Mother, daughter open nail bar in Henderson

Mother-daughter duo Elaine and Jenni Miller have shared a lot of experiences from having the same driver's education teacher at Basic High School to working at the same sign company, which the family owns.

The number of shared experiences grew when they decided to attend cosmetology school and open a business called Paris to New York Nail Bar, 10890 S. Eastern Ave.

"We have always worked together," Jenni said. "My parents own a sign company, and I've worked there forever."

Wanting to branch out creatively , Jenni decided to look at Destination Academy Cosmetology School to learn about doing nails. She asked her mother to attend.

Elaine said she had been in the sign industry for 15 years at Next Generation Signs, 35 E. Lake Mead Parkway, and needed a new adventure.

"I needed something different," Elaine said. "When she asked me to go to school with her, it took me all but a minute to say, 'Sure. Why not?' "

For the next year, the two would work from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. then go to school from 5:30 to 10:30 p.m. five days a week.

"We didn't complain at all," Elaine said. "Our end result was our motivation. We went to school with the intention of opening a business together."

Elaine said the hardest part was just being back in school.

"I hadn't been in 30 years," Elaine said.

Classmates often were surprised that a mother and daughter would not only be so close but also that they would go to school together and open a business.

"People would tell us they would never go to school with their mother," Elaine said. "But then we would also hear, 'I wish I could go to school with my mom.' "

Having each other as classmates was a good motivator.

"There might be something I missed that she can help me with," Elaine said. "We saw each other as classmates on an equal level."

With their diplomas in hand, Elaine and Jenni started looking to open their own business.

"The hardest part was finding a place," Jenni said.

Jenni noticed there were vacancies next to the place where she and her mom get their hair done .

Seeing that they might get good traffic from the hair salon, which doesn't do nails, they decided to rent space in the same shopping area.

The next challenge was making their place different than other businesses.

"We didn't want to have the same setup like other places," Jenni said.

Two of Jenni's dream places, Paris and New York, played as the muse for decorating the place.

"I've always wanted to go there," Jenni said. "One day, I'll make it there."

The two started looking for chairs, tables, art and miscellaneous items to make their business their own design.

"We took several trips to IKEA ," Elaine said.

It took about five weeks to decorate and prepare for the opening.

The name came easy.

"We had been thinking about it since we were in school," Jenni said. "We didn't reveal the name to anyone until the sign was hanging."

Paris to New York Nail Bar opened Aug. 1.

"We have received a lot of walk-ins," Jenni said. "Business is better than I could have envisioned."

Often , Jenni or Elaine will be walking around a mall or Town Square Las Vegas, and people will ask about their nails.

Ready with a card and a flier, the team tells curious passers-by about the salon.

Jenni has marketed the salon on Facebook and via word of mouth.

As co-owners, they view each other with the same respect they had in the classroom.

Jenni hopes to open another shop in Long Beach, Calif. If she needs a vacation, Elaine could take over .

"Not really a long-term goal," Jenni said. "An on going goal. We don't do anything long term. Too impatient for that."

The business is open from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday.

For more information or to make an appointment, call 565-6245.

Contact Henderson/Anthem View reporter Michael Lyle at mlyle@viewnews.com or 387-5201.