
Sanitation and Safety
In the early days of the pandemic, we were shut down for three months during the first quarantine period. During that time, we came up with strict COVID policies that we still adhere to today, two years later.
Our door remains locked, and clients are welcomed in at the time of their appointment with a temperature check and are asked to wash their hands immediately. We require all clients and salon staff to wear masks for the entire duration of their service and have them read over and sign a consent form that outlines our policies.
If a client has a temperature higher than 98.6 degrees Fahrenheit, we reschedule their appointment. We ask that cell phones and personal items remain in their purse during their nail services unless they are using it to share an inspiration photo with their artist. Artists are required to wear masks and gloves for the duration of every service to prevent the spread of any infection, disease or virus. Even prior to COVID-19, we have always taken sanitation very seriously, so not much was needed to be adjusted to adhere to COVID-19 protocols as far as disinfecting and cleaning. Each nail and pedicure station is thoroughly sanitized between each client, and metal implements are washed and disinfected promptly after each service. Pedicure stations and tubs are also disinfected thoroughly, and tubs are filled with a Lucas-Cide solution with the jets set to run for at least 10 minutes between each use.
Social Butterflies
We are very active on social media. We love promoting women empowerment and building confidence. We are mostly active on Instagram but also on Facebook, YouTube and TikTok. We post photos and videos of nails done at our salon as well as fun and relatable content like Instagram Reels to engage with our fellow nail artists who follow us. We also post educational content about nails ranging from tutorials to Instagram Lives where we show step by steps on how to perform services or how to handle some situations that new nail techs might run into during their career.
What Is Next
Little Luxuries has been expanding, and our management team has grown from one to five inspirational women. We are expanding our reach beyond providing nail services and will continue to add to our collection of nail products. Our goal is to be an all-around resource for nail artists, new or seasoned, that provides not only great professional-use products but also useful nail education, content and services in our salon. We hope to also open a few more locations and eventually a nail school one day.
Website: littleluxuriesnaillounge.com
Instagram and TikTok: @littleluxuriesnaillounge
Facebook: @LLNailLounge
YouTube: @Little Luxuries Nail Lounge
Details
OWNER: Amy Pa Vang
EST.: June 1, 2018
STAFF: 15 employees
BENEFITS: Our employees enjoy competitive pay with our unique pay structure with hourly and commission pay, employee discounts on services for friends and family, and free services when they trade with another staff member. They also get free training on the latest trends and techniques. Not to mention—they get first dibs on our salon retail and Little Luxuries Nail products and discounts when they purchase any of our Little Luxuries brushes, drill bits, nail files or any other products directly from us.
