VALDOSTA — Binh Bui and his wife, Kelly Le, moved to Valdosta about a month ago and brought their business, NK Nails and Lashes, with them. 

Buii and Le used to live in Atlanta, but the two made the move to Valdosta after a family member recommended they move here.

“It’s a lot quieter, more calmer,” Bui said. “It’s less stressful than the big city. I like the commute, and I like the people here. They are very friendly.”

Bui and Le had a shop in Atlanta, so when they moved to Valdosta, they transplanted their business. When looking where to move the business to in Valdosta, Bui said he liked his location on Northside Drive for several reasons.

“I think its a great location right now because it is located near the university and all the businesses,” he said. “The location is very conveniently for people coming in and out, especially for elderly people. There’s more parking lot, so it’s not complicated where people cannot get in or out.”

The business has 12 spa chairs for pedicures and soon to be 12 tables for manicures. Right now, he has fewer manicure tables but is planning to get more.

He wants to add more tables so he can better accommodate groups looking to get manicures and pedicures together. He said most salons typically have about six to eight chairs.

“I think it’s really great for large parties,” he said.

With all of the equipment not in the store yet, Bui said he is still working on group packages for the store.

Bui said he decided to add the spa chairs because “you have to.”

“Regular pedicure or regular manicure, that’s just the basic nowadays,” he said. “People want something more relaxing. Something that will soothe them and a spa offers a very relaxing time.”

Bui said Le designed the business.

“All this decoration, this is her,” he said.

Maneki-nekos (also known as fortune cats or lucky cats), flowers and paintings decorate the business. Le used a calming color palette to help build an atmosphere that is fitting to the spa side of the business.

Le has been in the nails and lashes business for about 20 years but Bui has only worked in the cosmetic industry for about 10 years. He joined the industry after Le suggested he do it.

“She asked me ‘Hey, you want to do nails?’ and I said ‘OK,’” he said.

With 10 years of experience in Atlanta, Bui said he has enjoyed working in a smaller town so far.

“In Atlanta, the pace is really quick,” he said. “It’s come and go and come and go. Here, it is more calm. I like this environment. I like it a lot.”

Because the environment is more relaxing for him, Bui said the slower pace has given him a chance to interact with his customers more. He has found “people are more open down here” than they are in Atlanta.

While the shop’s emphasis is on nails and lashes, Bui said one specialization of his shop is pedicure scents.

He offers several scents including romance, tropical citrus, honey pearl, orange No. 5 and the lavender, green tea, aloe vera, jasmine, lavender, mango, tangerine and energy.

Scents come in two different plans: volcano and veosch. Both plans have the same first two steps of foot bath and lotion. The third and four steps, however, are different “because the product we use in there will give the client a different sensation on the feet,” Bui said.

Bui described the volcano scents as a hot sensation and the veosch scents as cool.

Bui’s preferred scent is lavender but he said all of the scents are strong.

“You can open the package and smell it right away and tell that it smells really, really good,” he said.

NK Nails and Lashes, 106 E. Northside Drive, is open 9 a.m.-7 p.m. Monday through Friday and 9 a.m.-6 p.m. Saturday. For more information, call (229) 474-4497.

Jason Smith is a reporter at The Valdosta Daily Times. He can be contacted at 229-244-3400 ext.1257.