My Haven as a College Student

Named after me, Tessa Bloom, Press on Nails in Bloom started as a hobby. I would refuse to get my nails done at salons for fear of prices, especially as a college student, struggling to get by, but I desperately wanted to feel beautiful all the way down to my fingertips. So, I started doing my own nails.

It started out pretty rough, and I didn’t even know the difference between gel and acrylic nail polish. Slowly, I built up more confidence, tried new things, and started earning money as a teenager to afford better nail polish and supplies.

After getting repeat compliments on my nails, and many friends and family members begging me to do their nails, an idea sparked in my head. I had already been having an incredibly hard time finding a job, and any job that looked promising wouldn’t align with my busy college schedule. I had also decided I wanted to socialize more in school by joining clubs, a sorority, and take the most amount of classes to graduate early, so a normal job wasn’t in the cards for me. Thus, Press on Nails in Bloom was born.

One of my favorite memories from starting is swearing I would never use press-ons (thinking they would always hurt and fall off), gemstones, or have long nails. Now, it feels weird to type on my computer without long nails and you’ll almost never see me without my gemstones.

Being a small business owner, I make it my personal mission to get to know my customers, and design nails that will be comfortable, cute, inexpensive while still looking as if they are straight from the salon, and most of all, make them feel beautiful. Offering kids nails as well—in honor of my younger sisters who don’t fit into even the smallest regular tips—makes my business unique and personable, and hopefully will reach farther and inspire others to follow their passions as well.