From nail-biter to nail designer, an Aberdeen artist has gone viral for her detailed and colourful designs.
Katie Rudnicke is something of a perfectionist.
Growing up in Lithuania, the 36-year-old says her love for nail art began at the age of just 12 thanks to her grandmother Nadia.
“My grandma was a great inspiration for me. She used to paint her own nails and toes and used to do her own cuticles. I looked at the process and it mesmerised me,” she explained.
“I was a vicious nail-biter when I was little but I was obsessed with the smell of nail polish.
“The combination of these things helped me to stop biting my nails because I wanted them to look nice.”
Redundancy pointed Katie towards nail art success
In 2011, Katie moved to the Granite City and began working in the oil industry.
It wasn’t long before her artistic talents made a mark on her friends and colleagues, who were queuing up to get their nails painted.
After being made redundant, Katie threw herself into her passion for nail art, completing numerous training courses along the way.
However, she said it was her husband who inspired her to take the leap and follow her dreams.
Katie said: “I got made redundant and all of my redundancy money went on buying more courses. I’ve got eight certificates in total. I was training for the basics as well as an advanced course for sculpting.
“I found another job really quickly because I was panicking. I didn’t know where to put myself, so I got another administration job, but that wasn’t making me happy at all. It was actually making me miserable.
“I had the biggest smile on my face when I put my resignation on the table and left.
“My husband pushed me to do it because I was waking up crying, not wanting to go to work. I was miserable and he said, ‘just quit’.”
Aberdeen nail artist inspired by nature
For the last five years, Katie has been self-employed creating thousands of intricate designs, from tartan nails to intricate portraits to cartoons.
Bringing her detailed designs to life can take up to four and a half hours.
Her designs have captivated aspiring nail artists online, garnering thousands of likes and views on Instagram.
Katie has more than 29,000 followers, with one of her top designs achieving 63,500 likes on social media.
She said: “Mostly the designs are all in my head. I very rarely ever sketch them.
“I am also really inspired by my clients. I know my clients and I know what they like, what kind of music they like or the clothes they like to wear.
“Little by little, I think about their designs as I am filing their nails, so the designs are inspired by them.
“It leaves me with a good feeling especially when they are leaving your studio with a massive smile on their face or sometimes screaming how happy they are. That is super rewarding for me.”
‘If you really want to achieve something, go for it’
Katie is hoping to inspire the next generation to follow their dreams and embrace their creative side.
She’s held 1-2-1 training sessions with aspiring nail technicians and training courses with groups in Perth and Cove in Aberdeen.
She hopes to inspire today’s young people to follow their dreams just like she did.
She added: “I’m just hoping I’m going to inspire someone else like I was. In my way, I’m returning the favour and giving back to the community.
“I truly believe anyone can start doing anything if they put their mind to it. People message me saying, ‘I’ll never be as talented as you are’ or ‘I’ll never be able to do it’.
“This is the main mistake people make – convincing themselves that they can’t do it before they even try.
“I want to encourage more people to go for what their heart desires. If you really want to achieve something, go for it. Don’t wait. Put your time and effort into your goal and you will succeed.”
Conversation