We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Kyanna Harrison a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Kyanna, appreciate you joining us today. Learning the craft is often a unique journey from every creative – we’d love to hear about your journey and if knowing what you know now, you would have done anything differently to speed up the learning process.

Truthfully, I started doing nails at a very random time during Covid. Before Covid fully hit enough to close everything down, I had on a set that I was holding onto. When I noticed that I needed a fill-in, I remember thinking to myself like “Dang, I can’t even get my nail done.” I went to the nearest beauty supply store and bought a “Kiss” nail kit. I got my fill-in that day.
Knowing what I know now, I’d say I could’ve invested in my products faster. A lot of nail techs tell beginners not to waste time buying a bunch of things you won’t use. I personally believe we’re not all the same nail tech, and what works for you may not work for everybody. When I first started, you wouldn’t believe what i substituted acrylic for; dip-powder methods, baby powder, it was madness, but all a learning experience. I agree with not buying a bunch of useless charms, but find a product that works well for you, based on your opinion and budget. That could be your go-to product.

As a beginner nail tech, the most essential skill you can adapt to, is taking your time with your application. That, in itself, is a whole category of its own. Mastering shaping, designs etc, all these things will come to you. The better your application is, the more likely it is for that client to come back, your shape to be crisp. Your e-file may barely be used.
For me personally, the only obstacle that stood in the day of me learning more would be, social media. It’s not a class or a school. I used to scroll through hundreds of nail videos trying to learn any new tip or hack. I found myself trying to master cheat-codes before actually taking time to learn the basics.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

My name is Kyanna, though I’m usually addressed as “Su” or “Sume”, due to my business name being “Tsume Samurai/Sumebae”. I consider myself a creative of all trades. I’m from Brooklyn, NY, East New York exactly, and being from there gave me inspiration and tough skin. I independently make music. Ive collaborated with other amazing artists from NY as well. I’m a self-taught pole dancer and a self-taught Freestyle Nail Artist.

My biggest inspiration for doing nails was my aunt, Garcelle, and my oldest sister, Patricia. These were the only two women in my life who I watched consistently get their nails done. In the early 2000’s-2010’s, when full sets were $25 with one free design, my aunt and sister got their nails done religiously. Their designs back then consisted of mostly nail art, linework, and the style of nails were a slightly-curved nail tip. Either way, these two ladies always came with the most fab designs. My sister would get long curved nails, and each nail would have a completely different design, but similar color scheme. My aunt kept it simple, but that didn’t stop her from getting long length and extra designs. It’s a cultural thing for me, seeing women in my immediate family express themselves in that way.
The first time I saw a Black nail tech, was the day I went in for my first full-set. She didn’t work on me, but I wanted her to do bad. Being so young, i’m not sure what had me convinced that people like me didn’t do things like this. I had this mindset that black women are more likely to do hair. It’s crazy, i know, but that’s the world I was introduced to, so when it was my time to start, I went in full throttle. Fully motivated, fully inspired, appreciative because it felt close to me.

As a Freestyle Nail Artist, I provide almost all services from full acrylic sets to acrylic pedicures, gel polish manicures to overlays, length of all sorts, and designs of all kinds. As a musician, I dip and dabble in almost all genres, R&B, rap, HIP-HOP, Pop etc. As a dancer, the only possible service to provide is to teach, so I do that on the side for some of my nail clients.

I believe my designs set me apart from other nail artists. I don’t use or accept nail reference photos as much as any tech would. I believe in keeping my job creative. If we’re all doing the same thing, then i believe literally anybody can get booked for anything. When I started out, I wanted my work to speak with volume. I wanted the “oohs” and “ahs”. My work changed over the last 4 years, a lot of my clients can vouch for that, but they’ll also admit that it changed for the better. There’s nothing better than doing something you love, and keeping it the way you like. I take pride and joy in every set that allows me to express any vision my client wants at the creativity of myself.

Speaking of clients, I truly appreciate everyone who’s been in my chair at any given time in my career. I call my clients my “Sumebae’s”. The word “tsume” means nail(s) in Japanese, making Tsume Samurai mean “Nail Samurai”. My sumebae would never understand how many days they’ve saved my business, gave me motivation and comfort. As a nail tech, that’s a really big deal for me. Support. I enjoy the gossip, though I may not always remember it. I enjoy the life-updates, the bonding time between us and even the food breaks. That trust between you and your client is really important.

What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?

The most rewarding aspect about being a creative is curating your own schedule, working for yourself, managing your own finances etc. These things are still considered a heavy job, especially when doing it all alone, but the deeper part of it, is graceful. I wouldn’t advise trying to give yourself all the time and all the earnings when you first start out. This is a business, an investment. You never know when you’ll experience a pivot in your career.

Do you think there is something that non-creatives might struggle to understand about your journey as a creative? Maybe you can shed some light?

Okay, no matter how much people talk about the glorious parts of their journey, every single one of us experienced multiple hardships before getting comfortable. My advise would be to shed that ego from the start. Yes, you will be very skilled at that craft one day, but no you are not there right now. Allow your insecurities to be motivating, you may not like your nail designs now, but show gratitude for your effort. Give yourself as much grace as you would a client or another creative. Social media is exactly what it is, to be social. Don’t be a sponge soaking up other beliefs that if you practice you’ll be perfect. You’ll forever be a student in ANY craft, there’s always more to learn. So, be humble, give yourself credit, appreciate each moment, and wait your turn. Ego is not self. Expectations leave too much room for devastation.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://sumebaess.square.site/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sumebae?igsh=ZTVicjdpYm9yYWlk
• Youtube: https://youtube.com/channel/UCf2tSAU-wYTdR1w5WaXDJ0w?si=sMFxKwncEbEl7Rxb