Jennifer Stapleton of Sechelt nailed it at a nation-wide competition recently, bringing home gold from the Canada Nail Cup.
Launched this year, the Canada Nail Cup is Canada's first professional nail competition.
Similar competitions have been held in other countries in the past, but this year Canadian nail industry-related companies got together and planned a competition in Vancouver on Feb. 3, in conjunction with the Vancouver Spa Show.
The first ever Canada Nail Cup featured five categories. Stapleton, owner of the Rainbow Room Hair Salon in Sechelt, entered two of them - the fun sculptured nail category and 3D gel sculpture.
Other categories included decal/appliqué nail art, mixed media and mixed media crowd favourite.
Having done gel nails only three times before, Stapleton was skeptical she'd win anything.
Her designs caught the eye of the judges, however, with Stapleton receiving third place in the fun sculptured nails category and first place in the 3D nail category.
"I'm pretty excited," she said from her store this week. "It's nice to win when you're competing with people who do that for a living because there are a few people who just do nails. They go around and are sponsored by companies."
She was delighted that the judges chose her Sechelt-inspired 3D gel nail theme for top honours at the Canada Nail Cup. The design featured sea horses, starfish and seashells in the ocean and it was completed in one and a half hours.
Stapleton plans to defend her title next year, when the competition will likely be held in Toronto.
Learn more at www.canadanailcup.com.
