February 1983: NAILS Magazine is founded by Peter Grimes (left) and John Cipriano as a result of the burgeoning new market of nail salons popping up in Southern California.
1988: The word nail technician became commonly used to replace manicurist.
1988: Bobit Publishing (now called Bobit Business Media) buys NAILS.
1988: Bobit Publishing (now called Bobit Business Media) buys NAILS.
1989: NAILS buys nine shows from The Goddess Company. NAILS runs shows through 1997.
1990: NAILS puts together the first nail industry-specific stats, tracking demographics and estimating industry size at $3.2 billion.
1990: NAILS launches a short-lived tabloid newspaper called Nail Tech News. (pictured: NAILS editorial staff, 1990)
1990: NAILS is quoted in The Wall Street Journal for the first time. (pictured: NAILS editorial staff, 1991)
1992: NAILS launches the Career Handbook for nail care students and new techs.
1992: NAILS creates the Top 100 Salons list, a look at the biggest U.S. salons.
1992: NAILS starts a nail technician association called Nails Industry Association (NIA), and purchases the NNTG. The NIA dissolved in 1996.
1992: NAILS launches an international edition, which we published through 1996.
1993: Florence Griffith-Joyner graces our 10th anniversary cover.
1993: NAILS wins first Maggie Award for Best Special Interest Trade Magazine.
1993: NAILS starts the Top 25 Competitors List, ranking nail competitors.
1994: We start our On the Road column, journaling our salon visits.
1994: NAILS starts Nail Technician of the Year and Salon of the Year Awards (later known as the Artists and Visionaries Awards).
1995: NAILS debuts its first polish preview.
1996: NAILS launches its first Vietnamese edition. It is revived in 2006.
1996: The August issue marks the first time a nail tech is featured on a cover.
1997: NailsMag.com debuts.
January 1998: Readers take over and create NAILS’ first all reader-written issue.
September 1999: The NAILS cover story “What’s the Holdup in Utah?” helps push things forward for the last state without licensing.
2001: NAILS hosts its first annual cover tech contest. The winner is Angie Perez.
2002: NAILS editorial and art staff
2002: Beloved sales rep Helen Vanegas dies.
2003: NAILS rebrands the Fact Book as the NAILS Big Book.
2003: NAILS wins industry ABBIE award for Best Cover.
2003: NAILS launches skin care magazine Bella (which later folded).
2004: NAILS creates the Readers’ Choice Awards.
2005: NAILS Russia premieres.
2006: NAILS launches its second Vietnamese edition, VietSALON. It is still published bimonthly.
2006: NAILS and VietSALON staff
2008: NAILS redesigns website, which later wins a Maggie Award for Best Website/Trade.
2009: NAILS wins Maggie Gold Award for Overall Best Trade Publication. (To date, NAILS has won 28 Maggies for publishing excellence.)
2010: NAILS creates the Nail Art Gallery social media site.
2011: NAILS celebrates Maggie Awards
2011: NAILS debuts NAILStv.
2012: The NAILS website surpasses four million monthly pageviews.
2012: NAILS launches Nail Art Gallery Magazine, the first tablet-only magazine for nail art enthusiasts.
February 1983: NAILS Magazine is founded by Peter Grimes (left) and John Cipriano as a result of the burgeoning new market of nail salons popping up in Southern California.
1988: The word nail technician became commonly used to replace manicurist.
1988: Bobit Publishing (now called Bobit Business Media) buys NAILS.
1988: Bobit Publishing (now called Bobit Business Media) buys NAILS.
1989: NAILS buys nine shows from The Goddess Company. NAILS runs shows through 1997.
1990: NAILS puts together the first nail industry-specific stats, tracking demographics and estimating industry size at $3.2 billion.
1990: NAILS launches a short-lived tabloid newspaper called Nail Tech News. (pictured: NAILS editorial staff, 1990)
1990: NAILS is quoted in The Wall Street Journal for the first time. (pictured: NAILS editorial staff, 1991)
1992: NAILS launches the Career Handbook for nail care students and new techs.
1992: NAILS creates the Top 100 Salons list, a look at the biggest U.S. salons.
1992: NAILS starts a nail technician association called Nails Industry Association (NIA), and purchases the NNTG. The NIA dissolved in 1996.
1992: NAILS launches an international edition, which we published through 1996.
1993: Florence Griffith-Joyner graces our 10th anniversary cover.
1993: NAILS wins first Maggie Award for Best Special Interest Trade Magazine.
1993: NAILS starts the Top 25 Competitors List, ranking nail competitors.
1994: We start our On the Road column, journaling our salon visits.
1994: NAILS starts Nail Technician of the Year and Salon of the Year Awards (later known as the Artists and Visionaries Awards).
1995: NAILS debuts its first polish preview.
1996: NAILS launches its first Vietnamese edition. It is revived in 2006.
1996: The August issue marks the first time a nail tech is featured on a cover.
1997: NailsMag.com debuts.
January 1998: Readers take over and create NAILS’ first all reader-written issue.
September 1999: The NAILS cover story “What’s the Holdup in Utah?” helps push things forward for the last state without licensing.
2001: NAILS hosts its first annual cover tech contest. The winner is Angie Perez.
2002: NAILS editorial and art staff
2002: Beloved sales rep Helen Vanegas dies.
2003: NAILS rebrands the Fact Book as the NAILS Big Book.
2003: NAILS wins industry ABBIE award for Best Cover.
2003: NAILS launches skin care magazine Bella (which later folded).
2004: NAILS creates the Readers’ Choice Awards.
2005: NAILS Russia premieres.
2006: NAILS launches its second Vietnamese edition, VietSALON. It is still published bimonthly.
2006: NAILS and VietSALON staff
2008: NAILS redesigns website, which later wins a Maggie Award for Best Website/Trade.
2009: NAILS wins Maggie Gold Award for Overall Best Trade Publication. (To date, NAILS has won 28 Maggies for publishing excellence.)
2010: NAILS creates the Nail Art Gallery social media site.
2011: NAILS celebrates Maggie Awards
2011: NAILS debuts NAILStv.
2012: The NAILS website surpasses four million monthly pageviews.
2012: NAILS launches Nail Art Gallery Magazine, the first tablet-only magazine for nail art enthusiasts.
February 2013 marks the 30th anniversary of NAILS Magazine. That’s a pretty amazing milestone — and we’re still going strong. Throughout 2013 we’re going to celebrate our 30th anniversary in the pages of NAILS and online at NailsMag.com. We’ll show you how the magazine has evolved — and how some things have stayed the same — over the last 30 years. We’ll look at the nail industry as a whole and show you key players, evolution of products, and techniques over the years. But we thought we’d take the opportunity this month to look at the magazine and the staff.
You Might Also Like:
Behind the Scenes: Our Pearl Anniversary Cover Nail Art Look
On My Mind: 30 Years Old...My How We've Grown
For reprint and licensing requests for this article, Click here.
media brand