About the studio
Every set is painted by hand, to order
The Nail Studio is a small operation with a desk, a good lamp, and a drawer of salon-grade gel. Nothing here is pulled off a shelf. When an order comes in, someone sits down and paints it — the cherries, the gingham checks, the pressed lavender florals, one tip at a time.
That is slower than a factory and it is the entire point. A set costs between $18 and $30 because it takes hours rather than seconds, and because the person painting it can put a design on your nails that no production line would ever bother to make ten thousand of.
How a set gets made
This is the route a custom commission takes. A ready-made set from the collection skips the first two steps — the painting is already done, so it ships in 1–3 business days.
You send a brief
A moodboard or three to five reference images, plus the must-haves: colours, motifs, the occasion. The more specific you are, the closer the first pass lands.
We paint you a mockup
A digital mockup comes back within 24 hours so you can see the design on a nail before anyone commits to it. One revision round is free.
Your set gets hand-painted
Two to three days at the desk: salon-grade gel, layer by layer, in your shape and length. Every embellishment is placed by hand, which is why no two sets are quite identical.
It ships in a box you can re-use
Adhesive tabs, removal oil and — on custom orders — a full application kit go in with the set, because a set you cannot take off cleanly is a set you only wear once.
What makes a handmade press-on different
A mass-produced press-on is printed. The art is a decal or a transfer applied to a moulded tip in a single pass, in one length, in one shape, in whatever ten sizes fit the widest slice of the market. It is fine. It also looks like everyone else's.
A hand-painted set is built in layers. Colour goes down, cures, gets a second pass where it needs depth; charms and embellishments are placed individually; the shape and length are chosen by you rather than averaged across a production run. Sets are painted in almond, oval, square, coffin and stiletto, from extra short to extra long, which is a range no injection mould bothers to carry.
It also means small honest variation. Two Watercolor Bloom sets are the same design, not the same object — the wash falls slightly differently each time. If you want ten identical copies, a factory is genuinely the better buy. If you want a set that looks like a person made it for you, that is what this is.
And because they are reusable rather than disposable, a set you take off carefully goes back in the box and comes out again. The care notes cover how to make that happen, and the guides walk through sizing, application and removal.
Commissioning your own
If nothing in the collection is quite it, describe what you want instead. The custom builder walks you through shape, length, finish and palette, and takes a moodboard or a handful of reference images — a dress you are matching, a colour you cannot stop thinking about, the occasion it is for.
You get a digital mockup back within 24 hours and one free revision round on it, so nothing is painted until you have seen it and said yes. Pricing scales with the work — how many separate designs, chrome finish, charms, 3D art — and the builder shows you the running total before you commit to anything.
Not sure it is possible? Send the idea anyway — we reply within 1–2 business days with a quote and design notes, and we would rather tell you what we can do than have you not ask.
The studio, plainly
- Who paints them
- Every set is painted by hand in the studio, one order at a time — no factory, no third shift, no bulk run.
- Where we are
- We ship direct rather than run a shopfront, so there is nowhere to walk into — but email reaches an actual person.
- How to reach us
- Email studioashkini@gmail.com, or send a DM to @thenailstudio on Instagram.
- What a custom set costs
- It starts at a $18 base set and goes up with the work — extra designs, chrome, charms, 3D art. Most commissions land between $26 and $40, and the builder shows the running total before you pay.
- Custom request replies
- We get back to you within 1–2 business days with a quote and design notes.
- Where the money goes
- All proceeds go to the BDD Foundation.
The homepage says it and it is worth repeating here: all proceeds go to the BDD Foundation, which supports people living with body dysmorphic disorder. Buying a set you like is the whole transaction; where the money ends up is the reason the studio exists.
Questions about an order, a design, or whether something is even possible go to studioashkini@gmail.com. Shipping times, returns and care live on the policies page.