Creative Nail Design_The Company

Company Mission

Creative Nail Design is the global leader in professional hand and foot beauty. They inspire nail professionals by providing leadership through high quality performance products, industry leading innovation and global education. Success is measured by exceeding the expectations of their customers through unwavering commitment to their Shared Values: Honesty, Integrity, Trust, Respect, Communication and Accountability.

Company History

In the 1970's, Dr. Stuart Nordstrom – dentist-by-day, chemist-by-night – began to work on an invention in his garage/lab sparked by an idea from one of his patients. This idea changed the future of the nail industry.

As Dr. Nordstrom mixed dental liquid and powder to create a temporary cap, his manicurist patient recognized an odor similar to the materials used to sculpt porcelain nails. When prompted by his patient, Dr. Nordstrom was challenged to improve nail enhancement products. After six months, he developed a product the beauty industry now recognizes and respects as SolarNail® Liquid, the first ever cross-linked monomer formulation that creates greater nail strength and flexibility. Initially, Dr. Nordstrom only gave SolarNail® to his patient, but when he tested his product at a nearby cosmetology school, Creative Nail Design was born. The entire family then went to work, filling their first orders in the dining room of their home.

During the company's first seven years in business, it doubled in size each year. Nail enhancements were a dominant focus for the company through the 80's, with important product introductions that included Nail Fresh®, Formation® Nail Tips and GelBond® adhesive, in addition to the wildly popular SolarOil®.

The decade of the 90's continued with advanced enhancement breakthroughs with Radical™ Liquid, the first multidimensional cross-linked polymer that was primer-optional, Ultra Powders that offered easy workability with a creamy flow and ScrubFresh®, now a standard in professional sanitation. Another incredible innovation was made at the end of the 90's with Retention+® Liquid, which created a covalent bond to keratin and was the answer to lifting.

The company experienced a rebirth in 1997 when it decided to enter the spa pedicure market. The entire industry was focused on the nail enhancement category, following the lead of Creative. With innovation and market share on their side, Creative began to look at diversifying and taking the lead in other categories of the business. At that time, the pedicure market represented around 2% of the total industry revenue. Pedicures were mostly done in the summer for sandal season and there was only one company producing budget professional pedicure products that could be purchased in bulk. Technicians thought feet were smelly and clients were embarrassed to show their feet.

With this challenge, Creative developed the first marine-derived system of spa pedicure products that enabled professional nail technicians to premium price their services. The company owns the trademark for SpaPedicure®, a system that is known as state-of-the-art in the Spa category.

SpaPedicure is a "facial for the feet". It takes the goodness of the sea to soothe and rejuvenate with marine alpha-hydroxy acid complex, hydrating sea extracts, mineral-rich seaweed, beach sand and Dead Sea salts plus aromatherapeutic oils and soothing botanicals for a technique that takes pedicures to the next level. In the research and development of SpaPedicure®, Creative collaborated with Scripps Institute of Oceanography to identify replenishable ingredients from the sea that could live up to the high quality expectations of the line. In return, the company donated $1 from every kit sold to Scripps for their ongoing scientific research of the ocean. A total of $50,000 was bestowed in the first year alone.

The following year, citrus-inspired SpaManicure® was launched with the revolutionary idea of incorporating a systemic approach to manicure services. Formulated with ceramides, crystalline citric acid and vitamins, this line raised the bar and allowed nail technicians to redefine their menu offerings and pricing strategies.

In 1996, Creative became affiliated with the City of Hope Cancer Research Center, customizing a nail enamel shade "Hope" to generate significant proceeds to the center. Jan Nordstrom Arnold and Jim Nordstrom won the Spirit of Life Award for their outstanding philanthropic work.

In November 1999, Creative completely revamped its color line, mastering the professional nail enamel category. For the relaunch, the team extensively researched every aspect of enamel color, from the most functional brush to the most popular shades and textures.

In 2002, CreativeSpa® was born as a division dedicated to servicing the growing resort/hotel and destination spa industry. Again, Creative led the way with revolutionary ideas for reaching this market and inspiring a fresh approach to manicure and pedicure services.

In 2004, Creative celebrated its 25th year with 2 major product launches. Brisa™ Gels, which provide a natural-looking odorless approach to nail enhancements, and Raw Earth™ SpaPedicure®, a system of products which provide a vitamin and mineral infused warming pedicure.

Today, Creative remains a family business, although it was acquired by Revlon in 1995 and more recently in April 2000, by The Colomer Group based in Barcelona.

Located in a custom-built facility in Vista, California, Creative's headquarter offices are renowned for their multi-million-dollar research and development center. Products are created with the best ingredients and the R&D team is amongst the finest in the industry.

Creative has concentrated on educating its portfolio of innovative products through formalized education workshops – The Creative Academy – and "master technician" programs. Today, Creative Nail Design is recognized as the education leader in the nail category, training professionals in all topics from medical emergencies to makeovers and massage.

Creative has won numerous honors for SpaPedicure® and SpaManicure®, in addition to a record-setting 22 ABBIES awards for excellence in marketing, advertising and PR. Creative also sets the standard for cutting edge fashion and style. Well-known designers including Badgley Mischka, Carolina Herrera, Anne Klein, Nicole Miller, Betsey Johnson and Cynthia Rowley regularly work with Creative to develop specialized nail styles for their fashion shows.

Quality is what has set Creative apart from many competitors and imitators. Although the nail industry has evolved tremendously in the last quarter century, Creative Nail Design still leads the way in technology, innovation and style.

If you would like to know more about Creative Nail Design Products and Treatments, call today on 0161 - 980 -1111, and speak to a qualified Creative Nail Technician.