From flowers to leopard print, Hannah Hiken (12) has seen and painted a variety of nail art. Driven by a passion for painting, Hiken has transformed her talent for intricate nail designs into a thriving small business, connecting with the Ladue community one meticulously painted nail at a time. 

“For a while, I’ve been doing my own nails,” Hiken said. “I started in middle school, and I kind of just kept doing my own nails and started developing that a little more.” 

With free time from the COVID-19 pandemic, Hiken began to develop her interest in painting nails.

“I definitely was doing my own nails a lot more during quarantine,” Hiken said. “That was eighth grade for me. I had a lot of downtime.” 

Continuing to paint nails throughout high school, Hiken’s first step of establishing her business was starting an Instagram account.

“My friend Kimmi had told me last year, ‘you should start a business for this, because they’re so good,’” Hiken said. “And I made her actually start an Instagram page.”

With some social media traction and support from her friends, Hiken’s business started to expand.

“When we first started the Instagram page, friends started coming in first, and there was a little bit of an off period,” Hiken said. “But during homecoming and prom this year, a lot more people came.”

Hiken buys all her nail supplies herself and allows clients to come to her house. Nail sets can take anywhere from two to three hours depending on the intricacy of the design. 

“I do like to keep it cheaper, since a lot of my clients are people I know,” Hiken said. “I usually charge 20 to 30 dollars.”

As word of Hiken’s nail business began to grow, she started to gain more clients that she wasn’t familiar with. 

“I just did someone’s nails who I don’t really know,” Hiken said. “She’s a sophomore, so I feel like it’s become a community thing.”

Although Hiken’s interest in nails started years ago, she has no plans of stopping anytime soon.

“In middle school, I definitely started just really basic,” Hiken said. “I started watching YouTube videos and that helped me learn and progress. But I still want to get better with accuracy and precision with my work.”

In addition to her nail business, Hiken also embraces art into other parts of her life, namely painting on canvases recreationally and performing in the school band. 

“I do really love art in general, and I do definitely want to incorporate it into my career and continue being a creative person,” Hiken said.

Hiken hopes to continue to bring people together through her nail business.

“I hope I can even continue my business a little in college,” Hiken said. “Maybe even give my roommates some nails.”