Whew! What a roller coaster ride my short nail tech career has been! In 2008, just before I graduated from nail school in September in California, my husband received a promotion – in Washington. So back and forth I went: to get moved to Washington, licensed in California, followed by a long delay for a hysterectomy and obtaining my license in Washington. In July of 2009, I finally opened my nail studio, and I was on my way…except I had a teenage son who wasn’t transitioning well to the extremely large high schools up here. We had lived in a very rural town of 3,500 people in California – his new school in Washington had almost 3,000 students!

Two months after opening my studio, we relocated further north to live on fabulous Camano Island, so that my son could attend a smaller high school (which gave me a long commute). Unfortunately, that school was also too large (I think it had 2,000 students) and overcrowded, as well as severely hit by budget cuts. That led to us trying online schooling for him, with ME as his “learning coach”. (Brief pause to note: however hard you think teachers have it, it’s harder than you even realize! Go do something nice right now for your kids’ teachers!)

By early 2010, I realized something had to give, and I was fortunate enough to find a full-service salon that had the space and the desire for a nail tech, so in March I closed my studio and began booth renting. It has been a wonderful year there, and I’ve learned a lot, as well as developed a really wonderful clientele. The funny thing - after all the moving and changing schools and changing shops - last June we ended up taking my son back to California to live with his grandparents (who live in the town where he grew up) so he could finish high school with his friends. (It’s a good thing he’s cute.)

While the salon I’ve been working in is wonderful, I really missed having a much larger space. My three magnetic boards for my glitters and confettis are full, and I definitely need more bling. So I am very excited to be once again opening my own nail studio on March 29th! I’m looking forward to building up my clientele (with my newly expanded hours, I am at about 40%), making "rockstar jewelry" using nail art components (check out my photo gallery for a sneak peak), and greatly expanding my retail from nail/skin care to include gift items as well. I’m also looking forward to sharing my experience here on Blueprint! Thanks for reading, and here’s to a year of learning, growth and FUN!

—Candice, Panache Nail Studio, Stanwood, Wash.