Home Local News Success Story: Hamlet Woman Opens “Creative Beauty and Nail Academy”

Success Story: Hamlet Woman Opens “Creative Beauty and Nail Academy”

Chanda Jenkins, owner of Creative Beauty and Nail Academy, poses in front of her school's Hamlet location.
Photo courtesy of Betty McIntyre.

HAMLET – While Richmond County continues to blossom with new businesses, a sudden buzz was created for local community members to check out Creative Beauty and Nail Academy, located at 21 W. Hamlet Avenue.

Chanda Jenkins, the salon’s owner, has an intriguing tale about what drove her to the decision to open her own local business.

Jenkins’ husband was in the military, which means they moved often from place to place. While living in Tennessee, she decided to go back to work while she was pregnant with her second child. Unknowingly, Jenkins’ husband had signed her up for nail school at Queen City Beauty College in Clarksville, TN.

“This was not my first choice of a career,” Jenkins said. At the time, I was far more interested in sports and fitness.”

Reluctant at first, and unsure of what to expect, Jenkins decided to attend the school. Before she completed the course, her husband got orders to move to Germany, so to Germany they went.

While getting her hair done, Jenkins overheard her beautician speaking to someone about needing a nail technician in the shop. Jenkins casually mentioned that she had started school in Tennessee, but didn’t complete the course due to the move.

Germany doesn’t require a person to have completed a course, so she was eligible to fill the slot. Despite still having a desire for sports and fitness, Jenkins stepped out of her comfort zone and accepted the position.

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“I remember on my first day, it took me two and a half hours to do my first full set of nails,” Jenkins said. “But I began to see the benefits of being a nail technician. And I learned to love it!”

Jenkins and her husband stayed in Germany for three and a half years, before returning to the United States. She knew she had to complete her course as a nail technician if she wanted to work here, so she enrolled in school at Love You Too Nail Academy in Florence, S.C.

In 2006, Jenkins completed her course and began working in Richmond County for Bo and Company, remarkably the week she graduated. Bo and Company has since been renamed Dreamworx Day Spa. While she was employed there, Jenkins developed a desire to open a nail school in Richmond County.

Jenkins decided to step out into a new adventure and open her own school, which she calls Creative Beauty and Nail Academy. Still employed at Dreamworx as a nail technician on Fridays, Jenkins teaches at her nail school Monday through Thursday from 9 a.m. to 6:30 p.m., and Sunday from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Her first class graduated on July 27, 2017, which consisted of students ranging from ages 20 to 69 years old. Each student started a job immediately after graduating. In order to graduate from Jenkins’ class, full-time students take classes for eight weeks, and part-time classes last between 12 and 16 weeks.

There is capacity for 14 students at one time, and Jenkins can also accommodate students on the weekend. To be eligible, students must be at least 15 years old to enroll. Interested applicants can apply by calling Jenkins at (910 557-1431, or on her school’s website creativebeautyandnailacademy.com. 



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