Insane Nails

A nail appointment is one of the few standing appointments that counts as both maintenance and a small break, forty-five minutes where someone else handles the detail work. Insane Nails is a nail salon at 108-2540 Shaughnessy Street in Port Coquitlam, on the city's heritage main street. Shaughnessy is the old downtown, the strip that grew up with the CPR roundhouse, and a salon here serves the central neighborhoods within walking distance or a short drive.

The address sits on a street that doubles as PoCo's civic spine: City Hall, downtown services, and the way down toward Lions Park and the Coquitlam River are all close by, which makes a salon visit easy to combine with errands. The unit number in the address means the salon occupies space within a larger building, worth noting when arriving for a first appointment. Parking along Shaughnessy varies by block, so arriving a few minutes early takes the rush out of a first visit. Call ahead to confirm availability, especially for weekend hours, and ask about rebooking if you prefer to keep a standing time. In a city of about 62,500, the regulars keep a salon's calendar full, and the calendar keeps the regulars looking after.