On Mindful Manicures And Sustainable Business Models: 'Cure Studios
This summer, in light of our own rebirth, we’re catching up with Future Front Texas members and friends to explore vision.
Today, we’re chatting with ‘Cure Studios founders, Rachel Daily and Kristin Owen, about sustainability, creating welcoming spaces in Austin and why it’s fun to get a manicure at night.
Photo by Gaby Deimeke
ABOUT RACHEL DAILY and KRISTIN OWEN
Rachel is a long time Austinite who spends most of her money on the ever evolving food landscape and her bold, multi-occasion collection of jumpsuits. She has spent the past six years working at Stitch Fix where she is a Product Manager and has two dogs and a girlfriend that own her time away from work and 'Cure. In a former life (re: college) she worked as a makeup artist and found a passion in helping people look and feel better through small acts of self care. . She is also passionate about creating visibility, opportunity, and safe spaces for the LGBTQ+ community and is on the programming board at StartOut. In her spare time, you will find her attempting a vast array of home construction projects that start small and somehow grow out of hand incredibly quickly.
Kristin was born and raised in Austin and has spent her career working as the Co-Founder and COO of DoStuff, hellbent on helping people find amazing things to do in their cities all over the country. Over the last decade she has spent her time investing in helping people have great experiences and find connection in their communities, discover new bands and artists, off the radar local businesses, and more. When she’s not at live shows or hiking somewhere while listening to a podcast, KO (as her friends call her) serves on the board of the Rainforest Partnership and has a deep connection to education about climate change with a specific focus on preventing deforestation. She also found that getting her nails done was one of her favorite self care exercises but could never fully relax when faced with the waste, chemicals, lack of recycling, and use of high volumes of water that have been the industry status quo to date.
WHAT IS ‘CURE STUDIOS?
‘Cure Studios is a speakeasy-style sustainable nail studio in East Austin that caters to people who want to practice a little self care. While they are starting small, their vision is to stay open late into the evening to accommodate those who can't break away during their busy days. They focus on quality waterless nail services, growing their staff through professional development and collective leadership, and making ethical business decisions.
Photo by Gaby Deimeke
Photo by Gaby Deimeke
WHAT INSPIRED YOU TO START ‘CURE?
Kristin and Rachel met in 2010 when they both worked at Do512. One night in 2017, when they were both taking a break from alcohol, they realized there weren’t many options for fun sober things to do after dinner. They bonded over loving their jobs but didn’t often have time for self-care due to long hours. Kristin bemoaned that they couldn’t go get a manicure in the moment and ironically, a month prior to their catch up, Rachel had tweeted "Midnight manicures don't exist and that astonishes me" - and thus, the shared vision for 'Cure was born
After doing some research, it became clear this was a need that wasn’t currently being met in Austin. They taught themselves about sanitation and products and found that while many natural nail polish lines were focused on sustainability, most salons were not. They thought: how can we make this eco-friendly, fun, professional, and still keep our day jobs? After four years of planning, research, and real estate hunting they are excited to announce that they are now open!.
WHAT DO YOU WANT PEOPLE TO FEEL WHEN THEY WALK INTO ‘CURE?
‘Cure is driven by serving the underserved: professionals who are working during normal salon hours, parents whose only time to get a mani is when the kiddos are in bed, and people of all genders who don’t feel comfortable in a typical salon environment.
Many other professional services (think hair, skin etc) allow space for personalized care recommendations tailored to each client, but that isn’t traditionally the case for nail care. Kristin and Rachel are letting the ‘Cureists (nail techs) lead on what trends to follow, which products to use, and which services are best for the customer rather than just what is cheapest or easiest. They value their expertise and want the customer to know that they are coming from a place of caring about nails and providing a quality experience. If the ‘Cureist is genuinely excited about a product or service, then it’s usually a good sign the clientele will be too.
Rachel has lived on the eastside for 11 years and is focused on keeping the space approachable, inclusive, and community-oriented. Kristin, a long time 78704 resident, has built her entire career around helping local people find and experience local places. They acknowledge that their prices are a bit higher than some salons due to the products and services being offered but are expanding their menu to include more accessibly priced options. They also are working hard to ensure that the salon feels casual for clients, so if you come in wearing a suit or sweats you still feel welcome.
WHY IS SUSTAINABILITY IMPORTANT AT A NAIL SALON?
Kristin sits on the board of Rainforest Partnership, and is leading ‘Cure’s focus on the environment. When they bought their space, it wasn’t built out to include water and they realized this was actually a positive. Turns out soaked pedis are not only unsanitary due to waterborne bacteria risk and dry out your skin, but they actually swell your nail beds and reduces the lifetime of your polish. All of their services are soak-less with very limited water only for warm towels.
Most “natural” manicures aren’t known for their durability so ‘Cure is trying to solve the problem of how to have a cool, strong manicure while also being eco-friendly. They found the balance in focusing on efforts like biodegradable tools and polish recycling while still offering the high-quality products that customers have come to depend on.
Photo by Gaby Deimeke
Photo courtesy of Cynthia Munoz
WHAT’S COMING UP NEXT?
They have big hopes and dreams of growing beyond a nail salon but are focused on getting their foundational opportunity perfected first. Eventually, they’d like to focus on becoming a full-service self-care focused collection of studios. Self-care can look like manicures and cocktails but it also means mindfulness, sharing knowledge, and contributing to the community overall. They eventually want to create a space for continued education or yoga classes and create product lines that focus on health and sustainability.
‘Cure is open now for appointments Thursdays and Fridays from 2 to 9 PM, Saturday from 10 to 8 PM and Sunday from 11 to 6 PM.
They are offering FFTX members and readers a 15% discount through october 15 using code FUTUREFRONT.
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