Welcome to part 2 of my nail art chat with Izzy at Orphic Nails! This time we get into the pressure behind nail art - from ourselves, clients and social media.

We talk about how social media has changed nail art expectations, the unrealistic speed standards nail techs face, and how constantly creating content can lead to burnout.

We also cover:– Scheduling posts to avoid overwhelming yourself– Navigating neurodivergence as a creative nail tech– Learning how to say no to clients and their crazy requests (real life goldfish anyone?!)– Protecting your energy while still delivering detailed nail art

If you love nail art but sometimes feel the pressure that comes with it, this episode is for you.

🎧 Listen to Part 1 for the start of the conversation here: https://open.spotify.com/episode/3sHmNt3IH8CkDNHhNlgtwX?si=Q4bYwevgSXCtig_SGXJAVg

In part one of this two-part episode, I’m joined by Izzy from Orphic Nails & Education for a deep dive into nail art and the small details that make the biggest difference.

We talk about the evolution of Izzy’s iconic checkerboard nail art, why brush pressure and gel saturation matter more than most nail techs realise, and how refining your technique can completely change your results.

Izzy also shares her (very strong) feelings about French nails, why they’re harder than they look, and how we deal with clients who just won’t sit still during nail art appointments.

This episode was too good to cut down, so we’ve split it into two parts - part two will be with you next week!

I'm back with a little bonus episode of Nails & Yap to share a new project, that I'm really excited and passionate about.

If you're a regular listener you'll already know how much I yap on about the value of community, making friends and creating connections in the nail industry. And if you're not a regular listener - hi, I'm Laura, and I yap on about the value of community, making friends and creating connections in the nail industry.

In this episode I talk about why nail techs need real community, and why this industry can feel really lonely even though we're with people all day. We don't have colleagues, we often work in isolation, and so much of the confidence, motivation and decision making falls on us without people to bounce off.

I wanted to film a bonus episode to introduce The Nail Social, a new Manchester based community that I'm starting with two nail tech friends - India & Sasha. It's all about having genuine connection through low pressure, IRL meet ups. We're starting with monthly coffee mornings, on a Sunday, to get to know other local techs and hopefully make some more mates. It's not one off networking, we want to create a proper community.

I share how the idea came about, how having nail tech friends has COMPLETELY changed my experience of the job, and how we're building this in public.

If you're a nail tech who's ever wished they had colleagues, or you're local to Manchester and want to get involved, you can follow the journey over on Instagram at @thenailsocialmcr (https://www.instagram.com/thenailsocialmcr/). We'll also be sharing lots of content for nail techs, so even if you can't make the meetups we'd love you to follow along and be part of the club from afar!

Thank you so so much for listening, and I'll be back next week with a full episode all about mastering nail art, with Izzy from Orphic Nails & Education who is an absolute nail art whizz!