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Kristin Sulman

Managing Director of Young Nails

Kristin Sulman

Open Colleges Partner

"From an employer perspective it is often key criteria to have work experience and industry training. I believe Open Colleges has staff specifically in place to assist in this process."
1 Can you tell us a bit about the partnership between Young Nails and Open Colleges?

The Young Nails and Open Colleges partnership enables students to access the best quality products with the back up of product support while training. These are two things that are often compromised by lower level training facilities. We work closely with Open Colleges to make improvements on an ongoing basis and have maintained this supply for several years. 

2 How important is work experience and training in the industry?

From an employer perspective it is often key criteria to have work experience and industry training. I believe Open Colleges has staff specifically in place to assist in this process.

3 What are the top 3 skills you need to work in the industry?

Apart from simply attaining the skill required to do great nail enhancements, you should never overlook simply having great punctuality, personality and presentation. Time management and passion are also paramount. Many people from all industries learn from personal experience and mentoring once they are on the job. These skills can't always be learnt from a textbook.

4 In a couple of short sentences, tell us about your career path and how it has evolved over time.

I started in a trade and then went on to manage administration for small business beauty salons as well as larger corporate service centres. Having built and operated beauty salons over 25 years with my partner we identified the need and importance of having a high performance brand in our business. Sourcing Young Nails (an international brand now in over 45 countries) and launching it in Australia in 2007 has been a fantastic experience. 

5 What are some of the upcoming trends in the nail industry?

In recent years there has been a huge shift to gel polish services. We prefer to use soft gels like ManiQ as it lasts longer and prevents the client having to return as often to re-service as this can often result in over buffing, or thinning of the nail plate. Gel is often more popular in spas as there is far less odour, however the Young Nails Acrylic and Hard Gels both perform equally as good as each other.

6 Anything else you would like to add?

When I talk to students at trade shows and on the phone, I always try to encourage them to use the available resources, call us if they have questions, watch the amazing video tutorials we have available. We really are here to help and create a lasting support system both during and beyond their training days. You never stop learning right?

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Manicurist and Nail Technician
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