Madisen Clark is ‘nailing it’

It feels almost reductive to call some of the nail sets created by Madisen Clark “manicures.” Clark uses each nail as a canvas, creating tiny, temporary art exhibits. She sees over 20 clients every week, which means she creates at least 20 unique sets several dozen times a year.

“I get to do these miniature art pieces on people,” says Clark, general manager of The Shop, a nail salon on East Johnson Street. “And then we take them off after a month or so.”

Clark doesn’t dread filing off designs from previous sessions, though. The ephemeral nature of nail art means that each set is a sort of time capsule, reflecting a particular mood or moment in a client’s life. Throughout the year, a client might ask for different designs — smoky rose quartz polish one month, a 3-D fruit and bug set another, abstract swirls or classic French tips the next.

“It’s like these little tokens of time,” Clark says. “It’s a memento.”

The variety also keeps Clark’s day-to-day work fresh and exciting. While she is particularly skilled at intricate designs (like hand-painted pop culture characters and complex patterns), she’s not committed to any particular aesthetic.

“Being able to home in on a very specific style is absolutely a goal of mine,” she says. “But I just want to do it all.”

From the Artist: Madisen Clark

Madisen Clark portrait — Photo by Sopha Kommavang

Breaking the Mold

I think a lot of people have this perception that the beauty industry can be kind of catty. At The Shop, it’s just been really easy and fun and supportive. We’re really collaborative and we’re always gassing each other up.

It Runs in the Family

My mom’s an art teacher, so I’ve always been doing little crafty things. And when I started doing nails in 2018, it just happened that “oh, I’m kind of good at this.” It was fun to fall into [creating] these temporary pieces of art.

The Best of Both Worlds

I’ve gotten to the point where I’m able to balance the customer service and the creative aspects and figure out a way to get them to meld.

Balancing Act

Doing the nails and the art, that all comes naturally. But having to sit down and do more admin-type tasks … I think that’s actually the most challenging part of my job — changing gears and making time for admin.