My studies started back in 2003 when I realised that it would benefit my career to gain a recognised qualification in Nails and the Tonbridge Campus was my closest college offering the course.
In 2004 I opened a small nail salon on the Pantiles in Tunbridge Wells called Nailmania. I traded successfully there for 7years. Unfortunately in 2011 due the Landlord going into administration, the footfall fell and I decided to close the salon, but carried on Nailmania as a mobile nail and beauty business.
By 2013 my business was thriving, but found I had space during the week and thought studying hairdressing would compliment my mobile business, so I enrolled on the two year NVQ hairdressing course at WKC. During this time, I began to be asked to work in London doing London Fashion Week shows, editorials and advertising work as a manicurist. I found that I loved working in this niche industry so much, and when the hair course had finished, I was asked to work more and more in London.
During my time at the Tonbridge Campus I just loved the challenge of learning new skills, especially as hair, beauty and nails all compliment and work well together. Although I was a mature student, I found my classmates to be just lovely, it didn’t matter what the age difference was. I have made some long term friends along the way. When I started my manicure/pedicure nail course, I had no idea at the time that it would lead to where I am right now career wise. But without the course I certainly wouldn’t be where I am now. Moving forwards I am now looking into teaching nails alongside session work.
I still work locally doing hair beauty & nails as Nailmania, but fit my clients around jobs in London. Most of my clients have been with me over 15 years so are happy to be flexible with their appointments.
A day in London usually means getting up very early, about 4am, to get into London and then onto a studio or location. Usually getting home late into the evening, between 9 & 11pm. So the days can be very long. If it’s filming then the days are 12 hour minimum, not including travelling to and from. So a day could amount to 15/16 hours.
My two longest days are usually in January and July for Paris Haute Couture, where I lead my team of manicurists for the Ralph&Russo show. We get the first Eurostar to Paris and last train back. It means getting up at 3am and we are usually all home between 12 & 2am the same or following day
I had a few lucky breaks early on in my career which got me noticed as manicurist quite quickly. It can normally take a number of years to get known in the industry. I still feel I have a way to go, but my name is now known for what I do in the industry, the hard work is paying off bit by bit. Winning the only national award for Session Nails twice in a row has been a career highlight. The awards are hosted by Scratch Magazine every year in July.
It’s a creative industry and there are lots of egos, so you have to gauge people really well - knowing when to be quiet or knowing when to interact is crucial; with celebrities and high profile jobs you are often asked to sign an NDA (non-disclosure agreement) to prevent discussion of the job outside of the studio or photographs being taken just in case they get leaked to the press or social media.
Anyone wanting to get into this niche industry needs to have the patience of a saint; be prepared that days are notoriously long; editorials are often unpaid but it’s the major way of investing in building your portfolio; there are often challenges which means you need to think on your feet and think outside of the box. Advertising (paid) jobs come along fairly regularly but it’s your portfolio that will get you these jobs. So you need a good portfolio and it needs to be kept up to date so editorials, paid or unpaid, are a crucial investment in this type of career.
My name is now known for what I do in the industry, the hard work is paying off bit by bit.