OH Talks: Glaize x Ottoman Hands

We have joined forces with nail art superstars Glaize to create a collection of nail art designs inspired by our east-meets-west aesthetic and signature evil eye jewellery.

We sat down with Glaize founder, Gina, to chat all about the perfect duo: nail art and jewellery.

1. What's your go-to jewellery style?

I'm definitely not a minimalist when it comes to jewellery or fashion. I love a big bold pair of earrings or a statement necklace.

2. What's your favourite Ottoman Hands piece and why?

I love the Avalon Pearl Pull Through Hoop earrings - it's a really unique design that's so simple yet so striking.

Glaize x Ottoman Hands - Eye See You, worn here with the Demetra Braided Ring and the Neri Evil Eye Ring

3. We love the idea of easy at-home manicure with Glaize stick-on gel nails, what inspired you to venture into the nail care industry?

I always loved getting my nails done but struggled to find the time to go to the salon, and I hated painting my nails, so I wanted to create a solution for how to get the perfect manicure in a faster, cheaper and more sustainable way.

4. Can you share with us the process of creating a nail design?

We start off by creating a moodboard for the design or collection. Once we've whittled down the ideas, we start working on the actual designs on hand mock-ups. Once we're happy with the mock-ups, we transform the design into our nail art template and then the testing begins.

We test everything, from the way the design is spread across the sheet to make sure that it's compatible with our laser cutter, to the colour and shine, and of course the performance of the actual gels on the nails. Once all of these boxes are ticked, we're ready for launch.

Glaize x Ottoman Hands - Adira, worn here with the Adira Turquoise Porcelain Evil Eye Ring, Amara Eye Signet Ring, Adira Turquoise Cuff Bracelet

5. Both you and our founder, Deniz, are female business owners, what are the challenges and highlights of running your own company?

Running a start-up is both one of the most exciting and stressful things you can do. Our R&D journey was a very challenging one, particularly as we were doing so during multiple lockdowns and supply chain crises. Scale-up is another massive challenge for us: since we manufacture all of our gels in our own factory, we need to ensure that we can keep up with demand without losing control of the product quality.

There have been so many highlights over the last two years - just to name a few: 1- building a great team that cares deeply about Glaize is something that inspires me everyday. 2- Being able to raise money from investors as an Arab female founder is another thing I'm proud of, as the odds are stacked against people like me. 3- Last but not least, seeing customers switch to Glaize and come back for top-ups makes my day. Every time I see a repeat customer, I do a little happy dance!