06/09/2026
If you step inside Glossy Nails Art () today – a salon and academy in the Netherlands, you will see a beautiful, pink-toned interior, bustling with clients and offering a range of nail services. It would be hard to believe that just one year ago, owner, Mariia Bodnar, was close to giving it all up. She shares her story of relocation, resilience and rebuilding with Scratch…
Mariia Bodnar first entered the nail industry at the age of 17. A passionate hobbyist who relished the creative side of nails, Mariia says: “What initially started as a hobby quickly became something I genuinely love doing.”
Growing up in Ukraine, Mariia immersed herself in the country’s thriving professional nail industry. “My early career was very intensive: I worked from home while also gaining experience in several salons, sometimes working across different cities at the same time,” she shares. “It gave me the opportunity to encounter many different clients, environments and approaches to the industry.”
However, after gaining experience in salons, Mariia ‘realised that [she] wanted to build something based on [her] own standards, rather than continue working under someone else’s conditions’. “I had seen situations where hygiene, sterilisation, client communication and professional responsibility were not treated as seriously as I believed they should be,” she explains.
This desire led her to create her own nail salon and academy: Glossy Nails Art.
Click here to step inside the Leiden-based nail salon and discover the Ukrainian nail techniques, salon safety practices and attention to detail that allowed Glossy Nails Art to become a thriving salon and academy 👉 https://bit.ly/3UXabdP
