My name is Elena Farr and I've been a Kinetics Instructor since 2008. I'm based in Peterborough, Cambridge, about an hour north of London. I have a varied and exciting job, but that wasn't always the case.

I racked up thousands of university hours getting an economics degree in the snowy depths of middle Russia. Books and course fees were paid for by endless hours serving chicken and chips at a fast-food restaurant...all mind-numbingly boring but, hey, it paid the bills. Finally, I graduated and landed a plum sales job on the alcohol market.

Deep down, though, I realised that I was yearning for a more creative role – something where every job I did was different and my work had a real effect on peoples' lives. I didn't know it at the time, but I was about to move into the exciting, intricate, and detailed world of the nail technician. The change corresponded with a move to England: a leap of faith into a very different world.

My husband had a job that, hours-wise, demanded twice the weekly norm. He encouraged me to revive my hobby and, on my birthday, I awoke to find a huge box with a Nails kit, complete with rubber hand (that freaked the dog a bit). I began to experiment, first with acrylic nail enhancement, and then with gel. I honed my nail art skills.

I'd done a little back in Russia – not as a professional, but as an amateur – and had really enjoyed it, though it had concentrated more on natural nails and nail art than on extensions. People began to notice my nails as I experimented on myself, and pretty soon I was doing friends' nails – not for cash, but for the reward of a smile.

An internet course I took served me well, and I landed a part-time job in a local salon, got my own regular clients, and earned my first salary. It was tiny, but who cared? I was doing nails.

But I wanted more. I met with Margarita Belska, qualifying first as a Kinetics Technician and then as an Instructor, learning a lot from one of the best in the industry. While I hadn't been doing nails for years and years like some, I had been putting in very long hours. The combined workload in our family was about 150 hours a week. Crazy stuff. Nevertheless, I passed the course and became an Instructor, teaching future nail technicians the finer intricacies of this very specialised and demanding job.

I love it. Everyone brings slightly different skills and works at a slightly different pace. Some are taught the course in English, others in my native Russian. I've made some very good friends. Doing nails is what gets me up in the morning – my husband trudges off to his job as a teacher; I spring out of bed, keen to get to work. I've also opened my own studio in 2009; it’s designed, decorated, and painted exactly how I wanted it. It's like a home-from-home.

They call me Smiler. Now you know why.

back