Nail Salon Near Me in Kampong Glam for Freehand Art: The Nail Artelier

The Nail Artelier has no fixed design book, so you walk in with a picture and leave with it on your nails. The studio sits at 76A Haji Lane, Singapore 189269, in Kampong Glam, opens every day from 11am to 8pm, and charges from S$3 a nail for art on top of a manicure. If your nail salon near me search lands on Bugis, this is the shop locals name when someone wants something hand-painted rather than picked from a sticker sheet.

The salon began on Haji Lane in 2013 as what it still calls an art-centric nail studio. Three years later it moved to a larger space at 666 North Bridge Road, and during 2020 and 2021 it ran a pop-up inside 99 Percent Hair Studio in Orchard Central while a new home was prepared. In late July 2021 it came back to the lane it started on, taking two shophouse units at 76A Haji Lane.

That return shaped the place you visit today. The two units were planned as a concept store, with nail tables sharing the floor with a retail corner and a workshop space where local artists and small makers sell their work and run craft sessions. Many older guides still list 48 Haji Lane or the North Bridge Road address, so set your map to 76A before you head out.

Art Director Ying is a licensed educator and designer for two Japanese brands, PREGEL and TSUMEKIRA, which explains the studio's Japanese gel and sticker work. Over the years the team has done corporate jobs for Benefit Cosmetics, Lancome and Sephora, and its sets have appeared in Female, Her World, Simply Her, The New Paper on Sunday and the Japanese trade title Nail Up!. In 2026 Honeycombers named it the pick for nail art in its Singapore salon roundup.

The base menu is short. An Express Mani, which is shape, polish and a quick-dry top coat, costs S$15. The Classic Mani adds cuticle care and a light massage for S$35, and the Classic Pedi, with the Sole Rejuvenation treatment built in, is S$50. For gel, the Express Gel Mani or Pedi uses an instant-dry Japanese gel and costs S$45, the fastest route out of the chair with colour that lasts.

The studio's signature is the Classic Gel Mani with a semi-hard gel layer on top. With the gel finishing overlay it costs S$75; with a gel base overlay, recommended for soft, ridged or spoon-shaped nails that break easily, it costs S$90. Extensions in gel, acrylic or polygel, finished with Japanese gel, are S$140. Feet get their own showpiece: the Spa Gel Pedicure at S$120 combines a classic gel pedicure, the sole treatment and an organic spa step.

Art is priced per nail, from S$3, and covers freehand painting, Japanese stickers, Swarovski crystals, embossed 3D work, alcohol ink and watercolour effects. You can point at samples in the shop, scroll the salon's Instagram gallery with the artist, or bring your own reference. Over the summer of 2026 the salon also ran an August and September promotion that paired a 20-minute Korean personal colour analysis with two hours of omakase gel art for S$150.

Phone first. If you have a detailed design in mind, mention it when you book so the team can block enough time and give the job to the right artist, because a full freehand set takes far longer than a single accent nail.

A few house rules are worth knowing. Getting old gel removed and a new set done in the same visit earns S$5 off, while removal on its own starts at S$20. On promotional sets, removal is charged separately. Regulars carry a loyalty card that earns one stamp for every S$100 spent on nail services in a single receipt, valid for a year, though stamps cannot be redeemed during the Chinese New Year surcharge period, when the shop has previously taken bookings by WhatsApp with a deposit.

Early press described the clientele as Haji Lane hipsters and a handful of local celebrities, and the mix has widened since. Honeycombers warns readers to book ahead because the room is always packed with young, style-conscious customers, and travel guides note that visitors exploring the lane have made it a favourite, so you will often share the bench with someone who planned their Singapore trip around a set of nails.

Products are part of the pitch. The team uses non-toxic Japanese gel and acrylic systems, which matters if you have sensitive skin or are getting an overlay to protect weak nails. The room keeps its retail shelves and workshop table alongside the manicure stations, so a wait between steps can turn into a browse through pieces by local makers rather than a scroll through your phone.

Skip this studio if all you want is a cheap, fast colour change between meetings. The S$15 Express Mani is good value, but the shop is built around art, and the best artists are booked for longer sets. The other weak spot is admin: the official price list is an image last refreshed in December 2023 and the booking page still carries an old Chinese New Year notice, so treat the prices above as the shop's published rates and agree on the final figure for art before the brush comes out.

Haji Lane is narrow, paved and busiest in the evening, so a late-morning slot right at 11am gives you a quiet walk in. Afterwards, take the short walk to Sultan Mosque on Muscat Street, the golden-domed landmark of Kampong Glam. Visitors can walk in free from Saturday to Thursday between 10am and noon and again from 2pm to 4pm; it is closed to visitors on Fridays, so plan a Friday manicure around that.

Coffee is on the same lane: Coffee Donkee pours Japanese-style coffee further down Haji Lane, a good place to let a fresh gel set fully cure. For an evening appointment, Bar Stories, also on Haji Lane, sits up a staircase behind a shopfront and mixes cocktails to order without a printed menu. If the studio is fully booked, spend the slot browsing the indie boutiques on Haji Lane and book again by phone for another day.

Address: The Nail Artelier, 76A Haji Lane, Singapore 189269. Hours: Monday to Sunday, 11am to 8pm. Nearest MRT: Bugis, Exit B, on the East-West and Downtown lines, about five minutes on foot. Book by phone for the fastest reply and send reference images for custom art. Gel removal from S$20, or S$5 off when paired with a new set. Ask Karpo in the Karpo APP to line up a Kampong Glam lunch around your appointment.