Nail Tech Talk: Hannah Miles of Nails By Han
By Callie Iley | 28 January 2023 | Feature, Tech Talk
Sheffield-based tech, Hannah Miles of Nails By Han, sits down with Scratch to share her nail journey and her 2023 career goals.
Hannah’s interest in nails was sparked at around 13 or 14 years old, doing her own nails after school. She rekindled her love for nails during lockdown. “Like many others, I had nothing to do but scroll through social media. I came across a few nail accounts and started to watch tutorials daily. I was fascinated by watching all these amazing nail techs create the most stunning work,” she remembers.
This prompted Hannah to start looking for nail courses, eventually enrolling in online training to gain her qualification.
“Glitter has been really popular with my clients, especially reflective glitter,” Hannah reveals. The most popular style for my clients is a French tip, but many of them swap out the white for either a glitter or a coloured tip.
“I follow a lot of amazing nail techs who produce stunning work, some of which I am lucky enough to call friends. I love getting inspired by others and putting my own twist on designs or changing up the colours. I try and make the most of Instagram’s explore page, and I’ll sit, scroll, save and screenshot any pictures I want to try. I’m also a member of Nail Tech Org, where you can access hundreds of tutorials, so a lot of my inspiration comes from the videos I’ve watched there.”
“I work in a salon part time, so the next career step for me will be to move to full time when I’ve got a full client base. I would also love to work more with my favourite brands this year and do a few collaborations, which would be a dream come true for me.
“I love everything about the nail industry, especially meeting and chatting with new people every day, and getting creative with nail designs,” she enthuses. “Every set of nails are different and I love that. I also love the support that comes with the nail industry – the amount of nail techs you can connect with over the world is amazing to me. I was so shocked at how lovely and helpful people who you’ve never met can be.”
“Being a nail tech doesn’t feel like work to me – I wake up and look forward to working in the morning!”
“The highlight of my career so far is being asked to be a brand ambassador for one of my favourite nail art brands, Nail Stamping Queen UK,” Hannah beams. “I had been using NSQ products since my first course in February 2021, and had only been officially self-employed for 3 months before I got asked about the role.
“I honestly couldn’t believe it, but it was the easiest yes ever. Instagram can be hard as sometimes you don’t feel seen, or your work sometimes goes unappreciated, so that for me is the biggest highlight so far.”
“My main goal of 2023 is to be working full time as a nail technician,” she says. “I’m not sure on my long-term goals in my nail career, that’s still something I need to have a think about.
“I know my future will be something in the nail industry. Whether that be opening my own salon, working for a nail brand or even training to become an educator. That’s the beauty of the nail industry, the possibilities are endless.”
