Nailed it!: Local salon ownerwins Vegas award

Sheila Amrhien has lived in Tea for over 25 years, and for the past 19 years she’s owned and operated Artistic Nails by Sheila in Sioux Falls. Last month Amrhien attended The Best Lil’ Nail Show Vegas. The theme for the evening’s met and mingle was masquerade and the competition was to match your nails to your mask.

“I didn’t intend on competing, I just wanted my nails to match my hand-made mask. Much to my surprise, they took pictures upon arrival to the party, and I was automatically entered in the contest. There were approximately 15 other entries, and I won third place,” she said.

This isn’t the first award Amrhien has received for her nail design, she previously won third place in a multi-media nail competition on a nail cruise in Dec. 2016.

For the Vegas show, her nails consisted of hard gel, gel polish, Swarovski crystals, glitter, foil, 3D gel, nail spikes, and hand painting.

She added, “They took about six hours to create on myself prior to event.”

That attention to detail is something that sets Amrhien apart. She says she specializes in nail art, gel nail enhancements, gel and Russian manicures, medical grade pedicures, prosthetic toe nail reconstruction, and Brazilian waxing.

“I currently use a high quality, top of the industry line of products made in Germany. Only the best for my clients. Typically my products and techniques, I bring in directly from the artists, designed and formulated by them for the specialty needs of the nail industry. No cookie cutter, typical local beauty supply products for my salon. I buy from the best, use the best, to give the best to my devoted clientele,” she said.

Amrhien received her training for nails at Northeast Metro Tech, in Lakewwod Minnesota in 1990, there she worked as a nail tech at Fine Designs, a Stewart’s owned salon, in Shoreview MN. After graduation she was offered a scholarship to attend Stewart School in Sioux Falls for a full cosmetology degree. After graduating Stewart’s, she worked as an employee for about eight years around Sioux Falls at a few different salons.

“I finally decided when I was pregnant with my first child to venture into booth rental and then went on to owning my own space,” she said.