Dominique Reneé never imagined that a sudden spark of inspiration from one of Rihanna’s latest music videos, “What’s my Name?” would ultimately lead her to national renown as a nail designer.
The design is named “OhNaNa” after one of Rihanna’s music videos, “What’s My Name?” The inspiration is clear. In the video, Rihanna can be seen wearing a black and white striped blazer matched with patterned shorts with a colorful bordering of green, red, orange, and yellow.
Beginning with a simple sketch in her sketch notebook, Reneécreated a set of nails that have a black and white striped base, with colorful tips of blue, green, red, and yellow. Reneé added a slight addition to the OhNaNa nails, her authentic gold chain.
Reneé‘s design has hit the big time. She set up a jewelry and nails website. Other websites and blogs talked up her nails.
This led her to submit her work to the RAW Awards, an annual show to “provide independent artists of all creative genres, with the tools, resources and exposure needed to inspire and cultivate creativity.” She made the finals in the “accessories” category. The competition was concluded this past week.
Reneé had the opportunity to showcase her work in New York, with the support and encouragement of nine church members and her mother. “Without the support and help of my family and church members, I wouldn’t be where I am today,” she said. “I’m so grateful for everyone that has helped me in my career, and especially throughout the whole process of the RAW Awards.” Reneé represented New York against 17 other major cities in the United States to compete for RAW Accessories Award of 2011 where she overall placed as a finalist.
Reneé, who’s 22 years old, believed that pursuing graphic design was the right career after graduating from Metropolitan Business Academy in 2006.
Two years into college at Western Connecticut State University, Reneé realized that graphic design was not her passion. With too many credits in to switch her degree, Reneé graduated with that major, but kept looking for the right career fit.
“I always had a love for fashion, accessories, and especially nails,” she recalled.
One day, Reneé was reading the blog of Solange Knowles, Beyonce’s sister, when she came across pictures of her in Japan with unique nails. “It had many different patterns such as cheetah and leopard print, and there were 3D characters on it like Hello Kitty. I loved it so much, that I wanted to get it done for myself!”
Reneé was disappointed with how the nails turned out, so decided to try it out for herself.” I jumped into it, and soon enough people were constantly asking me, ‘Where did you get your nails done?’, so I got inspired to make my own line.”
Reneé makes the nails in the comfort of her own home. “I don’t use complex items to make my nails. I simply buy basic glue on nails, nail polish, chain, and brushes that I use to make the more intricate designs.” Reneé sells three different sizes of the nails: small, medium, and large, with an option for adjustments to fit your nail size, if needed. The price for the nails ranges from $25 to $65, depending on how much the cost was for the materials and how much time was put into making the nails. Reneé sends the nails to your own home, with stickers to attach the nails on.
One of the most supportive people throughout Reneé‘s journey has been her mother, Sheena Graham, a performing arts teacher at Central High School in Bridgeport.
“When I first figured out that Dominique wasn’t happy in graphic design, I wasn’t upset or annoyed,” Graham said. “Life is a journey, and this was just another lesson learned and because of her hard time in college, she was able to listen closely to her inner voice. Through this, she pursued her love of nail art, and made sure that this it was the right fit in her life. I couldn’t be more proud of Dominique and her accomplishments so far and I only hope that she continues with her passion of making people, herself, and myself happy through her many talents.”
Reneé plans to attend Brio Academy in January so she can earn her degree in nail technology. With the profit made from selling her nails online, Reneé hopes to someday open up a salon to do her nails as well as a boutique to showcase jewelry and clothing.
Awesome story! Renee sounds like an inspirational young woman. She will go far!!