The following includes excerpts from an interview with artist-in-residence Kro Vargas conducted in 2026 by Vanessa Navarro Maza, Folklife Curator at the Museum of Miami.
What is your name and where are you from?
My name is Carolina Vargas and I’m also known as Kro Vargas. I’m from Miami, Florida. I was born in Queens, New York, raised in Miami. I came down when I was two years old. Growing up I would spend my summers in New York at my grandma’s house. She lived in Queens in Sunnyside so I have a lot of fond memories spending summers with her. I feel like growing up, being able to spend summers in New York like in the early 2000s was very inspirational. It was like a new time and new type of generation.
Tell me about how you fell in love with nail art.
My grandma was getting her nails done when she introduced me to that at a very young age. I feel like I was instantly addicted to it because, think about it, you’re a little girl and you’re able to get designs on your nails with like little rhinestones and flowers, and your grandma lets you do whatever you want. My mom was picky about not letting me have blue polish or dark polish. My grandma let me just do whatever, and she would take me to the salon with her and ask them to do a design, and I was like obsessed from the second I was able to do it.
And when did you start trying your own hand at it?
I started trying in high school. 2009 was my first recorded design that I tried. I didn’t start doing acrylics until I got my first job in high school. Once I got a job, I started doing my nails like religiously and then that’s when I would get designs at the salon. Eventually I was like, “Okay I could do this myself,” and that’s how it started.
When did it shift for you and you thought this could be your career?
That was in 2014 after I used to work at Nordstrom. When I quit that job, my parents were the ones that were like, “You’re passionate about this. You should do it professionally.” So when they suggested that I was like, “Yes I’ll do that!” and that was amazing. I went to Beauty Schools of America on 8th Street. When I went into beauty school, I already was doing nail art for like five years at that point. I just learned basics like basic manicure, pedicure, the regulations, the laws, sanitation, everything.
I learned mostly when I got my first job in a salon in 2014 in New Jersey, that’s where I learned everything. I learned acrylic, I learned to work with gel because they also don’t teach you gel in beauty school. I learned real tips of the service industry working in the salon.
Are there any people that stand out as teachers, mentors, or just people who really helped you take your technique or your creativity to another level throughout your career?
The first salon I worked at in Miami, I feel like the family there they taught me a lot also with acrylics. Really, all the artists at both of my first two salons taught me everything I need to know about like acrylic and basic customer service in a nail salon.
Then, when I started working with Rose [the owner of Spring with Friends salon], she’s the one that really taught me everything about Japanese gel, and she is still to this day. I’m the type of person, when I like something, I don’t really change it up. I don’t try new supplies or I’ll stick to one thing, and she’s the one that’ll be like, “Oh look try this it came out. Try this, it’s a new technique.” And I’ll take her word and it’llhelp me get better because if it was up to me I’ll still be using the same old tools that I’ve been using for years. Rose helps me and teaches me how to use new Japanese and Korean products, which that’s like the most advanced type of products in the nail art industry.
Tell me a little bit about that, like the influence of Japanese nail art in the industry from the supplies that you use to the aesthetics.
As far as the aesthetics, it’s hard to tell because I feel like a lot of Japanese artists are also heavily inspired by American artists from what I’ve seen on Instagram. But as far as technique and supplies, yeah we get everything inspired by Japan because they’re the ones that created the products and the techniques. Pretty much the whole technical standpoint is like Japanese inspired, the way the extensions are made, the way the the base gel of a regular gel manicure is done. It’s more about like the foundation of the nail.
I would say I’m inspired mostly by old school designs from back in the day, like the stuff that I would get done in New York. And it wasn’t really any Japanese artists, mostly like Vietnamese, Chinese nail shops. It’s more like just a simple design with different colors, and they also used a lot of airbrush back then, which is like making a huge comeback. Now it’s a different generation of nail artists that have a whole new style that I can appreciate. It’s like a lot of 3D and everything’s very nostalgic. I feel like they try to bring it back to the 2000s.
Are there any other places other than Japan that are very influential?
Yeah there’s a lot, Korea, Russian nail artists are amazing. Everywhere that I can think of, South America and Mexico. There are amazing nail artists in Mexico.
What are words that come to mind when you’re describing your style?
I feel like maybe something very extra, like loud but elegant, sparkly, feminine like just very eye-catching. Just beautiful, that’s what I want the nails to look like.
Let’s talk a little bit about the nail art community, like the artists and technicians and the people who are wearing the art. Does it feel like a community?
Yeah it definitely does. I feel like, especially with social media, you’re able to connect with people from around the world that have the same interests and same styles. It’s like a very tight-knit community, and then you get to follow each other, learn from each other, get inspired. I feel like if it wasn’t for social media your community would just be the people that you work closely with in real life, but I definitely feellike there’s a community of nail artists online from like all over the world. We’re able to come together because of social media.
When we first met, you described nail art as a feeling. What is that feeling for you?
The feeling is confidence like, “Oh my God, I look good,” even if my outfit looks crazy. You just feel good when you have your nails done, especially if that’s your thing. You feel like a brand new person. I don’tknow it’s like a different type of confidence if that’s your thing. Because some people really don’t care about nails. Some people don’t care about hair, some people don’t care about makeup. If nails is your thing it brings like a whole new attitude.
What’s it like for you bringing that feeling to somebody else?
It’s very satisfying, I love it. I love seeing their face like I’ve seen people get hooked in like right before my eyes. They become a regular client and they come, and they do more and more. I’ve seen it happen many times and I love it. Also people that thought they could never grow their nails they’ll go from like having nubs their whole life to having that they have to cut them down because they’re too long.
For your museum exhibition, you created Florida-inspired and rave-inspired nails. How much does Miami play a role in what you create?
That’s like how I grew up, the scene that I grew up in, very much strip clubs with my friends, raves. It was like when you’re growing up in that time from like 2008 to 2013. To me it was the best era in music, for electronic music and for like strip club music. It was like the best music coming out for both scenes. I feel like it was just very inspiring. I always loved music. My family loves music and that was like my era.
I still listen to the same music. It doesn’t change. It reminds me about like just everything. That’s why I like to express it in my nails because I haven’t been to a strip club in years. I haven’t gone to a rave in years, but it still lives on inside of me, and I still love the thought of my life how it was back then. As far as like doing something loud on my nails, that’s what I channel. That’s the energy I’m going to channel every time it makes sense.
What are you most proud of in your life?
I feel like I’m proud of the mom that I am. The way I was in those times, that I was going out and partying. You would never imagine me to be like the responsible mom that I am today. I feel like I’m very proudof my adulting because I still don’t feel like an adult, but I’m very much adulting to the max. I do very mom adult shit that I never saw myself doing. So, definitely proud of that and I’m also proud of keeping true to like who I am and not just becoming a mom and forgetting that I was a baddie. I still feel like I’m a baddie. I stay true to my aesthetic. I still take care of myself as much as I can, so I’m proud of being able to balance, just the person that I became.
How about within the world of nail art, is there anything that stands out that you’re really proud of?
I feel like I’m very proud of the influence that I created in the nail art industry. I love seeing the influence I made in people’s designs. Having new artists that are huge right now telling me, “You’re the reason I started doing nails.” That makes me very proud.
What do you value most about the work that you do?
I value taking my clients confidence to another level. I enjoy making my clients happy. I love seeing their reaction when they love the nails. I love like just that bond I have with my clients. How I feel when I do my own nails or do a design, that feeling never changes when I do a design I love. It always hits.
