We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Kristin Rossi. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Kristin below.

Kristin, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. What’s been the most meaningful project you’ve worked on?

I would have to say one of my most meaningful projects was creating over 100 sets of nails for the first annual fashion show, Color of Fashion. Now why this show out of the dozens of shows I’ve done locally, nationally and internationally? What makes this one special? In one word, diversity.
Color of Fashion is a show that celebrates diversity in the beauty industry. Their top priority is highlighting designers, models and a production team of all colors.
For me as a privileged white woman I was honored to be on their team as the sole nail artist. I am married to a person of color and my children are biracial so the importance of this show took precedence. It was a privilege to be a part of and I am forever grateful for the experience.

Kristin, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

Hi, my name is Kristin Rossi! I am an international nail artist specializing in international fashion shows, editorial photo shoots, and a high-profile clientele. I am the proud owner and creator of the Nails By KR brand. I’ve been a licensed nail technician since 1992, and have owned and operated salons in Michigan, Florida and now Colorado. I relocated to Denver from Florida about 11 years ago. I quickly built up a solid clientele base, and shortly after was approached by a local production company to be the sole nail artist for Artopia. For those of you who are not familiar with Artopia, it’s an annual night of art, food, music and fashion, featuring artist and performers from the local Denver area. Being the risk taker, I am, having been asked to be the sole nail artist for multiple designers in one night is, of course, the kind of opportunity I would jump at, and then panic set in. However, I find my best work is done under a good amount of pressure. I was completely in my element that night, despite being a bit of a greenhorn, and discovered, I love the feeling of being there knees deep in nails, models and other creatives, it is complete chaos, but at the same time exhilarating. From that night on the floodgates opened, and the jobs started rolling in. It was the perfect platform for my brand to be seen and taken seriously. It’s a true testament of how hard work and determination will get you everywhere.
My services include natural nail manicures and pedicures, artificial nails, any kind of nail art, and press on nails.
My press on nails have been seen all over the world and I have been published in magazines in over 12 different countries. However, doing press ons for my Nail It Forward program is what is most important to me. I am a huge supporter of the LGBTQ+ community. My Nails By KR custom press on nail business caters mostly to drag queens from all over the United States. This business got me thinking that the world needs a little more sparkle in it, so I created a global business to do just that! It’s called Nail it Forward. It’s a program that allows anyone from every corner of the globe to nominate someone who may need to feel a little more “glamtastic.” How it works- email your nominee to [email protected] and tell me what makes them shine.
Each month Nails By KR will donate a set of custom press on nails to selected nominees. Recipients can then choose to nominate someone else.

We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.

First, let me say that I believe struggles along the way are what makes us who we are, perhaps, a better version of our younger more naïve selves. I’ve always welcomed obstacles and challenges because they force us to look outside of the box. With that being said almost 8 years ago, my five year old daughter at the time, and I were in a horrible car accident. Thankfully, she was unharmed however, I wasn’t as lucky. I suffered a traumatic brain injury which left me with almost complete memory loss, partial vision and hearing loss on my right side, loss of speech, loss of balance, and I was six weeks pregnant.
I am a big fan of hard work and determination and because of that I was able to take my recovery to the next level. My doctors were constantly telling me, the brain is a mystery, be prepared to spend the rest of your life like this. Mind you, at this time I was re-learning how to shower, walk, remember my daughters name, remember where the dishes were in the cupboards, etc. But being an athlete my whole life gave me the tools I needed to dig deep and never give up.
Needing hand and eye coordination therapy from the car accident, I resumed my craft strictly as part of my PT not knowing what a valuable asset it would be in my recovery. The benefits were endless! I started an Instagram account at the urging of one of my clients, and well, as they say, the rest is history.

What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?

I would say the most rewarding aspect of being an artist and creative is that I get to do what I love every single day. The cherry on top is that I get paid to do what I love! I have been a licensed nail artist since 1992, here we are 31 years later and I can honestly say that I love what I do more now today than I ever have. I couldn’t be more grateful for the life I have created for myself and my beautiful family.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: @nails.by.kr