We were lucky to catch up with Haley Lemus recently and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Haley thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Can you talk to us about how you learned to do what you do?

People often say to me, I could never do what you do, and honestly I wasn’t just born naturally skilled at nail art, but when you have a passion for something and you practice for years and never stop, one day you wake up and you’re just like I am good at this. Ask any artist and their craft is only perfected through thousands of hours of grind, pushing through when you weren’t happy with or confident in your work, practicing the same design over and over until you have mastered it and then moving on to the next and just never stopping that cycle.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

I am Haley Lemus, I have been in the nail industry for 10 years, I was licensed in 2015 and then began working in Richmond as a nail tech full time. Through the years I really focused my career on structured gel manicures and detailed nail art. My goal for my clients is to help them grow out their natural nails using non toxic Korean and Japanese nail products while giving them the nail art of their dreams. When I was starting off as a new nail tech I worked in traditional nail salons which felt hectic and overwhelming, I really wanted to spend my time doing the best job possible for my client, not be rushed on to the next appointment. I never would have guessed the positive impact leaving the nail salon and becoming my own boss would have on my life, mentally, emotionally, financially, it really put me in control of my happiness and gave me incredible work/life balance. I realized early on that if I didn’t love something, I just didn’t have to do it, so I cut out pedicures and gel extensions, and focused on what it was that made me love nails in the first place, nail art. I quickly formed an incredible following of loyal clients who would sit in my chair with me every few weeks and hold hands while we bonded over reality tv and pop culture and shared about our lives. I truly feel honored that my job allows me to get to know so many interesting and incredible people, many of which have become my closest friends. I love being a nail artist, it is my creative outlet, my community, and my purpose in a way I thought I would never feel about a job.

How did you build your audience on social media?

Once upon a time I was a Tumblr girl and would scroll through on my computer all day looking at and posting my favorite nail art. I didn’t know at the time I was interested in becoming a nail tech but I started with a a true love and appreciation of the art. In 2012 I began to experiment doing nail art on myself so I created an account on this brand new photo sharing social media app, Instagram and began to share. The good thing about the early days on the app was, you really could post anything without the worry of how many likes will this get? I think people new to nails or any creative field can give up easily because they see incredible nail artists online and feel like they’re not good enough, what they don’t see is the hard work and many years of bad nails that got them to this point. I have been steadily growing my following over the past ten years through (semi) consistent posting and content creation, its all random though, sometimes there will be a picture that gets 30,000 likes and then you will have one with 100. My best advice is to just stay consistent, interact with your followers when you can, use hashtags, and try to not put to much focus on your follower count or likes, post because you are proud of what you are putting out into the world.

What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?

The most rewarding thing to me about being an artist is creating something out of nothing, of course you have your brushes and paints and supplies, but all you start with is an idea and in 2-3 hours it’s complete. I am in a position as an artist that most traditional artists are not and that is immediate feedback on your work. I love hearing the excitement and joy my clients get from the hard work and creativity I put into doing each set, it’s an immediate dopamine boost for the both of us!

Contact Info:

• Instagram: @weekend_nails
• Other: TikTok- @weekendnails

Image Credits
Haley Lemus @weekend_nails