In the spirit of newness, I give you my new headshot, courtesy of photographer Vu Ong.

In the spirit of newness, I give you my new headshot, courtesy of photographer Vu Ong.

Poet Ezra Pound is given credit for discovering many of the great writers of his time. His battle cry was “Make it new,” and his words have always resonated with me. There’s a great deal of pressure to post, perform, and discover the next big name to follow and feature. I admit I can be a creature of habit. However, with the changing times comes a need to change how we meet the constant demand for new content.

NAILS recently embarked on a huge transformation: We combined two beloved events (our Nailtech Networking Event and our NAILS NTNA finale) into one at Premiere Orlando. You can see the pictures from the NTNA Social here. Creating an all new event was an incredible challenge. We learned a lot from the feedback and experience. Although it was stressful to pull off, it felt good to do something different. Sometimes doing things the same way is a greater risk than shaking things up.

Want to try something new? How about a new technique? Or a new Facebook group? If you want a new challenge, I recommend our Cover Tech Contest or NAILS Next Top Nail Artist Season 6. Or you can grow your business in new ways by attending our first ever Foot Forward Summit in Atlanta.

Speaking of new, this issue marks the first for NAILS guest editor Valerie Ducharme, who is also our cover artist. You can learn more about her NTNA win here and follow her on Instagram @vdnailart.

I asked Ducharme for her advice to those who want to try out for NTNA. Her reply is fitting for any of us who are wanting to do things differently but are a little afraid. “It’s normal to be afraid. I have never met an artist who isn’t afraid of their work not being good enough. To recognize your weaknesses allows you to experiment, improve, and innovate. Go for it! You have nothing to lose and everything to gain.”

Here’s what I’ve learned from Valerie: Don’t worry about making it big, just make something new. The rest will surely come.

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