June 3, 2016

Meet Mid-City Nail Artist: Hannah K. Smith

Local Stories

Today we’d like to introduce you to Hannah K. Smith.

Hannah is one of LA’s most creative nail artists. Her skills, passion and dedication to her craft are examples of why LA’s creative professionals are the envy of the world. Below, you’ll find edited excerpts of our interview with Hannah.

Hannah, how did you get started with nail art?

I started doing my own nails and nail art for fun around 5 years ago. Eventually nail art became sort of an obsessive hobby for me. I would change my nails to a new design several times a week and was accumulating quite the collection of polishes. After working in e-commerce for several years doing web styling, web production, and merchandising, I decided to turn my hobby into a career and went to beauty school to get my manicuring license.

Excellent, so what are you currently working on/towards?

Right now I am focusing on going after more editorial work and just trying getting my name out there, but it would be amazing to get to a point in my career where I would have the opportunity to collaborate with brands on polish colors, nail wraps, and other nail products. A friend actually approached me the other day about the possibility of creating custom nail stamp plates for me, so that’s something I’m definitely interested in doing. I usually hand paint everything I do, but if I could design my own stamps I would be able to share my designs with others who may want to try my designs at home, but don’t have the steady hand they need for painting. One of my other dreams would definitely be to do nails for NYFW. It would be so much fun to collaborate with a designer on the nail design for their runway show. I also hope that my career will eventually give me the opportunity to travel. Although I enjoy working in the salon, my goals and dreams reach far beyond that. My career as a nail artist and manicurist is really just beginning, so I can’t wait to see where it takes me!

That’s really exciting. So you’ve been able to hit the ground running with nail art, which is quite impressive. Have there been struggles along the way?

First of all, I would say that moving to LA was both one of the easiest and the hardest things I have ever done. It was easy because I knew I loved it here and wanted to make Los Angeles my home, but it was also very hard because like many others, I moved here with no job and barely any money, unsure of what was ahead for me. Luckily I had the moral support of my family, boyfriend, and some great new friends who were all creative and inspiring in their own way. It took me a while, but I found work in fashion and then in e-commerce. Over the next 4 years I realized that with each job I took I was getting further and further away from something I actually enjoyed doing. When the last e-commerce company I was working for shut down their LA office, I originally began looking for a job in the same field, but found myself feeling a bit depressed. I was making decent money in the field, but wasn’t happy with the direction my career was going and was at a loss. I had toyed with the idea of getting my manicuring license in the past after years of doing nail art on myself, but had never considered it that seriously until then. One of my friends encouraged me to do it with the goal of getting into editorial work. I struggled with the idea for a while because I knew it would be difficult for me financially to go to go to beauty school & switch careers and I was really afraid of failing at my new chosen career.

Really glad you had the courage to pursue your passion. Have you had any moments yet where you feel like the decision has totally paid off?

I recently did Andra Day’s nails for the June cover of Essence Magazine which hits stands on May 13th. Being the first cover shoot I’ve worked on, it was definitely kind of a wow moment for me. It made me feel really positive about the direction my career is going in. I felt like the risks I took in beginning this new career were starting to pay off. I still have a long way to go to get where I want to be, but I am so grateful for the opportunities I have been given so far. There is something I really love about being on set and working with a crew of so many creative people. I’ve always loved fashion and appreciated the art of photography, so for me working on editorials is great because it combines several of my interests into one.

Pricing:

A basic manicure with polish is $16
A basic gel manicure is $45
For polish nail art, prices start at $19
For simple accent nails and can go up to around $40
For gel nail art, prices start at $50 for simple accent nails and can go up from there depending on the design the time it takes to complete, and any embellishments used.
A basic pedicure is $20
A deluxe pedi is $28
Gel pedis start at $55

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