The End

Five and a half years ago, Nailed It NZ begun. What started as a hobby grew quickly into a passion; one that I believed would never die. I daydreamed about where I would take it, and adamantly stated that I'd still be painting cartoon characters on my nails in my retirement. Every new follower was a thrill - and then I started getting things to review! It went from strength to strength, and I was blown away as my followers went from ten to 10,000, to where it is now at a combined following of over 200,000. I trained as a nail technician. I won competitions, met celebrities, threw myself off the Auckland Harbour Bridge on live radio. I've met friends for life, developed a brush and file line... and that takes me to where I am now.

While summed up in a quick paragraph, it all sounds great; but in reality I've spent five years of weekends and late nights cooped up in whatever space I've allowed for my nail art. It always had to come first, and when you allow 4-6 hours for filming, 4-8 hours for editing and several more hours for promotion, there isn't a lot of weekend left. Often I'd finally complete my to-do list, and triumphantly announce that my weekend has now begun... only to realise it was now 5pm on a Sunday. It took me a long time to settle into Auckland, with a key factor being that my recreational time was limited.

And the funny thing is, despite all this, I was fine. The passion for nails withheld so much! I could write a book on everything I experienced and the good and bad sides of humanity I saw along the way - but the love of nail art remained strong.

Until, it didn't.

I'm not sure exactly when it started, but I know the last few months have been a real confirmation of it. I kept trying to reinvigorate it, thinking it was just a phase; but the reality is that I'm just not that interested in nail art any more.

It's not coincidental that this coincides with the growth of my "normal" career. I'm an early childhood teacher, and for the last year I've been fortunate to be in an amazing job with inspiring leaders and a strong career path. I love going to work, I love being around people, laughing, having fun, planning the future, developing my professional and personal skills. I love the kids I work with, and my colleagues are pretty amazing as well. Sitting at home, alone, editing video after video, blog post after blog post no longer has any appeal to me.

The funny thing is, I always thought I'd be upset when I eventually wrapped this up, but I'm not at all. My husband and I are about to embark on a whole new chapter of our lives; making big life decisions and facing new challenges, and I don't want to start them clinging on to old dreams. It's time for new ones.

This means that I'll no longer be updating Nailed It NZ on any platform, and my shop will shut on Thursday the 28th September 2017 at 11.59pm. All of my accounts on YouTube, Facebook, Instagram etc will still stay active, and of course can still be used to help you out for ideas and techniques.

I hope this isn't too much of a let down for those amazing people who have been so supportive for such a long time. Believe me, I will never forget your names; your kind words and love of my work really made a difference. But all good things come to an end - or else how can we make room for the great things?

I'm going all-out for a short closing down sale - everything is 50% off at shopnaileditnz.com. The last day for ordering is Thursday 28 September (remember, I'm in New Zealand), and I'll be canceling my shop subscription at the end of the month. If you really want some brushes or files at a later date, you can email me - use my naileditnztutorials@gmail.com one - the other one I'll probably get redirected as it has a cost associated with it.

Again, thank you. I'm so happy I went on this journey and it's taught me so much. I can't wait to see what the next chapter in my life brings.

♥

Jessie