Located in trendy shopping centers around the country, all five Prose boutique nail salons strive to deliver an elevated convenience and serve clients in easily accessible locations where they live, work and play. We listened to our customers and learned what they were looking for and, as a result, created a sleek, simple interior design reflective of how we want our guests to feel. With 1,800 to 2,000 square feet of space, each salon is thoughtfully designed to elevate the client’s experience and provide convenient add-ons like phone plug-ins, purse hooks, customized pedicure chairs and bowls and built-in vents to eliminate odors.
Signature Services
Founded in 2017, Prose focuses on delivering healthy and beautiful hand and foot experiences for members, guests and the artists who provide them. Based on flexible, affordable memberships, our business model provides elegant, wellness-centric services with on-demand access including a mobile app and online booking options. Our memberships begin at $40 per month, and members receive benefits like interchangeable manis and pedis, retail discounts, shared friends-and-family services and the ability to rollover unused services. For nonmember guests, we offer manicures starting at $45 and pedicures at $55.
Clients can be in out of Prose in under an hour with our Signature Manicure and Pedicure—our most widely performed service, which features aromatic, effective exfoliants and moisturizers followed by a hot stone massage, nail shaping, cuticle care and nail polish.
Our product lines reflect our promise of healthy and beautiful services. World-class brands like Deborah Lippmann, CND Vinylux and Shellac and Margaret Dabbs London were chosen based on their quality and healthy formulas, including 7-free polishes. Our retail space focuses on our members and their needs. From there, our educated team suggests a personalized solution for each client from our home-care products.
The Outreach
With a deep focus on family, Prose prioritizes community involvement and actively cultivates relationships with schools and local businesses to build strong community ties. Prose also combats the mistreatment of nail artists by providing fair compensation, a healthy work environment and an inspiring culture.
Social Life
We visually engage with clients by posting content on Instagram—which appears to perform best—and Facebook. Our goal is for clients to leave our social pages feeling excited to visit one of our locations. To boost awareness and provide positive content for Prose, we develop influencer campaigns, where we invite select lifestyle influencers to visit one of our locations for a service experience.
Owner: Dave Crisalli
Est.: 2017
Staff: More than 180 nail pros across all locations. All artists are compensated by a base commission rate, plus incentives for additional performance.
Benefits: No-limit commission structure, flexible schedules, clean and safe environments, continued education, health insurance, paid time off, and free manicures and pedicures.
Up Close With Dave Crisalli
What’s something only few people know about Prose?
“The name itself is a literary term. Prose is how we think about our hands and feet—they tell a unique story. When you think about it, our hands and feet do so much for us daily; they’re quite magical.”
What was your first job in the beauty industry?
“Serving Massage Envy for 12 years prior to opening Prose. As president and CEO, I was a part of one of the industry’s most compelling growth stories. I’m thrilled to be growing another.”
What was the biggest mistake you made when opening Prose?
“I built our first manicure table from scratch and designed it about 8 inches too wide. My nail artists were quick to educate me, so we rebuilt the table and grew from that error.”
What’s your best advice for new salon owners?
“Everything you aim to accomplish begins and ends with the client- employee experience. Start there, and work backward to design
and deliver incredible results. The team you surround yourself with is instrumental as you move forward in your journey. Listen to them, and keep learning and growing.”
Where and when can we expect to see the next Prose locations?
“Later this year in Florham Park, New Jersey; Wheaton, Illinois; Roseville, Minnesota; Jacksonville and Orlando, Florida; and Franklin, Tennessee.”
Follow Prose on Social
Instagram: @proseboutiques
Facebook: /myproseboutiques
[Images: Courtesy of Prose]
This story first appeared in the October issue of Nailpro magazine. To receive the magazine, click here to subscribe.
