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

Tina, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today When did you first know you wanted to pursue a creative/artistic path professionally?

I have always had a creative drive, from the earliest age I sought out creative outlets. I remember being 7 years old and getting all the neighborhood kids together to launch a play in this grassy area in the parking lot of our huge apartment complex. I hung a sheet on a rope that was hung between two small trees for our curtain, though I cannot recall the play or how it turned out.

I also loved to dress up as beloved TV characters and act out scenes and make my family laugh. Around the same time, our elementary school had a book contest, it took place every year, and you could win a ribbon for your grade division. I participated every year and loved the whole process of writing my book. I was in the school Nutcracker play as a dancing snowflake. I was also heavily involved in the youth group at my church as a teen and would compete with another singer for all the solos in our church musicals. Creativity was and is as natural to me as breathing.

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

My family is full of talented writers, though only my sister and I have been paid for our work. Our mother was immensely talented and she did write a novel, but she lacked confidence and didn’t believe anyone would be interested in her book no matter how we assured her to the contrary, and so it stayed in a closet until her death. I had some success as a freelance writer in the early 2000s. I sold articles, mostly about single parenting, to supplement my income. I was divorced with two kids and a day job that did not pay much, so money was always very tight. As I slowly climbed the corporate ladder over the years, giving up hourly work for a salaried job, creativity seemed to go by the wayside, and so did my morale. I felt like a corporate drone, and had lost touch with that girl who loved to play. The freelance work fell away and the corporate world took its place.

2020 came and when it left, my mother would no longer be with us. By the end of 2021, other dear loved ones joined her. The losses were devastating and I was awash in grief so immense and deep that I did not know where to begin to process what had happened. I was just numb, stumbling through life and still just existing, and a well full of untapped grief, just waiting to be released.

In 2022 I took a nail polish making class with a friend. We had a lot of fun and laughed a lot. We created six polishes and when I posted photos of my creations to an online nail polish group, I had offers to buy my polishes! It was very flattering, but of course I did not take anyone seriously. It was just a fun afternoon, right? But it sparked an idea. What if I bought some supplies and made my own polish? The old single mom cheapness kicked in as I thought about how I could even save money with making my own polish. I did some research and ordered some supplies.

I was excited about something again! I was so eager to get my supplies and see what I could do. I made my first bottle of polish on my birthday, August 27, 2023 and a love affair was born. The 40 bottles I ordered with the intention of them lasting a month, only lasted three days. It was like I was making up for lost time and trying to cram all the creativity I missed out on into those three days. I felt rejuvenated and the spectre of death did not seem to be around every corner any more. The grief was still there to be dealt with, but I no longer felt like I was drowning. Making nail polish became like a meditation for me.

After a couple of months of making polish and posting photos, people started asking me about buying my polish. The thought of making it a business had fleetingly crossed my mind, but my day job is so demanding that I didn’t know if I could find the time to really make a go of it. I felt I had the decision made for me when one day I posted a photo on social media of some recent creations that I was especially proud of and I captioned the photo, “All my little jewels!” Something in my head clicked.

My mother’s name was Jewell. She loved nail polish and painting her nails. And one of her favorite movies was called The Jewel of the Nile. In that moment, Jewel of the Nail was born! It felt right. It felt like all the pieces of my life came together and made sense again. It was in honor of my mother, and made me feel close to her. It saved my sanity. It felt like I was born to make polish. After a stressful day-job day, it was very difficult for me to get into a good headspace to write creatively. Somehow making nail polish helps me unwind after a stressful day.

April 1 was our official launch with the Renewed Collection. It was a collection of nine springtime polishes that were well-received. Since then there have been four more releases and many more to come for the rest of summer, along with some super creative and fun seasonal and holiday polishes to premier!

The biggest thing I want to do with Jewel of the Nail, besides make my mother proud, is to make people happy. Sometimes on a rough day seeing a little sparkle on your fingers and toes can help you make it through to the next day.

How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?

When I was putting my Pride collection together, I had this great red polish with a violet shimmer that I was really excited about. It was a formula I created almost a year prior and it tested well and I was eager to use it. Unfortunately the violet shimmer pigment became unavailable and I had to go with a more untried brand for a shimmer pigment. I mixed a small batch to send to swatchers, people I hire to paint their nails with my products and take photos and videos for me to use for my website and social media posts.

A few days later a swatcher reached out and advised there were clumps in the polish and she sent photos. I was shocked. That formula was a good, tested formula. I contacted all swatchers, advising them to throw it away, that I mixed it by hand, and I would try using a drill attachment to ensure the break up of any small pigment particles. I made another batch, mixed the heck out of it with my drill and attachment, and looked at the result. It looked smooth and good to go. I mailed out a second set. A few days later, the message came again, clumps. It then hit me, it was the new shimmer pigment. It did not seem to be playing nicely with the ingredients. I told them to throw that batch out as well.

I sat at my polish desk frustrated and wondering what I could do to make the polish work. I tried different pigment ratios, more base liquid, but nothing worked. It then hit me; I was trying to force a combination that just wasn’t working and I needed to let go. I walked away and got busy with something else. Later when I went back to my workstation, a different combination came to mind. I experimented and not only did I create a gorgeous polish, it was a better color combination than the original and people went wild for it! It will probably be one of my favorite polishes for years to come (Season in the Sun).

For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?

Nail polish is a very personal choice. People wear it because they want to express themselves, they want to feel good. Being a part of the happy in someone’s day or life is an incredible honor for me.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.jewelofthenail.net/
• Instagram: @jewel_ofthe_nail

Image Credits

Anu Rashmee
Timberlin Zink
Melissa Dobroski
Nettie Gill
Ronita Dasgupta