Two Nail Salons Plot Their Pandemic Painting Plans

One salon owner is taking her time to reopen. Another has started to welcome customers back cautiously. Both have become a case study in how precarious it is to run a small business during a public health crisis.

Samantha, “Sami” Angelini runs Simply Flawless By Sami, nestled on Orange Street across from the Audubon Arts District. Her friend and colleague Alex Ramirez runs Nail Haven downtown, on a stretch of Crown Street that has remained quieter this fall.

Angelini is open again. Ramirez has remained closed. Neither know how long they’ll make it in the pandemic, or whether the fall will bring another wave of shutdowns.

Angelini owns, operates, and is the sole employee at her business, which focuses on nails and other high-touch cosmetic services such as makeup application and waxing. In mid-March, she was forced to shut down when Gov. Ned Lamont issued an executive order closing all nonessential businesses to stem the spread of the coronavirus.

She wasn’t sure how she would survive financially. Then her clients stepped in to help keep her afloat.

Some sent cash donations and paid for appointments in advance. Others purchased gift cards with the promise that they would see her again. Her space is small: before reopening, she knew she’d have to make major changes. 

“If it wasn’t for my amazing clients, I’m not sure how I would have survived through the COVID shutdown,” she said in a recent interview. “It has been a truly humbling experience to receive the continued love and support from so many of them and I will be forever grateful.”

She was able to invite her clients back to her business during the state’s delayed second phase, which began in mid-June. Angelini said that she probably would have a harder time reopening if it hadn’t been for money coming in from clients and friends. 

Under phase two guidelines, nail salons are among a number of indoor businesses permitted to operate with new rules for workplace setup, shared equipment, touch-less appliances and the installation of plexiglass, use of personal protective equipment (PPE), and other safety measures.

Like the precautions taken at other high-touch businesses—hair salons, massage therapy offices, and tattoo studios—Angelini wears a mask, has a custom divider between her and clients, and has even more rigorous cleaning procedures. The waiting area in the space that houses the suite where she works is closed.

Angelini said she wasn’t financially prepared for the havoc that the pandemic caused her business; it scared her as a business owner and as a mom. In addition to trying to make sure her business stayed afloat, she also had to make sure her daughter stayed on top of her school work. That has continued into this year, as schools navigate the first weeks of learning on high alert. 

“If there is one thing I have learned from all of this...it is make sure I am financially prepared in case we get shut down again,” she said. “I now have a financial advisor helping me plan.

A No-Hurry Approach

The possibility of being shut down again is a real one. New cases of the coronavirus continue to increase rapidly in other parts of the country, particularly in the Southern states where shutdowns came late and reopened economies came early. Connecticut doctors have warned that there is the real possibility of a second wave this fall, which could coincide with flu cases and overwhelm regional healthcare systems.

That’s part of the reason Alex Ramirez still doesn’t know when she’s going to reopen the doors to Nail Haven, though she’s hoping it will be sometime soon.

Like Angelini, Ramirez closed her shop in mid-March. She had been vacationing in Argentina when the mandate to close came from city officials, and spent the first weeks of lockdown quarantining, checking the news, and wondering if reopening was on the horizon. The closure cost her clients, many of whom are affiliated with Yale University. When the school shut down in March, the city’s businesses took an immediate hit, particularly in downtown New Haven.

“I am so excited to get back to doing what makes me happy,” she said. “I can’t wait to have everything perfect for them and to see everyone again soon.”

But Ramirez is also cautious. She said while she misses her “nail pals like crazy,” she’s not opening her doors until she feels like it is a safe experience for both her and her clients. She added that her decision is not a knock to what anyone else is doing—it’s about her own personal comfort.

“Painting fun things on people’s nails is my passion and my business is my baby,” she said. “The unique nature of my nail art business means that I have the most fabulous, interesting and creative clients around.”

She said she wants to reopen carefully and slowly, following guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control and Infection (CDC) and the state to the letter. For her, that means full personal protective equipment (PPE), closed waiting areas, and only allowing one customer at a time. If she does go back to appointments, she said, it will start with clients that she already knows. 

“At the end of the day I have the best job in the world and I am eternally grateful to my clients who make this possible,” she said. “I get to literally hold people’s hands through the most exciting and sometimes most challenging times of their lives: before big interviews, during finals, or right before they present their research. And before first dates, breakups and weddings.”

“I’ve been sad to miss their big moments and I appreciate their patience during this time,” she added. “But above all, I appreciate that they’re committed to the health of our vibrant community.”

This piece comes to the Arts Paper through the third cohort of the Youth Arts Journalism Initiative (YAJI), a program of the Arts Council of Greater New Haven. This year, YAJI has gone virtual. Read more about the program here or by checking out the "YAJI" tag.