MC Fall 2020

NEWS
Nailed
The Artform
Diamond Frost sits down for a
discussion on business and nails.
By: Carly Herbert
Photo by: @SellerMedia
This summer, during the reemergence of the Black Lives
Matter protests, Black businesses across the country found
themselves in the spotlight. During this time where support
was pouring in for the Black community, one of the ways
people choose to show their appreciation and respect was
through supporting Black owned companies.
Across social media specifically, people
shared their favorite Black-owned
businesses including boutiques, restaurants
and cafes, and hair and nail salons.
One of Old Dominion University’s own,
Diamond Frost, started her nail business
on Instagram while she was still in
school. Her Instagram @nailbydime__
has over 23,000 followers and her business
is fully booked until November!
Based out of Chesapeake, VA she began
her nail empire in 2018. She began
doing nails as a hobby and a way to
pass time. When she realized how much
she enjoyed the process, she ordered
her own supplies and started practicing
on her self.
“When I came back for my sophomore
year at ODU I moved into the Village,
into those apartments and I started
doing [nails] out of there,” said Frost. “It
just kind of blew up from there.”
When Dime first started out, she never
anticipated her business to grow the
way that it did.
“It still shocks me to this day,” Frost
admits. “Sometimes when people get
asked who did their nails and they say
my name, they already know who I am
which is crazy.”
Frost thinks that living on-campus at
ODU contributed to how she grew her
clientele so fast.
“Even though I wasn’t charging that
much at first, but I was pretty good
for being a beginner and when you’re
on campus with thousands of girls,
they want to get their nails done,” said
Frost. “When you’re first going into college
you’re more self-conscious of your
looks, you’re trying to find yourself.”
Nailsbydime was accessible and good
quality for a good price for college students
which helped fuel the fire of her
rapidly growing business. Frost pointed
out that students not having their cars
on campus and not being able to afford
some of the other places around campus
contributed to her success.
For Frost, she believes that the reason
women take the time and spend the
money to get their nails done is for selfcare.
“As a woman, I just know if I’m ever
going through something, just having
my nails done, or my hair or my lashes,
it just makes me feel ten times better,”
said Frost. “It’s just pretty and nice, and
it’s definitely a pick-me-up.”
But Dime is not one to do the bare
minimum, she wants her customers to
feel as taken care of as possible, which
is why she likes to give hand massages
with lotion or hand scrubs to her clients
to make them feel pampered.
“A lot of people come not just for the
nails, but for the conversation which is
why all my appointments are confidential,”
explained Frost.
When it comes to the culture surrounding
black beauty, Frost thinks that
nails are something that have come in
and out of history going through all different
cultures.
“Right now we are at a point where
there are more black nail techs in the
field,” said Frost. “I’ve had people tell me
that having a black nail tech inspired
them to be a nail tech which definitely
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