Meet The World’s Star Nail Artist shortlist: TAN ADAMS, UK

Tan Adams is an nail pro based in Pontypool, Wales and one of the 21 shortlisted applicants in The World’s Star Nail Artist competition 2023. Get to know her, below…

What’s your background in nails? When and why did you enter the nail industry?

I was an artist before I was a nail technician and it was my love of art that drew me into the industry in 2014. I wanted a career where I could create art everyday but as I’m a people person, I also wanted to be able to interact with people; the nail industry spoke to me as a career where I could have both. I get to be creative every single day and at the same time, people will tell me their stories; I feel very blessed to have this job I love so much.

What’s been the highlight of your career to date?

The highlight of my career was attending Nail Camp BCN hosted by Uñas de Orsi in Santa Susanna, Spain last year as I had the opportunity to train under some of my personal industry heroes and made some fabulous nail tech friends. Just being in a room with so many people who share my passion was so inspiring. It was also my first time travelling abroad alone and I feel like it helped me to grow not only as a nail technician, but as a person too.

What are your career goals and aspirations?

I just want to keep pushing myself. I’m currently in the process of having the first salon that is entirely mine and my goal is to make it a space where people feel comfortable being themselves. I also want to compete more, especially in art based competitions because that’s where my passion truly lies and as competitions have already taught me that I can do things that I didn’t know I was capable of, I want to keep going to see where it takes me.

What kind of nail artist are you? What’s your signature style and favoured techniques?

Mostly I love hand painted design. I grew up reading a lot of comic books and my art is still influenced by that today. I love pop art, character design, and bold colours so I’d say my signature is that I’m a cartoonist as I utilise strong black outlines and cell shading techniques.

What do you love about working in the nail industry?

I Love that every day is different; I love working with clients, and I love that they share their lives with me. As nail techs, we are there for the all of the big moments in someone’s life, like their graduation, or their wedding, or new job, and we are there to support them in their difficulties times too. Being a nail tech is about more than just the nails, it’s about the people.

How did you feel to be shortlisted in The World’s Star Nail Artist competition?

The industry is full of so many highly skilled and talented artists,  and just to be able to share my art alongside them means the world to me; I was amazed and humbles to be chosen.

How did you find the preliminary challenge?

The preliminary challenge blew my mind! I read the brief over and over again before making a chart of everything that came to mind when reading it; I lost count of the number of designs I tried and discarded before settling on my final design. Once I was finished, I was so inspired that I just wanted the next challenge to come right away so that I could do it all over again

What is this competition doing for your profile and skillset?

I already feel as if my skills have been improved from this competition.  The preliminary challenge took me outside of my comfort zone and, as a result, made me try new things and change the way that I would normally approach a piece; that’s what I love about art though, that when you try something new you open up a whole new world of possibilities.

My followers have always been my biggest support, and that has been true of this competition too. I am currently in the process of rebranding so to have this competition alongside has given me so much more to be excited about.

If you could create artistic nails for anyone, dead or alive, who would it be and what design would you create?

I am a book lover, and my all time favourite author is Sir Terry Pratchett. I would have loved to design a set of nails for him, or for his daughter Rhianna based on the Discworld novels and characters that have always been such a huge part of who I am. Sir Terry had such an incredible imagination that has been an inspiration to me my whole life.

What would it mean to you to win this competition?

Art is the most important thing in my life; it is everything that I am, and it is in everything that I do. To win an art based competition would mean everything to me as I put my whole self into every set of nails that I create and there is nothing that means more to me than knowing that my work has made someone happy.

Follow Tan Adams: 

Instagram: _omega_nails_ 

Facebook: Omega Nails