for queer-owned businesses, every month is pride month.
for queer-owned businesses, every month is pride month.
Geneva’s On Point Nails shows what being queer-inclusive really looks like. Co-owner Hailey Conran explains why it matters.
Queering the Burbs is a regularly-published distillation of pop culture, politics and queerness written by Joe Erbentraut. If you like what you see, please consider subscribing (it’s free!), liking or sharing this piece.
OK, queers and those who enjoy us around, we’ve made it to Pride Month. It’s officially time to assemble and snap and clap and touch our toes.
Just kidding, that’s just the pre-chorus of Chappell Roan’s “HOT TO GO!”—though that viral ear worm is so endlessly catchy it may as well be a rallying cry for our community as we strive for just a bit of serotonin in this late-stage capitalist, war-mongering hellscape we’re all forced to call life right now. Sure, the 35 felony convictions for a certain former president are also helping, but it can be challenging in times like these to rally the queer strength for another month-long celebration of all things gay-gay-gay.
But we owe it to ourselves to do exactly that, and one way to get yourself in the spirit of the Pride season is to throw some love to the queer businesses, artists, and nonprofits in your community as soon as you can, in any shape that you can.
Support for queer businesses, artists, and nonprofits can take many forms. If your bank account is lacking in commas right now, you can spread the love simply by sharing, saving and liking social media posts; or writing positive Google reviews; signing up for their newsletters or mailing lists; or spreading some good old-fashioned word of mouth.
One of the newest queer-owned businesses in the Fox Valley I’ve been loving is On Point Nails. Located on 3rd Street in downtown Geneva, On Point is a nail salon offering all-natural services in a clean and relaxing environment. Most relevant for this newsletter, however, is that it is the rare nail salon that is explicitly queer-inclusive and judgment-free, owing in no small part to its ownership by Hailey and Brianna Conran.
Ever since On Point opened in the late winter, the nail salon has made a point to demonstrate its inclusiveness to the community. In April, the salon partnered with Belong: Fox Valley to host a nail night for attendees of the Teen Queer Prom. The same month, it shared a social media post celebrating Trans Visibility Month. This weekend, the salon will also have a presence at the Elgin Pride Parade and Festival, and all month On Point will be hosting a donation collection box for Out of the Closet Charity.
If you would assume the beauty industry would be inclusive by default, that has not been my experience. As I’ve explored previously in this space, I was interested in nail art from a very young age, though I never worked up the courage to regularly wear it until a few years ago.
But even as someone who has been wearing nail polish practically daily since early 2020, my last frontier was the nail salon itself. The handful of times I’d set foot in a nail salon prior to this year all rendered me hyper aware of my being perceived as a male-bodied individual decidedly out of place among a clientele that was mostly women. The one time I received a color manicure in a salon—jet black, of course—was for my wedding, which somehow felt more acceptable due to the special occasion. For the most part, I’ve stayed away from nail salons, sticking to home manicures even as I struggled to keep my poor, poor cuticles in check.
It wasn’t until I set foot in On Point for my first appointment that I understood what it meant for a nail salon to feel inclusive and welcoming to people like me. From the first moment I sat in Hailey’s chair, I felt seen and understood, and oh what a difference it makes. For my first service from Hailey, I got a silver chrome gel manicure inspired by some e-boy jewelry Instagram ad I’d been served. I was instantly obsessed. She nailed it and made me feel famous.
I’ve been back a few times since, and each time the judgment-free vibe has carried on. It is very clear the hype was real, and had much more to do with a deeply-held ethos than some sort of marketing slogan. That’s the difference that a queer-owned business makes—nobody gets us quite as well as us, and if we as a community are to succeed, we need to see our businesses flourish. If only every city had a queer-owned nail salon.
I recently spoke with Hailey to learn more about her philosophy on nail art and inclusiveness, and what’s next for her business. Our interview has been edited for length and clarity. Happy Pride Month, one and all.
How did you first get involved with nail art and what really attracted you to it?
It was kind of on a whim. I’d originally gone to school for cosmetology, and I did that for about a year. I worked at Sport Clips and decided I hated men’s haircuts after that. I hated that quick in-and-out experience. I applied to Mario Tricoci to do hair, but you can only do one department there. They said it was a year-long apprentice program and I couldn’t afford to be paid like that for a year. They were actually hiring for nail technicians, too, and that was only a four-week program. I was like, well, I like painting my own nails and I like painting other people's nails, but I hadn’t really thought much of it, but I thought why not give this a try and if I don't like it, then I'll go back to the drawing board. And 11 years later with them, I ended up loving it.
I just love how creative you can be with [nail art]. I love the spa industry in general because it's a more intimate kind of thing. You’re touching people in a different way than when you’re just washing hair. There's a different kind of connection that way, which I've always loved, and people are usually genuinely there just because they want to relax and they do it more for self-care, whereas I felt hair is a little bit more about maintenance.
From there we can fast forward to your decision to open up On Point Nails in Geneva on Third Street. What inspired you to make that move?
It was something I've thought about for a really long time. It was always kind of a pipe dream, just something I daydreamed about. And when I did nails at Mario's, I was managing a bunch of women and I was like, I love this part of it. I love working with a team. I love leading people to be the best version of themselves nail tech-wise. And I was like, why am I not doing this? I had actually gone back to school to get my bachelor's in human resources, and I was trying to look for jobs for that in corporate America and it sounded awful. It’s just not me.
One day I just allowed myself to fully dream about it. It was like everything was kind of stored in the back of my head and as soon as I put pen to paper, it just flew out of me: What I wanted the salon to look like, how I wanted it to feel, how I wanted everyone to feel like they belonged, and all of this. I pitched the idea to my wife and she's the best supportive partner ever. She was like, “Yeah, let's do it. I know how good you are and I know what you're capable of and let's totally do that.” For her to give me the go-ahead gave me the extra reassurance.
We ended up looking [for a location] a while, in Batavia, St. Charles, and Geneva. I knew I wanted to be somewhere where it was very community-oriented and very small business-motivated. A Batavia spot ended up not working out and after I had looked for a long time, I was like, well, I'll just take whatever I can get at this point. I was at the point where I was psyching myself out and thinking this is a bad idea. And then this space became available. As soon as we pulled up, I just knew this was it. Before I had even walked in, it just gave everything that I was wanting. Nice light, in a downtown area, and it just felt like home.
When did you first know you were queer and how was that journey of self-discovery for you?
I wouldn't say I was the person that knew when I was born that I was gay. I think I had different experiences in life that kind of made me be more open to that, and then as soon as I allowed myself to be open, I was like, yeah, this is it. We're done here.
I started playing rugby in college, which is very gay on the women’s side. I was 18 when I started playing, and I met this girl and immediately I was like, oh, she's kind of cute. But I’d never had that feeling before. I was like, this is weird, why am I sexually attracted to her? I'm like, something's wrong here. Of course, I started panicking. It's a scary feeling to experience this when you’re taught to have this normative feeling of being with a man or vice versa. So yeah, I explored that and allowed myself to kind of go “full force” into it.
I was immersed in the queer community because of rugby, but then it was weird when I went to cosmetology school, I was still living in the rugby house. I was very much involved in the queer community at the rugby house, but then I would go to cosmetology school and it's not like that at all. I felt I almost would flip flop from being who I was to not being who I was, back and forth. So that was very confusing.
It sounds like you were going between two worlds and having to code switch and just constantly navigate that back-and-forth. It must've been exhausting.
It was very exhausting, and I think I learned early on that people can be ignorant and I feel like because I was a bit more feminine and I liked doing hair and makeup and nails that people all the time were like, well, you're pretty or, well, so is your girlfriend or your wife not like that sporty? It was like, I know what you're trying to say, but sure. That was very hard.
I had a guest early on when I was working at a different location in the very beginning of my career who had a standing manicure appointment with me every two weeks. I was testing the waters of telling people because I wasn't fully out to the general population. I feel like even with myself, it was hard for me sometimes to admit that I was struggling with that on my own. So telling strangers was hard. I trusted her and I thought she was open and I told her I’m gay, I'm dating this girl, blah, blah, blah. She ended up canceling all of her appointments with me. That taught me very quickly that I just needed to keep my mouth shut and keep my head down, because in my head it was like, well, I just lost a steady flow of income from her. I wish I could be like, well, fuck her, I don't need her. Now I can do that, but at that point in time, it was like, well, every dollar counts.
With On Point, you guys have been so open about just being a welcoming, supportive space for the queer community, and you’ve been open about your identity as well. I know you guys hosted a nail night for the Teen Queer Prom and shared a post for Trans Visibility Month as just two examples. Tell me about that decision to be so openly queer. Was there ever a temptation to be like, OK, let's maybe test the waters first and maybe ease into it? Or was it more about being yourselves from the very start?
Last year I had a couple medical things and surgeries. After all that, I was like, you know what? I'm done. Life is way too short for me to feel ashamed of who I am, and if anybody's going to judge me off of who I love, then fuck 'em. And I knew when I started On Point that this was going to be my baby. With me being the owner and being gay, then I feel like it's a disservice to the start of this business if I am starting off kind of lying about who I am or closeting who I am. I really didn't have a discussion with Bri about it. It was just kind of like, this is who we are.
I feel like for both of us, it's been kind of freeing to be open and just say to people that this is my wife, or that my wife and I created this. And it's been very liberating. I've only had one guest so far be not great about it, but everybody else for the most part has been so lovely and so welcoming and so open. From the beginning I've created an atmosphere that is exactly what I wanted it to be. Everybody belongs, and if you don't think that, then you don't belong here.
That is a really great way of putting it. I’m just so grateful you all opened up, too. I remember I literally had posted on a local Facebook group I think maybe a couple weeks before you all opened. I like doing my own nails at home, but it's a nice treat to go into a salon. That said, the salons around here always feel a little off when you go into them as a more male-presenting individual. They’ll take your money and no one will probably say anything, but you don't feel like that welcome. It's just not the vibe. I was looking for an explicitly queer-friendly or queer-owned nail salon out here and it was just like crickets.
So, it’s been so great coming in and being able to try things I can't do at home, like the chrome manicure. I was obsessed with that and it is just such a great atmosphere and it is really meaningful because it just didn’t exist out here.
I love seeing so many people from the community come in because I felt like when my wife and I moved out here, I was like, well, this is it. We're in the Midwestern Chicago suburbs. There's nobody around here and it's just going to kind of be us. But it's been really awesome to see such a large community come to support us and then to see, my God, we're not alone out here. Have we all just been living under a rock or just me because I didn't realize it? I didn't even know about the Belong: Fox Valley group until one of their members [Paula] reached out to me and said she would love to share your stuff. You just assume if you're not in the city, then that's it.
You mentioned that there was one customer situation that wasn't ideal. I won't make you go into those details, but have there been any other negative reactions from other business neighbors or anything like that? Or has it all been going pretty well?
It's been going pretty well. I would say the only weirdness we've ever had is with some of the trans women we've had come in and, maybe because I am hyper aware of it, I notice some people kind of staring, and immediately I kind of just give 'em a death glare. If anybody was to ever say anything, I would again have zero tolerance for that. I did mention to a guest that for Pride Month that we're having an event one day where we’ll donate proceeds to the Belong: Fox Valley group. One of the guests heard that and asked, “Well, how do you think mothers are going to react to that?” I'm like, well, what do you mean? If that bothers you then I guess you don't belong here. Life is short and there's no room for so much hatred.
What changes do you hope to see in the suburbs to help make this area a more welcoming place for queer folks?
I wish they went a little more all out. I noticed in downtown Geneva, and don't get me wrong, everybody needs help, but they have a thing for Ukraine and they have a thing for Swedish Days and all these little festivals, but I'm like, why don't they ever do much for Pride, like a Pride parade? I wish they went a little more all out, or even if the library had more Pride displays or speakers for Pride Month, just to get more people involved and more immersed in the queer community because it is such a lovely community to be in, and I think anybody who is struggling could really use that. And I think that's why I love Belong: Fox Valley so much, because they're so good about including anybody. You don't have to be queer to be in that group. As long as you're just a good person, you’re welcomed.
Speaking of Pride Month, I was curious to know what Pride means to you. Do you have any particular plans with your wife Bri? Do you go to the Chicago parade or any of the parades or events out here?
We are doing the Elgin Pride Fest this year with On Point and we’re really looking forward to that. We don't do Pride in the city anymore because we're not kids anymore. But for Pride, I tend to go all out. I feel like, that whole month, I like making everybody feel extra special. One of my favorite guests is a trans woman, and we already started planning out all of our Pride Month-themed nails.
I think what pride means to me is just treating everybody equally and just making everybody feel as loved as they should feel. And like I said with On Point, that's why I love what I do and why it's so important to me. I feel like every month should feel like Pride Month to my guests when you come in here.
For more words from queer folks out here doing the work in the western ‘burbs and beyond, read my previous interviews with Batavia artist Annie Hex, Aurora organizer Javi, the organizers of Geneva Pride, Batavia alderman Dan Chanzit, Paramount Theatre artistic director Jim Corti, Aurora trans activist Penelope Torres, North Aurora musician Katie Bogle, Hoof & Horn co-owners Jarrod Johnson and Adrian Xavier Frost, Batavia activist Scott Naylor, Youth Outlook’s Carolyn Wahlskog, Ramshackle Farm’s Shannon and Eve Mingalone, Batavia’s Lyndsay Hartman, and Aurora activist Fred Yanos. As always, your support—via comments, shares and subscriptions—is so deeply appreciated.
LINK DUMP
CNN: How a likely AI-generated image of Gaza took over the internet
The MIT Press Reader: How Actors Remember Their Lines
SFGate: Paul Reubens’ mid-century home isn’t anything like Pee-Wee’s Playhouse. It’s better.
I don’t know if Australian punk band Amyl and the Sniffers are explicitly queer, but their music is certainly queer-coded, in my opinion. They just dropped a new single, “U Should Not Be Doing That,” and, to me, it says everything about the way that we as queer folks are always told to behave, to make ourselves smaller, to be grateful for the crumbs we are given by the powers that be. This song throws up a giant middle finger to fitting in. It doesn’t get any more queer than that.