EVERY YEAR in Gatlinburg, Tennessee, hundreds of nail techs worldwide gather to network, shop, and learn at the Nail Tech Event of the Smokies. As the largest nails-only show in North America, this provides a unique opportunity for nail professionals in the South — all because of the hard work of Bowling Green’s own nail tech, Jill Wright.
The event started as a dream after Wright was continually disappointed at other beauty shows.
“I had flown to the bigger shows, and when I say big shows, we’re talking international hair, skin, and nail shows,” Wright said. “Nail techs are typically the red-headed stepchildren of the industry — we’re pushed to the back into a corner and not given much attention.”
Wright said most shows are in big cities, not in the South, and primarily taken up by hair booths. There were very few nail companies and little opportunity to meet other nail techs.
“I thought, ‘Wouldn’t it be fun to do a little networking event?’ Because I had been to one at one of the shows,” Wright said. “It was small, in a back room. Most of the people couldn’t even find it, so we had [about] 10 people in the room.”
Networking was one of her goals, but education was just as important. The South was underserved when it came to nail education, and even beauty schools had a limited curriculum. To solve that, Wright began working on a small networking event. Her goal was to gather just 50 techs and for a few nail companies to send educators. There were many companies to choose from, but few were interested in the event.
“It was like the biggest hurdle you ever saw,” Wright said. “Back then, nail companies had not heard of a nail tech networking event, so I literally got rejection after rejection.”
Wright was working full time as a nail tech, and she spent her mornings and nights sending emails and trying to find people to come. Finally, she found enough attendees, but it was so difficult that Wright determined not to do it again. The nail techs, on the other hand, had a different idea. The event was such a resounding success that many of them begged Wright to do it again.
“It liked to have killed me, putting that on, and I thought there’s no way I could do this again,” Wright said. “But the nail techs loved it, and they begged me. They were like, ‘Jill, we need this because our area of the South is so underserved.’ When nail companies would send educators to teach classes, they would send them to the big cities, and they weren’t down South — none of the big cities were down South.”
Wright and the many family, friends, and clients who volunteer for the event have since grown it from its original 50 to the hundreds it serves today. By the third year, they outgrew their first venue and the next venue the year after, and by the fifth, they moved into the Gatlinburg Convention Center. All of that hard work was to serve her profession.
“We nail techs deserve education just like everybody else,” Wright said. “I just wanted to prove to the entire beauty industry that it could be done. I had a vision for what I wanted to happen in the South, and I made it happen.”
For many techs, that education can be vital to their careers. Working in the profession involves more than just polishing nails — techs need to know the chemistry and science behind what they do and the signs of diseases and disorders. Many go further and get their medical nail tech certification as well. Beyond that, Wright said she hopes the event shows young, budding nail techs how many career options are available to them.
“There’s just so many more possibilities aside from just sitting at the nail table working all day — which is fun to do, but at some point, most people want more out of their life,” Wright said. “Being a nail tech can offer that.”
The Nail Tech Event of the Smokies offers a lot to those who attend, but the story behind it can teach all of us. Wright’s dream of a fun little networking event has grown into something that affects hundreds of her fellow professionals every year and the thousands of people those nail techs serve. Hard work and determination truly do bring about incredible results. GN
