Posts Tagged ‘nail champion’
Invite this Wolf right up to your salon door
The first Nailympia global champion back in 2017, Sweden’s Madelene Wolf, has jumped into the slipstream of her success and launched a new nail system with education, known as Wolf.
“For a long time, I dreamt of having all the best materials gathered in one place instead of having to look for products I like from different suppliers,” reveals Madelene. “I also wanted to help others work with the best products in as simple a way as possible.”
Working alongside chemists since 2019, the Wolf nail system began its development journey with a vision of producing high quality products with fine pigments. Durability on the nail was another important factor for Madelene throughout the manufacturing process. “When I started my brand, it was not only to offer high-quality products that create beautiful and personalised nails, but also to help other nail therapists become the best in the world at their craft,” enthuses Madelene. “This is why I offer professional nail products and diploma courses in nail design at my Wolf Nail Academy, resulting in world class nails. People don’t really buy the products, they buy the purpose of them and the results they get.”
With an already saturated market, Madelene affirms she was guided by needing, “The best products for sale, salons and students. When I couldn’t find the level of quality on the market I required, I decided to produce my own.”
Training in nails back in 1996, this world class nail stylist from Gothenburg, has been working with nails ever since. “After being hired at various salons, I’ve had my own salon and school since 2008,” cites Madelene. “I train future nail therapists at the Madelene Wolf Nail Academy, however, no matter how much I think I know, I will never be fully trained and, as I love learning new techniques and shapes, I also make sure I regularly take courses myself.”
Reflecting on her journey into nails, Madelene fondly recalls, “I’ve been interested in nails since childhood when I would glue pieces of tape together, then cut them out to put on my nails. I then borrowed my mum’s red nail polish and thought the finished product looked great.”
Getting hooked on the idea of nails as a career was born from Madelene’s regular nail appointment leading her into a beginners’ nail course. “I thought nails looked like so much fun, so I went on a course and found it a great way to channel my creativity. I then decided to get further education.”
Climbing to the top of an industry ladder means taking education seriously, and as such, Madelene made it her mission to train with the best. Citing Najet Hamila Strand, Tom Holcomb and David Fowler, among a long list of industry greats, Madelene highlights, “If I have to pinpoint one industry professional I currently admire, it would be Olena Oezman, for her great passion for perfection. I can’t stop looking at her nails! But I also admire those who dare to follow their dreams and never give up, those who enter competitions and continue to take courses to keep improving.”
Proving that competing in nails can have a profound and positive effect on a nail career, Madelene notes her competition career (2001-2017), has afforded industry recognition, world travel, networking and further training and now the advent of her own nail brand.
“My biggest career highlight was when I became Nailympia Winner of Winners (Div 3) in London 2014, and then Nailympia Global Champion 2017. That is hard to forget! My heart was pounding so hard, and for a second I thought I would pass out before the results were announced. Another highlight is all the nail courses I’ve had the opportunity to arrange around the world, and now I’ve finally followed my dream of starting a nail brand.”
Living by the doctrine of never giving up on her dreams and living in a state of self-belief, Madelene’s eye for perfection and precision, alongside her persistence and determination, have led to the birth of an elegant and stylish product line, which delivers, in her own words, “Durability on the nails, ease of use and smooth application, high colour pigmentation, with brushes carefully developed by my colleague, Sandra Bergstrand, who’s been extremely picky regarding their quality throughout the production process.”
The Wolf nail system currently presents UV/LED hard gel, UV/LED gel polish, L&P acrylic, nail art products, brushes and accessories. Team Wolf is now delving deep into the R&D for an acrygel product to join the Wolf nail pack.
“I want to reach the whole world with my products, work with those who are passionate about the same things as me and train even more nail therapists worldwide,” smiles Madelene. And offering her expert advice to aspiring nail professionals, she notes in closing, “You have to believe in yourself and never give up. Follow your dreams and goals!”
The Nailympia 2nd Edition Awards Live Stream date & time
The Nailympia Online 2nd edition will live stream from its official Facebook page
on Monday 21st February at 7pm
click here to join the nail party … https://www.facebook.com/events/2190154094470367?ref=newsfeed
Set your alarm, grab a happy drink & join Alex Fox of Nailympia Competitions & Helena Biggs of Scratch magazine, as they reveal the winners division by division & category by category …see you there !
Meet – Catherine Wong- Singapore
Get to Know a Nailympia Expert in 25 Steps…
NAME: Catherine Wong
Business name: NailQueen
Location: Singapore
Nationality: Malaysian, living as a permanent resident in Singapore for the last 30 years
Who Trained You: When I first started using the acrylic system in the 90’s, I trained with EZFlow products, hence I had the opportunity to learn from Danny Haile, Alisha Rimando and Antony Buckley.
I then went on to train with Tom Holcomb and Tom Bachik specifically in French sculptured nails when they launched the Entity.
Enfu Oh, founder of NFU coloured acrylic systems was my educator when I fell in love with coloured powders and 3D nail art.
Trang Nguyen mentored me for competition, helped me understand the nail business and with building a great competition and education team in South East Asia.
Anna Lajourdie, who was training for Akzentz when I first started distributing at the time, was a huge inspiration to me in perfecting my salon style French gel application. In my journey as a nail professional, I’ve attended countless classes with various educators internationally. There weren’t any online classes back then and so I invested a lot in travel or to fly them out to me!
Years in Nails: 24 years (2021 inclusive, however I stopped nail as a full-time career in 2015)
Years Judging: 11 years
Nail Brand You Use: EzFlow, Entity, Akzentz, NfuOh, ONS, EMI
Role in Industry: Freelance educator now. I was previously a distributor up until 2015
Favourite Trade Exhibitions: Beauty World Japan, SINAIL Korea, CIBE Guangzhou, Beauty Dusseldorf , just to name a few
Favourite Nail Tool: Nail Art Brushes
Favourite Book: The Art of Living by Epictetus
Some of my favourite quotes from the book:
- ‘The key is to keep company only with people who uplift you, whose presence calls forth your best’
- ‘First say to yourself what you would be; and then do what you have to do’
- ‘There is only one way to happiness and that is to cease worrying about things, which are beyond the power or our will’
Favourite Movie: The Godfather
Favourite Food: Korean BBQ
Favourite Vacation Destination: Bali
Your Hobbies: Nail art, cake decorating, flower arrangement, fine dining, travelling
What Inspires Your Work: Art & fashion
Who You Admire In Industry: Alisha Rimando, Viv Simmonds, Gina Silvestro, Lilija
Michalikova, Marina Shyvtsova, David & Stephanie Fowler
Top Technique You’ve Mastered: Design sculptured nails, mixed media & fantasy, hand painted nail art
Advice to Competitors: Read and understand the rules. When practising, use the judging criteria as a checklist to go through your work and ask yourself how you would score your own work, so you know what to look out for when attempting to make improvements. If you’re competing for the first time, then you may want to find a mentor or attend a specific class where you can get the right guidance. Nothing valuable in this world is free of charge, so don’t expect good training to come free. Your career is an investment, so invest wisely. Research and find a suitable mentor for your specific needs.
Hot Tip or Trick for Competitors: Find a great hand model! Beautiful hands and nail beds are halfway to a set of winning nails. Make sure that your model understands what is required of her (discuss the do’s and don’ts), feed her well before the competition and keep her warm and comfortable so you can work peacefully.
Always bring a table lamp (if it’s not provided at the venue ) and check the voltage so you carry a converter suitable for the country you are competing in. (100-120V for USA, 220-240V for Europe and Asia)
Arrive at the venue early and choose a table that’s not directly where the wind is blowing, otherwise you will be in the receiving end of all the filing dust when everyone starts filing
What Lockdown Has Taught You: Be the change. Don’t wait for things to change, but change yourself to adapt so you don’t get left behind.
A Funny Day/Memory At The Nail Desk: Working on a fellow nail educator’s nails while they’re sleeping is a norm before a beauty or training event. I used to fly to the USA & Mexico for beauty shows and training events. A few of us from different countries would end up sharing an apartment. We would fix each other’s nails late into the night, so the one getting the nails done would always be sleeping to the point of snoring.
Another funny incident: It’s quite typical for nail artists to hold another nail artist’s hands to admire her latest nail designs. I remember picking up Gina Silvestro’s hands to do just that in a posh steak restaurant at the Treasure Island in Las Vegas and the waiter gave us both a dirty look!
An Affirmation You Love: Carpe Diem
Why Nailympia: Nailympia is a global competition that draws a lot of good quality competitors, which are not only highly skilled but also very driven to excel. The judging team of multi-talented and highly experienced judges makes judging such a breeze and fun to work with. Personally, whenever I’m judging at Nailympia London in particular, I learn a lot even as a judge and get inspired to pick up my nail brushes to play when I get home.
Instagram: @catherinewongnailqnailart
Facebook: Catherine Wong
