Today we’d like to introduce you to Candace Johnson
Hi Candace, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
My nail journey started when I was 19, I was living with my boyfriend at the time, we were both struggling living paycheck to paycheck. I was switching from job to job quitting my job every month. No matter what job I got I was never fully satisfied. I found myself keep quitting jobs because going to work and doing something that I didn’t love to do just never sat right with me. I was scrolling on Instagram one day and I had this weird feeling, I thought to myself “Maybe I should try to do nails!” nails was something I was always interested in, every time I would go get my nails done at the salon I would remember thinking “oh I wanna try that that looks fun to do” I just never thought of actually doing anything about it at the time I was having those thoughts. So that same day I started looking up nail schools in my area to tour and see what I needed to do to be able to become a nail tech . I remember I had toured this one school and it was perfect until they told me how much my tuition was. I felt discouraged because I was already low on income and I thought to myself “I can’t afford to go to school on top of all of this.” I explained my frustration to my boyfriend at the time and he said “don’t worry about the money we will figure it out, just go to school I think if it’s something you really want to do you should go.” so I did exactly that. Six months later January 2023, I graduated nail school, took my test to get proper licensing, and finally started taking clients! The journey was definitely far from easy, but I’m glad I took a leap of faith and believed in my dreams because the places it has took me today goes beyond for what I could’ve ever imagined and I get to make girls feel pretty for a living, which I think is the best part of my job and why I chose this career!
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
This journey definitely was far from easy. After graduating nail school, I remember being so burnt out. cosmetology school is not for the weak. The type of people I was dealing with at my school, the drama, going to school six days a week eight hours a day was mentally draining. Not to mention I was not working at the time because school was taking up all of my time so I was broke. After I graduated nail school , I ended up getting a part-time job at a sandwich shop. My family and friends were not supportive of me at the time at all. I remember family members telling me “you need to get a real job.” Because I was a beginner, I also wasn’t bringing too many clients and I think that’s why these family members were making these comments as well. Trying to find balance between working a job that I hated and doing something that I love to do I stuck it through. It was very hard. There was many days that I wanted to quit because I was not getting booked. I used to think maybe it’s not meant to be, I seen some of my other peers bringing in so much business and I remember thinking “why is that not me? What am I doing wrong?” Family and friends not being supportive as well, not to mention I was working out of my home which I lived with my family at the time and they hated the smell of nails so every time I would get a client, I would feel punished because they would yell at me because of the smell. One day I came home my stepfather was drunk arguing with me. I went to my room to try to avoid conflict and just avoid the whole situation overall, and that’s when he took a sledgehammer and smashed my nail table. at that point I wanted to give up so bad, all my hard work down the drain all the money I put into my business gone, I felt like the world was against me and that maybe I just wasn’t meant to do nails. Feeling discouraged but still dedicated to my dreams, I continued to do nails it was around July 2024 when my business really took off I quit my Sandwich shop job to pursue nails full-time and when I did that business started booming! I was getting fully booked meeting so many new great people, finding my community on Instagram and TikTok. The struggle and all the challenges I had endured definitely was worth it because I would not be where I am today without them and I’m so glad that I had the strength to believe in myself and my dreams because at the end of the day if you’re not gonna do it no one else will!
As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
I am a nail technician, I prefer to say nail artist though because I specialize in crazy creative designs! I’ve always been a creative artistic person since I was young, so I am grateful that I can showcase my work and my creative talents on peoples hands! I think what sets me apart from your basic nail tech is that I provide a genuine, amazing experience and girls get to leave with beautiful handpainted art on their nails! i’m the nail tech the girls who like creative, intricate designs come to! A lot of girls get into the nail industry just for the money, not because it’s something they’re passionate about and I think that sets me apart from the others as well because doing nails is my passion and I think it always will be. I love to make girls feel beautiful, and I showcase my art on multiple hands every day And meet so many great personalities along the way! It’s really a dream come true.
If we knew you growing up, how would we have described you?
Growing up, my family always had me in sports, which is pretty ironic because I was a pretty artistic kid. I always liked painting and drawing, even in moments when I should’ve been focusing on my schoolwork, I always found myself doodling distracted. I was a big daydreamer as well. I was a super shy kid always by myself, you would always find me hiding in my room drawing or doing something creative.
Pricing:
- Short set starting price $70
- Medium set starting price $80
- Long set starting price $90
- XTRA long set starting price $100
- XXL long set starting price $110
Contact Info:
- Website: https://clawzbycandi777.as.me/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/clawzbycandi?igsh=MWF4M3phZjhyeW02NQ%3D%3D&utm_source=qr
