Meet Jenni Evans | Pin-Up Paint Owner, Indie Nail Polish/Cosmetic Maker

We had the good fortune of connecting with Jenni Evans and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Jenni, how did you come up with the idea for your business?
When I realized I couldn’t find nail polish locally that was free of harmful carcinogenic ingredients. I wanted a better alternative that was not only free of harmful chemicals, but a product that was cruelty-free and vegan. I knew I could make a better product. A product with a story behind each color. With each new collection comes a new story; everything from musicians I’ve seen play live to the legendary icons of the silver screen. I want my clients to connect to the Pin-Up Paint color(s) they choose.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
Pin-Up Paint is a total mash-up of 3 things I love; color, pin-up glamour and vintage styling, all placed in a tiny package of nail polish and/or eyeshadow. I look at nail polish and cosmetics as a tempory form of installation art. I build a palette with a color story and the buyer expands on that story.

Pin-Up Paint products are all cruelty-free and vegan. Plus the nail polish is 10-Free, meaning it is free of 10 known carcinogenic ingredients. Each product is completely handmade to order in my studio. Each product is blended, bottled, pressed and labeled by hand. All of the colors are named after mostly women I find intruiging with great backstories, like Dorothy Dandridge, Bianca Jagger and Veronica Lake to name a few.

When I launched Pin-Up Paint, I sold 11 bottles of nail polish, mostly to friends and family. I knew it was going to take time to establish a following with buying clients, so I spent several hours developing relationships with fellow independant nail polish makers. With that commardarie I was able to carve out a niche for Pin-Up Paint.

A year and a half went by when I received an inquiriy about purchasing all of the vintage polish I had on my site. Thinking the request was a “spammer” joking, I replied stating “It’s flattering you think my polish is a vintage collection. I hand-make vintage inspired polish”. The “spammer” replied, “Well that is even better. I am a set designer for Netflix. I came across your site and decided that this was exactly what I am looking for. Can I buy 96 bottles in red, pink and mauve? The show is set in the mid-60’s.” After a few more conversations, we decided on 9 colors to be completed and shipped to Canada in 48 hours. At this time I still had no idea what show/movie my polish might be used as a prop in. Six months went by, when I found out Pin-Up Paint was going to be used as a prop in the Umbrella Academy on Netflix. I was to look for the salon episodes in season two. The catch was I couldn’t say anything until there was a release date. So for almost 15 months I held this bombshell secret. If you look closely in episodes 1-6 in season two of Umbrella Academy, you can see tiny pink lided nail polish bottles that I created. I did that. I still get goosebumps talking about it.

For the last three years I have been sharing fun stories with each new color I create. I have been able to expand my brand to include matching eyeshadow to polish colors and body shimmers. I cannot wait to see what Pin-Up Paint goes on to do next.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
I live in Salida and I suppose it depends on the time of year, but there are a few musts. In the winter, I would start with a day of skiing or snowboarding at Monarch followed up by a quick beer at Elevation Beer Company in Poncha Springs. Dinner at either Currents or The Fritz in Salida. In the warmer months a quick trip to hike up to Water Dogs lake on Monarch Pass is a favorite. And you cannot miss Brewer’s Rendezvoux in July.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
My loving husband Dan and to my son Sam for always sparking new ideas.

Website: www.pinuppaint.com

Instagram: @pinuppaint

Facebook: Pin-Up Paint

Image Credits
@pinuppaint