To My Dearest Nail Artists,
Thank you.
TL;DR: The Nail Artist, Pod Squad, and Bottle Bunch pins are my ways of saying thank you to all of the nail artists out there. They are a part of my soul, and I hope you will allow and accept a part of me into yours.
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Thank you for being the first community that I’ve been a part of where most people actually believed in me. Not only did you believe in my nail art, but you believed in all my dreams. For a long time, I wanted to become someone that can help other nail artists in some way, shape, or form, but life had a lot of plans for me before I could get here. But, I’m here now, and I hope I can make you guys proud.
I created my Nail Artist Pin as a symbol of growth–a growth of interest, of knowledge, of self-awareness, of self-care, of community, and a growth of pride. It’s dedicated to all of us nail artists out there that have been sexualized, harassed, and/or discriminated against by strangers, by acquaintances, by employers, by clients, and even by friends and family purely because of our occupation. It’s for any of us who tell others that we are nail artists, and they reply with an unwanted anecdote of a bad mani-pedi they’ve gotten before or a spiel about an article they read (but “can’t remember where from”) about how unsanitary nail salons are. It’s for those of us who get cheated on pay because they simply “forget” or think they can pull the wool over our eyes because since we “just do nails,” how smart can we be? It’s for those of us who get designs stolen because others think “it’s just nail polish.” And it’s especially for those of us who create brilliant works of art on tiny canvases yet people just say to us, “I don’t get it. Isn’t it just nail polish?”
This pin is the start of my journey to create a better community, one worthy of all the talented, hard-working, and absolutely amazing nail artists out there. I’m heading to law school, in hopes to become someone that can help change the nail industry from within, but can also help change the social stigma of being a salon worker.
I wanted to create a symbol that shows the pride of the nail artist community. Since I was young, I have loved fine art. I even studied the business side of the art world. I often work with artists, and while they are absolutely inspiring and have such free mindspaces, few recognize nail art as an actual art form. “I thought you just do nails,” they laugh. “I guess I never thought of it that way.” The discouragement from the very community I admired almost all my life stained my heart. Why are we not recognized? We also work with a paint medium. We work with brushes and use the same, if not more, techniques to paint. The only major difference is that our canvases are nails. I made this pin to represent how even though we “do nails,” we are worthy of the artist title and name.
Now, about the pin design itself…. The Nail Artist Pin boasts the classic french tip as the core. The french tip is one of the first nail arts that we all learn at the beginning of our nail studies. It’s something that whether you are a nail artist with decades under your belt, or you just picked up nails a few months ago, it connects all of us together. However, this classic french is detailed with a little extra design to it. The classic french embodies an artist’s paint palette. This is my ultimate statement to say to the world that we are Nail Artists. Much like the pin design, we, as mere nail techs, embody the creative soul that artists have.
The Nail Artist, Pod Squad, and Bottle Bunch pin projects actually mean more to me beyond my nail career. Before I dipped my toe into the world of nails, I worked full time in product development for years while I was a full time student. While I loved the job itself and thought I could do it for the rest of my life, I was in such a toxic and stressful environment, my health plummeted. Before I was even 22, I had alopecia twice. I was diagnosed with lupus, fibromyalgia, and rheumatoid arthritis, but I didn’t have enough money for follow up appointments. I had several separate traumatic events occur, and while my professors understood, my boss didn’t. “We’re a startup operated by women. You have to be stronger, or no one will take you seriously.” “That happened a month ago. You should be over it by now.” I swallowed it all. Eventually, I felt strong enough to leave, but not without taking a lot of separate PTSD triggers with me. I was lost and grasped at everything that made me even remotely happy, and that’s when I decided to get a nail license. Nails and the nail artist community helped me realize I deserve better. Many of us like getting our nails done because it’s relaxing. We even became nail artists because it’s both soothing and exciting. Through each nail set, I slowly worked on confronting my past traumas. While most of my triggers have gotten tolerable, the biggest challenge was going back to product development. It hurt my heart not being able to create products, but when I tried, I would physically get sick. I truly thought I would never be able to do it again. It wasn’t until I finally got into law school, and I was in such a great place in my nail journey that I wanted to leave my mark with something I created from scratch. I challenged myself to complete the circle and go back to the time right before I did nails before I took a step back from the nail world. Through this production journey, there definitely have been moments of anxiety triggered from the process, but it was worth it. When I finally held the pins in my hands—pins I created—pins that had my name on the back—I broke down. A few years ago, I had everyone telling me I was too young to ever create anything on my own and too creative or too dumb for the analytics of law school. Well, look where I am now. I’m a nail artist and product designer going to law school, because who made the rules saying I couldn’t be all of them? I refuse to be described by only one thing unless if it is extraordinary.
If you made it to the bottom of this letter, thank you for reading about this part of my soul. I hope my pins will make you feel proud to be a nail artist, and I hope I can make you guys proud.
With all my heart,
Christina
Sit With Chris
Nail Artist and Future Lawyer
Sit With Chris 