Hi....wow....my first blog post!!! So I had better introduce myself, my name is Paula and I have had the most amazing and challenging couple of years of my life which I wanted to share with you all and to explain how I have come to open my very own brand spanking new Nail Lounge...Eeeeek!!
So where do I start???....I was not always a nail artist, in fact far from it, I was....in a former life!...a mortgage adviser for a regional Bank! My career in finance spanned a total of 25 years, I know, I don't look old enough right!?! but tis true!
For the majority of those 25 years I was happy and felt in control of my career although the longer I remained in the financial industry with all of its regulatory requirements and sales targets the more I felt disconnected with who I was as a creative and artistic person and so a little under a year ago I, along with my fiancé, decided that a change was needed....more for my own sanity than any other reason! and so I had to strip my world down to the basics to decide what direction I wanted to take my life.
I have always been interested in nail painting and I would give myself little manicures and very simple nail art and so after an evening of surfing You Tube for ideas...or as my fiancé likes to call it "looking at sparkly unicorns!!" I came across two ladies videos which blew my mind with how creative and talented they were, the first lady was an amazing Nail Artist called Sam Biddle and the other was another amazing multi award winning nail artist called Gemma Lambert, and I couldn't get enough of watching these ladies video's creating these amazing nail extensions and nail art. I thought...my god I would love to be able to create something as beautiful as the nails these ladies was creating and so I looked around in my local area for courses I could take to be able to learn how. I didn't just want to take a day or two course as I wanted the course I took to be comprehensive and accredited and so I found a fantastic academy in my home town called Red 10 and I enrolled for a NVQ level 3 course in Liquid and Powder enhancements which lead onto further courses in Gelish polish and the use of an e-file.
After completing these educationals I realised... I could do this!!...and I LOVED it!!! I had finally found my Sparkly Unicorn! Although I had originally trained to create these wonderful nails as a hobby, I soon had friends and family coming to me asking if I would do their nails for them and getting calls from my beauticians to see if I could come in and complete nail enhancements for their clients as this was a service that they did not provide and so my confidence grew not only in my own abilities but also in my self belief.
I began to realise that this was what I was meant to do with my life.....imagine!.....making a living from what you love doing and that was when the seed was sewn.
And so here we are 1 year down the line......I am no longer a Mortgage Adviser with a regional bank but a fully fledged nail artist with my own nail business!!!! Eva Grace Nail Lounge!.
I believe education should never end, especially in the beauty industry not only with the fast changing trends and new products available on the market but also for my need to stretch my skills and to continue growing within my craft.....and so my education continues!! I am so excited to be taking part in a 2 day event at the beginning of March with the fantastic Sam Biddle, international nail artist! The very same lady who was a serious influence on me to learn how to create beautiful nail art and I seriously can not wait....I'm looking forward to learning new and exciting nail art skills to share with my clients and I will write a further blog after the event to share with you my experiences at the event.
I guess my message here today is no matter how down trodden you may feel with your career....there's a sparkly unicorn for all of us...you just have to find it, grab hold of it, hold on tight and enjoy the journey.
Until the next time....
Paula xx