‘To be completely honest, people are mostly shocked that my job actually exists!’ (Picture: Ama Quashie)
Welcome back to How I Made It, Metro.co.uk’s weekly career journey series.
This week we’re chatting with Ama Quashie, 38, from London, a nail artist known for having A-list clients, including the likes of Solange and Pink.
After working as a freelance session manicurist, the 38-year-old went on to open her own nail salon in Brixton, named Ama, so regular Londoners and celebs alike can get their nails perfected by her team.
Ama, a born and bred Londoner of Ghanaian heritage, has been in the industry for 13 years, and her salon will celebrate its fifth anniversary in October. She also has another newer site in Soho, called The Londoner.
‘We have a wide range of clients – when we constructed the flagship store in Brixton I wanted to make it really inclusive,’ she says.
‘The vision was to make it feel like a living room setting where you could come and meet friends, make new friends and submerse yourself in the local vibe really.
‘All in all our clientele are a mix of people from all backgrounds, ethnicities and religions, it’s really amazing to see and be involved in.’
Here’s how she became the go-to for everyone in need of manicure in the city.
Hey Ama, what made you get into nails?
After graduating from university with a media degree, I worked in TV production, advertising and then at a media agency.
After over five years of working in media, I had lost the passion for it and realised I wasn’t willing to make the sacrifices necessary to really make it.
In a bid to find direction I decided to immerse myself in things I’d always loved, so I enrolled in a jewellery design course as Central St Martins and did an NVQ in nail technology.
She works long hours (Picture: Ama Quashie)
Who are your celebrity clients? How did you build up your reputation to having those clients?
My first celebrity clients were Alexander Burke, Rita Ora and Pink.
I had a friend who did hair for musicians and she put me forward for a shoot, after I had a few under my belt people at the label and management company started booking me for their other artists.
Now thirteen years’ on, it works slightly differently as it’s usually the photographer, stylist or brand that request me via my agent and the talent/celeb is the model and subject of the campaign.
Some of the most recent people I’ve worked with are Zadie Smith, Elle Fanning and Dame Maggie Smith.
In terms of high profile clients, Emma Corrin, Michael Ward, Jessie Ware and Elle Fanning have become a regular at our Londoner Hotel store.
Usually I follow a brief set out by the brand or the stylist they’re attached to, and sometimes the celebrity also has suggestions or requests.
It varies entirely from shoot to shoot!
Ama did FKA Twigs’ nails here (Picture: Ama Quashie)
Do you ever get star struck? Are there any fun pinch me celeb encounters you’ve had?
Absolutely! Almost to the point at times where it can be somebody I really like and I’d love to work with them, but I can get very nervous beforehand because I’m so in awe of them.
Usually though, within half an hour of working with them I ease into it. A lot of this job is based around talking and finding a connection with people.
I try to do this with all clients and once you begin a conversation you realise you can relate to everybody in certain ways. It’s a really lovely side of the job.
The main pinch-me moment that springs to mind is with one of my favourite painters, Lynette Yiadom-Boakye, as I found out she goes to The Londoner salon.
She’s a Ghanaian painter whose work features in the Tate. I actually have a few of her prints in my home, and as the background on my phone (I’m a super fan).
Similarly, there is a social activist from London, Kwajo Tweneboa who comes to the salon and I’ve actually bumped into him while he’s been there, which made me feel incredibly proud.
Oh! And not forgetting the time I was starstruck by Keanu Reeves while I was in Paris to shoot the Saint Laurent campaign. He was the loveliest client and he couldn’t believe I’d come all the way from London to do his nails.
And she’s done Bella Hadid’s nails too (Picture: Ama Quashie)
What’s your favourite or coolest project you’ve worked on?
Nails aren’t often seen or don’t make the final photo, due to a hand being in a pocket or a tight crop on the picture.
So our time to shine is usually a bag campaign, fashion week or a beauty campaign.
I’ve been very lucky with all three, from creating 3D-printed nails, to floating black and gold leather hearts for an Alaïa show, to working with Chanel for their first ever nail campaign.
She gets star struck sometimes (Picture: Ama Quashie)
The last was a very big pinch me moment as the iconography of Chanel is unmatched.
And after working on it for over a year, the world was seeing the double CC embossed nails I’d created on billboards, magazines and in stores everywhere.
Is there anything that might surprise people about your job or your career journey?
To be completely honest, people are mostly shocked that my job actually exists!
Makeup artists and hair stylists within fashion/the entertainment industry are more widely known by the general public.
However, the idea that nail artists exist simply for editorials, advertising campaigns or fashion week blows people’s minds – on a regular basis.
What was it like career changing out of media?
I was really luck and my boss in my last employed full-time role was extremely supportive and encouraging of my nail career, often asking to see my name in the magazine credits when a shoot I’d done had came out.
The plan was always to become a session manicurist full-time and I had been working jobs on my days off for a few years.
The decision was finally made when we were both made redundant so I took that as my sign to do it and went completely freelance.
Ama does all kinds of designs (Picture: Ama Quashie)
I know you’re passionate about using free-from products – can you tell me a bit about that?
A big misconception around nails is that they are alive and need to breath – they aren’t.
Anything you can see on the outside, nail plate is already dead.
They are very porous though, so we have to be very conscious of what’s put on top of them.
Nail products have come on massively in the last decade, with amazing brands creating varnish, gel and nail care that’s vegan, cruelty free and free from all the nasties without comprising on colour and lifetime.
When we set up the salon nearly five years ago it felt the natural and perfect opportunity to showcase this new approach to nails.
This was a much-needed advancement in the industry as beauty doesn’t need to come at the compromise of our health.
Edgy (Picture: Ama Quashie)
An average day in the working life of Ama Quashie:
‘There’s no real average in terms of timings as it varies depending on the client, team but most importantly what our brief is,’ Ama says.
‘If it’s a particularly beauty specific job we may have created decks (mood boards) and had meetings to discuss beforehand, however often it’s done on the day which means you have to have a large kit to cover all options.
Stunning (Picture: Ama Quashie)
‘The longer you’ve been doing this job you get a better gauge of how different teams work and how they partition their time based to create and shoot.’
What do you love most about your job?
It’s funny because the thing I was the most scared of while working in media was being freelance, so I always choose roles that were contracted and permanent.
However, as a session manicurist I’m completely freelance, ironically I love the freedom it brings the versatility of experiences and people I work with.
For my job to work I have to be face-to-face and in continual physical contact so you naturally pick up a lot from your client.
Humans are mad and complex yet we’re all the same and that commonality intrigues me.
What do you dislike the most?
This is an easy one: the call times have no upper or lower limit, I can start work at 3am or 8pm.
A job can be two hours or it can be sixteen.
My cat feeder is always loaded up and cat sitter on speed dial for all eventualities so that Harmony (my 20-year-old cat) is all good regardless of what time I get home.
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‘To be completely honest, people are mostly shocked that my job actually exists!’