Sharing her talent for nail art with the Vanderbilt community, first-year student Joanna Rydberg has started her own nail business based out of the Stambaugh House area, providing affordable nail-painting services to Vanderbilt students. 

Originally from Denver, Colo., Rydberg started painting her own nails at around age 10. However, as she grew older, her relationship with painting her nails began to change. In middle school, she began to see the process as a way to create a moment of peace in her day that ends with her having finished nails. 

“I started being like, this is a relaxing thing for me,” Rydberg said. “Yes, I do it because then I have painted nails, but I also do it because it helps me calm down and slow down during my day.”

During the COVID-19 lockdown, Rydberg began wanting to craft professional-looking nail art for herself and her two older sisters.

“I bought this whole nail kit set on Amazon that cost about $10 for a set of fine brushes and other tools that you’d see in nail salons,” Rydberg said. “I would experiment with designs and try to make it look as professional as possible. I would also paint my sisters’ nails during that time. Once I got good enough, they really wanted me to.”

Throughout high school, painting nails remained a fun hobby for Rydberg to do for her friends. But after she started college, her roommate’s experience with booking an appointment in Nashville led to the motivation for Rydberg to start her business.

“My roommate [said] the [nail] places are either far away, really expensive or just really hard to fit into the schedule of her day,” Rydberg said. “When she finally did get an appointment, it cost about $70.”

Rydberg said she realized then that the difficulty of getting nails painted affordably in college was a problem she could help solve. 

“I brought all my nail stuff to college because I wanted to keep doing my own nails,” Rydberg said. “But if I can provide a service for other people at a very discounted price, then it takes away the stress for other people of having to go somewhere and make an appointment that might take up a ton of time in their day.”

Rydberg is adamant about her desire to provide an affordable service. While she appreciates getting paid for her time and dedication, she wants to prevent people from being stressed about the financial implications of booking appointments every two to three weeks to upkeep nails. She charges $10 for a regular manicure and $15 for a regular pedicure. For gel nails, her price is $20 for a manicure and $25 for a pedicure.

“I don’t see my prices changing anytime soon,” Rydberg said. “[Sometimes] I just do it for free, because I don’t need the money. I’m doing it for fun.”

Apart from the fun of nail painting, Rydberg continues to recognize the value of the relaxation that the experience provides. She is potentially majoring in elementary education and child development. Being motivated by the opportunity to paint nails after finishing her classwork has allowed her to cultivate a productive and healthy mindset.

“Mental-health-wise, I just feel like it’s so nice to have that relaxing time in your day,” Rydberg said. “I also feel like other people can get their nails done and have someone to just talk and relax with.” 

Rydberg’s motivations for providing a nail art service for these clients are simple.

“When I’m going about my day and then I see my nails are done, people compliment [them, and] it just becomes little points in your day where you can feel good about something. That’s one of the reasons why I really love it, and then I love it when that happens for other people,” Rydberg said.

When painting her own nails, Rydberg likes to try out new designs, taking inspiration from a variety of sources including Pinterest designs, poster graphics and designs on others’ nails. She said her favorite nail look is hard to pin down, depending partly on the specific occasion. Still, she said that her current nails — purple and white geometrical french tip nails — are one of her favorite designs that she has ever done.

“I really like the classy look where there’s a little bit of fun color differences and glitter, just like different accents,” Rydberg said. “I also like the French tip style, where most of your nail doesn’t have any color on it.” 

Clients can book a nail appointment with Rydberg via her Instagram: @joannas_nail_salon.  Additionally, clients can DM her about specific questions related to nail designs and scheduling an appointment. Her one request for clients is that they arrive to appointments without wearing gel nail polish because she does not have professional-grade tools for gel polish removal.

When asked about her long-term goals for her business, Rydberg was quick to jump back to the heart of her nail service philosophy. 

“If it grows, that would be amazing,” Rydberg said. “And if it stays this little thing where I’m just doing my friends’ nails, and a few times a week I just get the pleasure of sitting down and making someone’s nails look really nice — I’d totally be fine with that.”