Welcome to nailswithonen. Wait, why is there a blog here?
Ok, so, I never thought I’d be making a website for doing nails. Probably because, prior to 2020, I never thought I’d even be doing nails. I liked painting my own nails a lot, but I never really thought about doing it professionally. But then…I started doing it professionally.
After toying with the idea for most of 2020, I went to nail school in Spring 2021, graduated and earned my nail technician license that summer, and started taking clients.
For almost four years after that, I worked my day job as a marketing copywriter during the day, and a few nights a week, I’d do nails. It was a truly top-tier side hustle, but I never really thought I’d do it full time.
At the beginning of this year, though, I got laid off. I’d been at my job for close to a decade and it kind of threw me for a loop—I had no concrete ideas about what I wanted do next. I looked for full-time writing jobs for a while, until at some point I thought, “What if I…did nails full time instead, and did some writing, part time, on the side?”
So, here we are. I’m writing this at the end of April. I’m about to open my books to new clients for the first time in a long time and I’m really excited for this next chapter. And nervous. But mostly excited.
You might be thinking: Why is she writing a blog for her *nail* website? People just want to see the nails and maaaaaybe book an appointment.
Well! A few reasons:
I love to write and I love to yap. Here’s a place I can do both.
It’ll be a good place to highlight any new products (chromes, charms, colors, etc.) that I get for the studio. I’ve realized after a few years of doing this that, unless people see something in use/in someone else’s set or I point it out specifically during appointments, a lot of the nail accessory-type things I have on hand go unused. Here, though, I can showcase what’s new and exciting that may not come up during your appointments. Maybe this way, these things’ll get their time in the sun (unlike the MANY rolls of nail foils stuffed in the bottom drawer here, haha).
A lot of the same topics of conversation come up during appointments—we all want to know what we we’re watching, what we cooked for dinner, if we’ve read anything good lately, if there’s a cool podcast we should be listening to, if there’s a great new bar or restaurant worth checking out, what lip gloss/perfume/hair product is worth it (or not)—you get the idea. Because of this, I end up watching things I wouldn’t have found and trying things I probably would have missed out on, all thanks to my clients. I think it’ll be fun to share those things on here—along with other assorted things I’m into at any given time.
There’s plenty to talk about regarding the nail world (products, trends, etc.), and while it may not be the bulk of what’s here on the blog, there’ll likely be some (written) nail content here at some point (on a nails website??? I know. Crazy!).
TL;DR: Because it’s my website and I feel like it.
It’s nebulous, I guess, but it’s mostly for fun. I got into doing nails because I loved doing the art, but I’ve loved getting to know all of my clients over the years, and here, you’ll get to know me a little better, via what TV I’m binging or what songs I keep pressing ‘repeat’ on.
Ok, this got a little long. Brevity’s never been my strong suit (every editor I’ve ever had can confirm). Like I said, I love to write and I love to yap.
With that said: I’m starting to do nails full-time in May. It feels like a lot of things had to happen in order for this to come to fruition, but like I tell my clients when I’m halfway through a design that doesn’t look like what it’s supposed to look like til the end (looking at you, tortoiseshell nails), I’m learning to—and trying to—trust the process.
I’m excited to be here. I’m excited you’re here with me.
