Maddy
Ayers
Maddy Ayers is an incredibly talented nail artist who works for ISLA Berlin—a retail, music and community space created for and by women. While they can’t see their regular clients during COVID-19, the team at ISLA have been helping women take care of their nails from home through Instagram Live. And as Maddy’s freehand nail art designs are all bespoke, she has been developing creations based on famous works of art to share with her clients when they get back to the shop.
Creating bespoke nail artwork
Nail Artist
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Maddy at her home studio
Photo: Helge Mundt
Tell us a bit about yourself
09 APR 2020 My name is Maddy Ayers and I’m from the UK. I used to work as a freelance nail artist in London and joined ISLA Berlin just before we opened the store in September 2017.
The shop is a mix of half clothing (mostly streetwear for women) and half nail art salon. We also hold events at our store and have an amazing community of super creative and interesting clients.
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ISLA Berlin
How have the last few weeks or months shaped or impacted your practice?
Well we’ve had to close our store for now, of course. Doing nails means being in very close proximity all day long, so it’s definitely not an option right now! This has obviously been a challenge, but we still have our online store running, which is great.
We’ve also hosted a few Instagram Lives (with more to come) and have been in constant communication with our clients, giving tips and tricks on how to do nails from home. The lock down has given us some time to work on the long term business strategy, as well.
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Jigglypuff Pokemon nails
Hopefully this sense of community will outlive the pandemic.”
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Maddy painting her own nails
Photo: Helge Mundt
How are you coping at home?
It’s been a big adjustment since I’m normally around people all day, especially as I live alone, which can be pretty isolating right now. I find comfort in creative work though, which for me means making loads of nail designs.
To have the space and time to get inspired has been a silver lining of these circumstances. Keeping a routine helps me as well - getting up early, doing little at-home workouts, cooking, occasional bike rides etc. Of course, lots of Facetiming too!
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McDonalds nails — one of
Maddy’s all time favourites
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Model showing off
Chanel branded nails
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Nails inpired by LA artist
Manuela Soto Sosa
What has inspired you recently?
I’ve been working on a series of nail designs based on famous works of art. This is a fun challenge and different from my day-to-day in the salon.
From a work perspective, it’s been inspiring to see how people have been so agile in realigning their business models, including working together across multiple companies. Hopefully this sense of community will outlive the pandemic.
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Henri Matisse
insipired nail art
How can people support you?
As I mentioned, our online store is still open, where we sell all of our clothing/makeup/shoes, plus gift vouchers. We stock a mix of brands, from Nike and Converse to Namilia and Nii HAi, so there’s something for everyone!
Check out our social media too, and keep and eye out for our Instagram Lives. DM us any questions - we’d love to hear from you <3
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Maddy in her studio