About

ABOUT
MONACO NAIL
ACADEMY

Striving to create a community of confident Nail Technicians with clear goals, who believe they can achieve those goals because they have access to the skills, resources and support needed to do so.

WHO WE ARE

Monaco Nail Academy is a training centre built on goals and determination. From a single bedroom in a rented home to a commercial salon and graduates around the world, Monaco Founder Penny Lawler has proven that no matter the starting position, the race is yours for the taking.

Today, Penny and her team share everything they’ve learnt with students from around New Zealand (and indeed the world) who want to change their lives and careers. There’s never a better time than now.

CLICK ON ONE OF THE EDUCATORS BELOW TO VIEW THEIR WORK

Penny Lawler

Penny Lawler

Managing Director

Book a Nail Appointment with Penny at her Ellerslie-based Salon

I’m Penny, founder of Monaco Nail Academy in Ellerslie, Auckland. I’ve been a Nail Artist since 2007 and I absolutely love it – nails are a passion I discovered accidentally and one which has taken my life in a direction I never imagined!

As a Level 2 ‘Scholar’ Educator for Artistic Nail Design, I’ve won awards for best practical nail application amongst the Australasian Education team twice, coming second behind Vanessa Zuj in 2015. I was also privileged to be awarded Runner Up Nail Technician of the Year 2015/2016 at the NZ Beauty Industry Awards and have won the following awards –

  • Highest Practical Nail Score amongst Level 1 Artistic Educators (Australasia, 2013)
  • Highest Practical Nail Score amongst Level 2 Artistic Educators (Australasia, 2014)
  • First Place Sculptured French Acrylic 2015
  • First Place Gel Polish Manicure 2015
  • Second Place Tips and Overlay 2015
  • Runner Up NZ Nail Competitions Grand Champion 2015
  • Runner Up Nail Technician of the Year 2015
  • Highest Written Test Score amongst Level 1 and 2 Artistic Educators (Australasia, 2016)
  • First Place French Sculptured 2016
  • First Place French Tip and Overlay 2016
  • First Place Stiletto Twist 2016
  • Highly Commended Photographic Nail Art 2016
  • Highest Written Test Score amongst Level 1 and 2 Artistic Educators (Australasia, 2017)
  • First Place Salon Design 2017
  • Second Place Gel Polish Nail Art 2017
  • Third Place Stiletto Glitz and Glam 2017
  • Third Place Salon French 2017

I’ve worked closely with Alisha Rimando Botero, Sam Biddle, Tracey Boyle and Kylie Clare and was honoured to be asked to present 3 demonstrations at the 2014 Melbourne Rock Hard World Tour, a privilege usually reserved for the Level 3 Global Team.

My day to day work with Monaco is more about running the business as well as handling all things marketing, but you’ll see me around in and out of classes.

If you need to contact me directly, you can email me penny@monaco.ac.nz

x Penny

/pennylawlernailartist

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Becca Hofmann

Becca Hofmann

Mentor

Becca is a nail enthusiast from way back, and has been sharing her nail art online since she was at university. She originally trained as a lawyer, and has worked in legal publishing, community development and policy. However she never stopped loving nails, and in 2020 she enrolled with Monaco.

She was quickly hooked on the industry, and opened her home nail salon in April 2021. Her mission is to make everyone who walks through the door feel welcome, listened to, and empowered to take on the world.

In her spare time you can find Becca playing with her pup, scrolling Instagram for ispo, or working on the same embroidery piece for a year and a half.

/nailsbybecca

Mackenzie Dunn

Mackenzie Dunn

Mentor

Mackenzie started Foundation Certificate training with Monaco in 2021, while still attending year 12 at high school. She then decided, while training, to leave high school and pursue her dreams – to become a nail technician and be her own boss. She has always been very determined, and she always strives to reach her goals, even though they are never ending.
Mackenzie has always been interested in nails & beauty, ever since she was younger. Her interest grew through watching nail art tutorials and other beauty videos on YouTube.
Though, what really got her into nails, is that she grew up being a nail biter. When she was younger, she always wanted those long natural nails that all her friends had. So, she would go & buy those fake press on nails from the chemist with her own pocket money! This helped curb her habit, but also gave her the entrance into doing her own nails.
In my spare time Mackenzie loves to travel, scroll through Instagram & go out for a coffee. Her friends & family would describe me as friendly, determined, bossy (at times), hard working & passionate.

/glossbeauty

Stephanie Greville

Stephanie Greville

Stephanie Greville

Mentor

Steph had always had a passion for all things beauty growing up – hair, make up, nails… the works!
But for a long time this remained a hobby while she went to university and studied a BSc in Statistics – and began a career in corporate FMCG.
Her passion for nails just simmered away and at the beginning of 2020 she finally took the plunge to enroll with Monaco – “just for fun, of course”. But we all know what happens when we invest in our passions – and by the time she was finished with the Manicures and Pedicures module she was hooked!

Steph began working with Monaco in August 2021.

In her spare time, she enjoys cooking and baking, any sort of crafts, reading books, spending time with friends and family, and catching up on the latest nail trends.

/monaconailacademy

WHY CHOOSE MONACO

We are New Zealand’s most dedicated team of educators, ready to take your career to the next level and push you further than you ever dared to dream. We aim to create a business that incubates successful, confident, happy people who feel good about what they create every day while honouring our values of honesty, integrity and the #CompetitionFreeZone.

HONESTY

Monaco Educators are all Nail Techs first and foremost. We pledge not only to teach you how to ‘be’ a Nail Tech but to also take you on all parts of our individual Nail Tech journeys (the good AND the bad), allowing you to use our experiences to shape your future. We will teach with brand neutrality despite our wholesale affiliations; we will help you decide which services really are worth offering in your unique circumstances; and we will always admit our mistakes and find solutions.

INTEGRITY

Your certificate has our name on it and we don’t take that lightly. There are no shortcuts – for anyone. We will support you to the ends of the earth, assess your skills and knowledge, and ensure that no matter what the future holds, your certificate is widely known to have been earned. We have high standards for you, and even higher standards for ourselves.

COMPETITION-FREE ZONE

We genuinely believe that there are enough clients for everyone and that allies and friends are your most important assets in business. The Competition-Free Zone is the sense of community we encourage and the support we have for each other. We have zero tolerance for anything but positivity and support within our student community and encourage everyone to focus on differentiation, not competition.

SUPPORT

Once you qualify, you are family for life and you WILL succeed. We have forums, regular catch ups, email and phone support 5 days per week, social media support 7 days a week and most importantly – an open door.

EDUCATORS & FACILITIES

Our Educational team consists of highly qualified, award winning Nail Artists who travel internationally to learn more and bring all that knowledge right back to you. Our teaching facilities are also purpose-designed to enhance your training in every way possible.

PROMISE

You are taking a chance on us and we completely, 100% understand that. How can we not return the favour and take it seriously? You WILL get exactly as far as you want to get and that is a sincere, personal promise from us to you.