On July 30th, Hand & Nail Harmony hosted its first International Educator Training & Certification at the company’s Brea, Calif. headquarters. More than 100 team members from 24 countries came together for four days of intense nail education and hands-on training with Gelish and Hand & Nail Harmony acrylic and gel products. The training was lead by United States dean of education MaeLing Parrish and featured demonstrations by Hand & Nail Harmony’s top educators, including European director of education Anthony Buckley and west coast regional education manager Sandy Combs.

By the end of the training, educator hopefuls were given the opportunity to test to become certified Hand & Nail Harmony educators, but certification is not guaranteed. “We have to send their scores home so they receive the good news after they’ve made it back home,” Hand & Nail Harmony vice president Gari-Dawn Tingler explains. On top of the passion and commitment from the trainees and educators during training are nervous individuals who have put everything they have into their work to qualify as educators. And when trainees have found out they have been certified, all emotion is let loose through more happy tears than Disney’s Spash Mountain ride can handle.

Hand and Nail Harmony CEO and founder Danny Haile presented technical and merit certificates to a few of those who excelled during the International Education Training.

After the four days of education, Tingler, Hand & Nail Harmony executive vice president David Daniel, and CEO and founder Danny Haile surprised their international team with a trip to the Magic Kingdom and an awards dinner and celebration at Big Thunder Ranch Jamboree in Frontierland.

Left: Hand and Nail Harmony educators expressed their gratitude during the International Education Training awards celebration at Big Thunder Ranch Jamboree. Right: Hand and Nail Harmony CEO Danny Haile, vice president Gari-Dawn Tingler, and executive vice president David Daniel watched Disney's fireworks display as the night winded down.

There, Haile expressed his deep gratitude for the dedication of the educators, trainees, and the Hand & Nail Harmony family that has helped make the training and brand successful. His thoughtfulness was returned with heartfelt words from all of his educators.

— Kim