What If Your Manicure Was A Mini Art Exhibit?

Scrolling through Singapore-based studio Part Time Nails’ Instagram feels like falling into a technicolour rabbit hole; not just of kaleidoscopic nails, but of ceramics, fashion references, contemporary art, and even the occasional sea creature. It’s a mixed bag in the best way possible — a reflection of the duo behind it.

No surprise there: co-founder Edna Sun is a graphic designer and currently the creative lead at cult vintage homeware store Aa Furniture, while Yi Lu, trained in fashion design, previously worked in luxury communications. Together, they launched Part Time Nails last June (the name says it all) as a side project to stretch their creative muscles outside their usual mediums.

“In Singapore, nail art might still be seen more as a service than as actual art,” says Sun. “But for us, it’s a canvas for self-expression — a way to pay homage to artists and just have fun with creativity.”

And that’s exactly what they’ve been doing — drawing inspiration from all over: from Josep Font’s dreamy dresses during his tenure at Delpozo to the vivid colours of reef fish. The resulting designs are playful, textural, and unmistakably them: think blobby shapes, swirly gradients, and tiny details that feel like wearable sculpture (yep they took a course to train in the craft before starting the business).

Part Time Nails (PTN) has quickly built a following of clients who want more than just a pretty mani. One Comme des Garcons fan, for instance, had two of her favourite collections from the brand reinterpreted and painted onto her nails — turning fashion fandom into miniature tribute.

But the creative exchange goes both ways. Special requests from clients often introduce Edna and Yi Lu to new artists, designers, and ideas, turning each session into a little shared discovery.

The duo, both in their early 30s, started Part Time Nails with second-hand paints and did everything in a spare room at home, though increasing demand has seen them expand into a small studio space at Pearl’s Hill Terrace this May. Here, they share more on their art: 

Hi Edna and Yi Lu! You both don’t come from traditional beauty or nail backgrounds — so why the decision to go into this specific trade?

Edna Sun (ES): “For me, it was about rethinking what being a creative means. My main practice is in graphics, but being surrounded by it all the time started to feel flat. Through freelancing, I realised I’m drawn to creativity as a whole, with graphic design simply the medium I’m most familiar with. While searching for references, I often come across art forms like sculpture, ceramics, and spaces that don’t easily translate into my work. Nail art, however, feels like mini canvases, letting me bring those references to life and better understand their forms and colours.”

Yi Lu (YL): “Honestly, it wasn’t intentional to get into the nail industry. We see nails as a crossover between art, design, fashion, and craft — which is why our approach feels a little unconventional. For me, nail art is both a joy to wear and a joy to create. As a wearer, it feels like carrying little artworks with me everywhere I go; it’s a quiet but powerful form of self-expression. As a nailist, it’s my way of exploring different genres of art. Each client opens a new portal, and I get to research new artists, study their style, and reinterpret their work in a totally different medium.”

Part Time Nails (PTN) seems to be heavily influenced by fashion, design, and art — why is this so important to the studio?

ES:  “We see nails as a form of creative expression — not just something you wear on your fingers. When a set is inspired by an artwork, a photo, or a fashion collection, it sparks conversations with the people around us and keeps us inspired throughout the day. I think PTN serves as a small reminder to stay curious and open-minded — where anything can be a source of inspiration.”

YL: “For me, it’s about translation. I spent years working in fashion, surrounded by heritage, texture, and colour palettes that told stories. With PTN, I get to reimagine those references on a much smaller canvas — like turning a painting into something intimate that you carry with you. Nails don’t feel like accessories to me; they’re fragments of the creative world made personal.”

Any specific favourite references?

ES: “I love stumbling across something sculptural or spatial, then figuring out how to translate that into nails. It’s always unpredictable, which makes the outcome surprising — both for us and our clients. Beyond visual references, experiencing art in person leaves the deepest impression. When I visited the Picasso Museum and Park Guell in Spain, those moments really stuck with me. Interestingly, clients later asked for Picasso- and Gaudí-inspired sets, and instead of working from images, I could draw on my own memories and emotional response to those places, which made the designs feel much more personal and intuitive.”

YL: “It’s never fixed for me, which is what makes it fun. Sometimes I’ll fall in love with a particular designer’s work — like Chopova Lowena’s boldness, Dries Van Noten’s layering of prints, or Henrik Vibskov’s playful oddities. I save everything obsessively, but instead of just keeping them on my phone, PTN lets me translate them onto nails. On the art side, I’m fascinated by artists who play with texture and saturation, such as Bruce Riley’s resin works, Klari Reis’s petri dish paintings — those oozy, colourful, tactile pieces excite me and remind me of the 3D work we love doing.”

What’s your process from idea to execution for a new set or design?

ES: “Before we begin curating, we always check in with our clients about any colour palettes or prompts they’d like us to consider. It’s especially exciting when they come to us with a favourite artist they want the set to be inspired by - because that way, we also get to learn about an artist or designer who may be new to us.

Once we’ve gathered that input, we dive into curating a moodboard — a process that takes at least an hour. Each set is entirely individual and unique, as we never reuse any of our boards. We take time to select works that align with the brief, ensure the colours harmonise, and  sometimes we do get sidetracked discovering even more artists we might reference in the future.”

PTN also only takes on one or two clients a day — why is that?

YL: “It’s mainly time and energy. PTN is a part-time project, bu it’s also meant to be intentionally slow. We want each set to feel like a shared experience, not something rushed. Our process takes hours — from moodboarding and painting to sculpting — and that level of detail can’t be squeezed into a typical back-to-back salon schedule.”

 What are your rates like?

ES: “There’s the CORE package which is $180, consisting of ten nails that spot ten different artworks. A full canvas of creativity with no restrictions. Guided by the client’s colour palette or prompts, we gather visuals, study forms, and create a moodboard tailored to them. Every set is completely one of a kind — and never repeated. There also SEASONAL at $130, where one selected artwork is interpreted across ten nails. Each month, we feature five artworks we’re currently drawn to. The client selects one, and we translate it into a full set: ten nails, subtle variations, and a single reference held throughout.”

We’ve noticed you’ve also been spotlighting local creatives whose nails you’ve painted — tell us more about that!

ES: “This project is called Working Hands, and it’s our love letter to makers. We spend so much time focused on hands — not just how they look, but what they do: create, hold, move, care. Hands cook, build, curate, paint, fix. Featuring creatives allows us to explore the relationship between their hands and their craft. And there’s something beautiful about them wearing art on the very tools they create with.”

Is there anyone in Singapore you’d love to collaborate with?

YL: “Rather than naming names — because there are so many! — we’re drawn to people who work with their hands: ceramicists, florists, chefs, bakers, weavers, painters. PTN has always been about connection and conversation. Collaborating with others inspires us in ways we couldn’t reach on our own. Our Working Hands series is one way we reach out, but we’d love to get to know more creatives and share in their process. If you’re reading this and feel inspired — or if you know someone we should connect with — please reach out. We’d be thrilled to hear from you.”