I had the opportunity to interview one of the very few Canadian designers of custom sheer nail gloves (or Drag gloves, as you may know them) – Coriana of Black Cherry Nails in New Westminster, BC, Canada. (@blackcherrynails)
Coriana has 13 years experience as a nail artist and running her own salon in Vancouver. And she has developed quite a following throughout the US and Canada for her Drag Line.
She told me about her fascination with Drag makeup and fashion, sparking the first time she met a Drag performer when she was 16. She’s been a lifelong ally of the LGBTQ2IA+ community, even serving on one of the local Pride boards in her area with her partner a couple of years ago.
Here is an example of her drag glove nails.
I met Coriana when she contacted me to inquire about the various mannequin hands Mannequin Madness sells for glove displays. She wanted my opinion on which hands to buy for her specific design needs. She bought the right and left hand of our 15” glove hands.
She uses these versatile mannequin hands to set the glue for the nails and then to apply the stonework. When she is done with the design, the glove hands are the perfect way to display and store the gloves safely. Needless to say, these hands are “handy.”
In the process of answering her questions about our glove hands, I became fascinated with her work. I love other niche business owners cause they are very passionate about what they do. They have an emotional connection to their product and tend to go the extra distance to make their customers happy.
I want to share what I learned about Black Cherry Nails in case you are in the market to buy these gloves, or know someone who is.
Most of the other vendors of sheer nail gloves offer a very limited selection of sheer nude or “flesh tone” fabrics. So this means people of color have to make do with gloves that do not take their skin tone into consideration.
Coriana has taken to personally dyeing her gloves to provide a wider selection of choices. As a person of color let me say, I. LOVE. THAT!
Here are some of the shades she has now for her glove hands.
Coriana has more colors in the works. I jokingly told her she is following in the footsteps of Rihanna, whose Fenty beauty line had colors for every skin tone. Coriana says “it is my great honor to be able to outfit every “queen in every rich, beautiful shade there is to appreciate.”
And there is another feature about Black Cherry gloves which sets them apart from the competition. The gloves can be worn while using a mobile device. In these days of virtual performances this feature is more important than ever.
Because so many people are taking selfies or doing their own video recordings, it is super convenient to be able to operate your phone or tablet without having to remove the gloves.
Here is her friend Jakyllyn Hyde modelling the custom gloves Coriana designed for her.
All of Black Cherry’s gloves are custom made. Coriana has an in- depth consultation process so she can get the information she needs to make sure the gloves have a stellar fit. Everything from the length and shape of the nails, tailored nail sizing for the perfect fit, the color (over 300 to choose from) and design of the nails and the type of embellishments used are all part of the in depth consultation process.
All of this makes her nail gloves the go-to option for Queens everywhere to change up their outfit quickly and efficiently without glue and without the stress of losing a nail during a performance!
The average price of a set of Black Cherry Gloves is around $100 (CAD) which sounds like a bargain to me for such a custom item. She ships worldwide so drag queens around the world can all have flawless nails.
Coriana said that while Drag performers are her primary customer base, these gloves are also popular with the burlesque community and cosplay performers!
For more info follow Black Cherry Nails (@blackcherrynails) on both Instagram and TikTok!
