At 10 years old, Delco, Pennsylvania-based freelance nail artist Celine Cumming traveled to Thailand on a family vacation, where her mother treated her to her first manicure. “The nail technician painted flowers on every nail,” says Cumming. “Young and intrigued, I asked her countless questions about what she was doing and why. That day, Mom and I trekked the town searching for nail art materials, and I practiced on her that evening.”
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In high school, she worked at a nail salon as a receptionist and worked her way up to an apprentice and then a licensed nail technician. Cumming graduated from the University of Delaware with a geology degree and currently works as a full-time geologist while freelancing as a nail artist. She loves working backstage as a New York Fashion Week nail artist and on editorial photoshoots.
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As a licensed technician since 2016, the dual United States-and-Switzerland citizen draws nail art inspiration from everyday items like floor tiles, ice cream, sneakers, gemstones, flags and flowers, which she photographs as the background of her nail looks.
