RiNo Art District Gets a Design-Forward Nail Studio

The River North Art District has built its identity around galleries, murals, and studio spaces, and a new nail studio on Brighton Boulevard is leaning directly into that identity rather than competing with it.

Lacquer & Lore opened in January with a gallery-style front room that rotates work from local artists every six weeks, alongside its standard manicure and pedicure services in the back. Owner Priya Nandakumar, who previously worked as a gallery assistant before training as a nail technician, says the pairing was less a marketing gimmick than a natural fit for the neighborhood. "RiNo clients expect to see art wherever they go," she said. "It felt strange not to use the space that way."

Building a Local Artist Pipeline

The studio pays a small stipend and commission split to featured artists, a structure Nandakumar built after realizing most local galleries couldn't offer emerging artists consistent income. She says the studio has already built a waitlist of artists wanting to be featured, and has started scheduling showcases six months in advance.

Nail art itself has also become a signature offering, with several technicians trained specifically in detailed hand-painted designs that echo the gallery displays. Custom nail art bookings now make up close to a third of total appointments, a share Nandakumar says has grown steadily since opening.

Standing Out in a Crowded Category

Denver's nail salon market is dense, and Nandakumar says differentiating through the art pairing has helped the studio build a following faster than she expected for a brand-new shop. She's cautious about expanding the concept too quickly, though, saying the gallery relationships depend on a level of curation that would be difficult to replicate across multiple locations at once.

For now, she's focused on building out a members-only preview night for new art rotations, giving repeat clients first access to both new nail art designs and the studio's rotating gallery wall.