Meet Adriana Gutierrez | Nail Artist and Technician

We had the good fortune of connecting with Adriana Gutierrez and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Adriana, how has your work-life balance changed over time?
Prior to the pandemic, my work-life balance was nonexistent. As an independent nail technician renting my own suite, I put a lot of pressure on myself to succeed. I was working 6 days a week every week. I’d cram all the clients I could in a day, and would not schedule myself a lunch break. I guess you could say I was girl-bossing my way into burnout.
Once the world shut down, I came to the realization that I hadn’t stood still in a long time. I recognized my body’s tiredness and lamented how much I had neglected my health. My job is very taxing on my body, and I love what I do, so in order to be able to work for a long time, I needed to make some changes. With all the extra time I had, I took the opportunity to evaluate my business model and daily time structure. I thought back to how I felt throughout the working day and concluded that my daily client limit should be cut down by half to only 3 services a day and I blocked off a whole hour for my lunch every day. I also changed the days I worked. Not only did I give myself a proper weekend, but I also decided to take Mondays off, making my work week from Tuesday to Friday. Having a three-day weekend every weekend is a dream come true, I don’t think I could ever give it back.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
Nail art is a form of self-expression and I love that I get to help people express themselves every day. What set me apart from a lot of other manicurists in my area, is that I am willing to push the envelope and attempt any funky nail art my clients throw my way. I really get to shine when they give me full reign on design because I implement products, colors, and designs they would have never gotten otherwise. It definitely was not easy getting to this point because I had to work through all my doubts and fears in order to allow my creativity to flow. I learned along the way that I need to trust that my hands will allow me to brush the right strokes and that my clients trust me and that’s why they come to me.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?

I am so lucky to live in LA where we have a vast variety of delicious foods from all countries and cultures. If I had a friend coming over from out of state, I would definitely love to show them a bit of everything we have to offer in our food scene. First, I have to take them to Portos to have a media noche, potato balls, and desserts.
If they were in the mood for Korean food, I would take them down to the Korean Town Plaza Food Court to try a bit of everything; spicy cold noodles, soondae (pork blood sausage), dduk ggochi (fried rice cakes), gimbap and tteokbokki. For dessert, we would go down the street to SomiSomi for ice cream and Huek Hwa Dang for a refreshing boba drink.
The next day we would stay in the Valley and I would take them to either Phillz Coffee to get a mint mojito latte or to Muffin Can Stop Us for their raspberry mocha latte and mother muffin salmon sandwich. For dinner, we would go to Pho So 1 and order either a blown of pho or a vermicelli bowl with pork and eggrolls.
For brunch the next day we would go to The Front Yard. They have amazing mimosas and a short rib hash. Then for dinner we would go to Casita in Sherman Oaks and get and order of the flaming panela, yellow tail aguachiles, crispy fish tacos, and a couple of their signature cocktails. To end the night I would take them to Afters Ice Cream to get a scoop of their dark matter and Thai tea ice cream.
I’m so happy I live in LA because I know I will never run out of restaurants to try.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
I’d love to shout out my husband because he is my number one fan. We met when I was still attending art school pursuing a degree in graphic design. I was in my last quarter before graduating and shared my goals with him of attending nail school and getting licensed. At that point, I realized I did not want to pursue a career as a graphic designer as I had only chosen that degree because it was somewhat of an acceptable artistic career choice in the eyes of my high school counselors and teachers. Not only did he encourage me to attend nail school, but he helped me pay for my tuition and financially supported me while I got my footing in my new career. He has been my rock and I would not have such a successful business without him.

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