Tech Talk: Carla May Wainwright

Scratch catches up with nail tech, Carla May Wainwright, to learn more about her industry journey…

Carla May Wainwright

Carla May Wainwright from Doncaster entered the nail industry five years ago when she left school. “My mum is also a nail technician, so I was brought up around nails and always modelled for her and loved watching her while being her guinea pig,” she says. “I work at Aphrodite in the Woolmarket in Doncaster, which has only been open since March last year.”

Her favourite nail creation was the little snowmen she painted at Christmas as well as a grey set she did recently, which was a marble design with a glitter fade. “My favourite acrylic to use is Nail Harmony (now Georgie Smedley Group), who I trained with and Glitterbels as I love the range of colours and glitters. I also work with Gelish and Halo for gel polish. Most of my clients let me do what I want now and never walk away disappointed. I love that they can put that much trust into me.”

Carla’s grey marble nails

Carla admires many nail techs in the industry and picks up different things from each person, whether it’s design ideas, shaping or following new trends. “My mum Laura Wainwright is one of my biggest inspirations as I wouldn’t be where I am if it wasn’t for her always being there to show me how to do things,” she says. “I have also been hugely inspired by the likes of Georgie Smedley Group educators Lauren Varley, Danielle Walker, Ilex Wood, as well as Gemma Lambert, Rachael Wilders, Bethany Stockell and Annabel from Glitterbels.”

Carla’s Snowman nail art

The biggest highlight of her career so far was last Christmas when she attempted nail art for the first time. “It was a success, as a lot of my clients who don’t usually have art decided to let me run free. I loved every second of it!”

Check out more of Carla’s work here.