Conversations with Victoria Young

Today we’d like to introduce you to Victoria Young

Hi Victoria, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I have always had a passion for art from a very young age. I wanted to share the happiness that creating beautiful things brought me. I originally went to college for art education, planning on teaching high school art. I studied and did my best, but I quickly found that was not the route meant for me. I dropped out and spent some time teaching art at a couple of places, still trying to find my niche. For my 20th birthday, my dad paid for me to get my nails done, and I met a nail tech that opened my eyes to a world of possibilities. She told me if I have a passion for art, I should try doing nails. Nail artists were few and far between, and I saw an opportunity for myself. I immediately enrolled in nail school. After I graduated and passed state boards I got a job at my first salon. I spent so much time refining my skills and trying to be better every single day. I really enjoyed my job, I just had a desire to really narrow down on nail art as a focus. I began thinking of possibilities, and had the thought of how cool it would be to do nails inside of a tattoo shop. I kept working, trying to figure out how to bring this vision to life. I then met my good friend Dom, who works at Ink Therapy with me. We became close, and I fell in love with love with the environment of the tattoo shop. Through my time getting tattooed there, I also became close with Brittni, one of the owners of Ink Therapy. She does lash extensions out of Studio XO, the attached salon inside of the tattoo shop. I begged her for an opportunity to bring nails into their shop, and she took a chance on me. Fast forward two years later, and I now do nails inside the coolest place to work alongside Taylor, another amazing nail tech I am lucky to work with.

Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
It has certainly not been easy. I’ve had mentors tell me to go back to school, phones thrown at me by clients, and everything in between. I also continued to do nails despite being displaced from my home due to personal struggles, and it has really taught me to be grateful for all the opportunities I have been given and to never stop working hard. My clientele and passion for my craft are always what get me through tough times in life.

Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
I am a gel only nail tech specializing in nail art. I offer gel x extensions as well as builder gel to help clients grow their natural nails. I am most proud of the uniqueness of the art I create. I don’t know many nail techs doing thanksgiving dinner nails or nails with ducks on them. I want to continue to push the envelope with creating. I think what sets me apart from other nail techs is the experience I create for my clients. I encourage people to come as they are, and I do the same! We swear, laugh, joke and paint silly things on nails. I am here to help express peoples self identity, no matter what that is.

If you had to, what characteristic of yours would you give the most credit to?
I feel to my success specifically, my quality has been resilience. No matter what life throws at me, I find a way to get back up.

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