Mobile and freelance nail artist, Anta Wilkins of Nails2Empress shares her career progression with Scratch, and reveals her hopes for her future in the nail industry.
Since gaining her City & Guilds Level 3 Diploma in 2018, Anta continued to further her education, training with Glitterbels and Marie Nailz. She has also utilised Instagram to improve her skills, using the platform to learn from international techs including Viv Xue, Noodle_yess and Chaun Legend.
Anta Wilkins
Anta’s full time role is on a mobile, freelance basis, where she visits clients in their homes, workplaces, or hotels. “I work as an Elite Pro with some of the top beauty concierge companies in London, such as Ruuby, Secret Spa, Beautii, My Beauty Squad and Beauty on Demand,” Anta reveals.
She’s provided services to five star luxury hotel brands and has tended to a range of celebrity clientele, including Angelina Jolie, Nicole Scherzinger, Ashley Roberts, Ellie Goulding and Billie Piper. Her services include classic and gel manicures and pedicures, builder gel, nail extensions and nail art. “I offer literally everything nails,” she laughs.
Anta on a training course
“I usually see three to four clients a day, depending on the treatments and the amount of people I’ve got booked in. My hours normally start from midday until 9pm, and I’ll allocate a lunch break somewhere in between bookings.
“I also may have to stop home to change my kit, so I have to ensure I allocate time for that too,” Anta explains. “There’s definitely a lot of travelling involved with being mobile, but the flexibility makes it easier for me.”
Anta working on a client
Alongside her mobile and freelance nail services, Anta also sells press-on nails. “My journey with press-on nails started in 2019 when I bought some tips and experimented with different packaging boxes, but I couldn’t find anything that fitted with my brand.
“My dad became the mastermind behind my boxes,” she reveals. “I wanted something unique, so we decided to hand-make them in different colours. I wanted an easy way for clients to identify which nails are in which box, if they have a collection.”
Nails2Empress best-selling press-on nail design, Viola Snake Skin
Anta’s website offers a range of pre-designed sets, which are fully customisable with options to change length, shape and colour. Clients can also order custom designs through the site. “I love it when clients put through a custom order, because I get to showcase my skills and do something different every time.
“Selling press-ons really pushes me to get my creative juices flowing,” Anta enthuses. “I like to create designs that stand out and put my own twist on traditional styles.”
“If you’re like me and want a design change every week, press-ons are a perfect way to have such a frequent change of nail art.”
Anta shows the design process for her favourite press-on design, Love Struck
“The main challenge I’ve faced has been getting my brand seen on Instagram. As someone that doesn’t really use social media platforms, and juggling my mobile bookings, it can be quite hard keeping that consistent content going. Luckily, the flexibility of being mobile and freelance allows me to schedule my hours to suit the jobs I’ve been booked for, so I try to amend availability for bookings around press-on orders and content creation.
“The more time I put into social media, the better results I get,” she smiles. “I love to showcase my nail art skills, and platforms like Instagram help me to advertise my work to the world, which increases my opportunities for more work.”
Anta’s home workspace
Anta aspires to travel the world while providing her nail services and to work with different brands in the future, but is appreciating the journey she’s had to get to where she is already, having been a Scratch Stars Mobile Nailist of the Year finalist in 2022 and working with high-profile clientele.
“I’ve been blessed to have had many celebrity and VIP clients at such an early stage of my career,” Anta says. “My next focus is to hopefully get into the fashion industry and do editorial work, and possibly acquire more clients, In Sha Allah.”
Anta working on set with a client