Meet Sadie Quinn

Hi, I’m Sadie — the person behind Loops & Lacquer.

How it started

I got into nails the way a lot of people do: painting my own because salon visits were expensive and I wanted to change my mind more often than my budget allowed. What started as a few bottles of polish on a bathroom shelf turned into a genuine obsession with technique — gel application, nail art brushes, dip powder, the whole thing. I’ve spent years practicing on my own hands (and talking friends into being test subjects) until I could reliably recreate the looks I saw and loved.

Crochet came earlier, actually. I learned from a family member as a kid, put it down for years, and picked it back up as a way to have something to do with my hands that wasn’t a phone screen. It turns out a lot of the same instincts apply to both crafts: patience, an eye for detail, and a willingness to rip out a row (or soak off a gel manicure) and start over when it’s not right.

My approach

I don’t post a design or a pattern unless I’ve actually made it. That means real hands, real yarn, real mistakes along the way. If a tutorial online has ever left you confused because a step just doesn’t work the way it’s described, you know why this matters to me. I try to write instructions the way I wish someone had written them for me.

Why I started this site

I kept saving nail inspiration and pattern links in a dozen different places and thought other people were probably doing the same thing. Loops & Lacquer is the site I wanted to exist — one place for both of the crafts I actually spend my free time on, organized so you can actually find what you’re looking for, and written by someone who has tried every single thing on it.

Say hello

I love hearing from readers — whether you tried a pattern and want to show me how it turned out, spotted something that needs fixing, or just want to talk nails and yarn. Visit the Contact page and send me a message. I read every one.