Ever since she was young, Joy Wiscovitch has been an expressive person.

In December 2024, Wiscovitch made her first press-on nail set and fell in love with the creativity it allowed.

“I always had a passion for painting and art, and I wanted to put art on something that people walk around on so that they’re like a live portrait, if that makes sense,” Wiscovitch said.

She named her business Nails and Joy, a play on words with her name and what she does.

Ever since she started her business, Wiscovitch’s friends and family have been extremely supportive. Her mom helped purchase a lot of her materials, and her friends let her practice designs on their nails. 

Wiscovitch practices new techniques and social media content with her friends. Senior Gabriela Hernandez, one of Wiscovitch’s close friends says she often gets asked by Wiscovitch to practice nail art on. 

“It shows how passionate she is about it…I always help her with that,” Hernandez said.

Wiscovitch is working towards getting her cosmetology license. She plans to go to cosmetology school after she graduates from high school, but since cosmetology school can cost up to  $20,000, she wants to make money to save up for her tuition. Even though Wiscovitch focuses mainly on nail art right now, she wants to expand her skills on everything cosmetology related.

Wiscovitch has gotten her certifications in Gel X and acrylics in lieu of a license until she can attend cosmetology school. Her certifications for Gel X and acrylics cost her $1,200 – a price she’s willing to pay to start off her career. 

Texas law for nail salons requires sanitation and cleanliness, which she had learned and practiced for by obtaining her Barbacide Certification.

Wiscovitch is currently training in a nail salon in Atascocita. She wants to gain professional experience before going to cosmetology school. Since the salon she’s training at is a privately-owned business, she’s able to work there without her cosmetology license. Working at the salon also helps Wiscovitch gain hours, which is necessary for getting a license in cosmetology.

Even though she’ll be working for a professional salon, she still wants to maintain her own nail business on the side. 

“I don’t really want to let go or like, let my brand disintegrate while I’m working for someone else because I’ve worked so hard to create this business,” Wiscovitch said.

Wiscovitch has also started a collaborative stand with her friend at Kingwood’s local farmer’s market. Wiscovitch sells press-on nail sets, and has a “Mix and Match” option where customers can choose between a large variety of press-on nails that can be pieced together to make their own custom set. 

Aside from the supplies that she already has on hand, creating the stand costs $100. 

“It’s not a lot for some people, but for a person that is saving up, it’s really expensive,” Wiscovitch said.

Not only was the process expensive, it was also time consuming.

“I had to hand paint each and every single one…it took me all night,” she said.

Luckily, Wiscovitch’s friend and coworker, senior Emily Le has helped provide Wiscovitch with materials for their stand. With Le’s mother having done multiple markets before, she was able to get tables and chairs for their farmer’s market.

Working the farmer’s market together has made Le and Wiscovitch closer. Le notices Wiscovitch’s hard work ethic and effort she puts into her work.

“
I think she undersells herself, to be honest. It’s just very high quality and there’s a lot of love and effort put into it,” Le said.

Wiscovitch is also the secretary and treasurer of Kingwood Park’s National Art Honor Society. She took the role to strengthen her skills with finances so she can be prepared to run her own business in the future.

“I have goals to have my own business and hire other recruiters because I wanna give the same opportunity that I was able to have,” Wiscovitch said.

Wiscovitch aspires to create her own business to give other artists experience. She wants to be able to teach people about finances and how to run their own business. Even if someone doesn’t specialize in nails, Wiscovitch would still like to support other artists by giving them a space to display their artwork. She knows how frustrating it can be to want a career in art, but not being able to gain the experience that the art industry wants when it comes to employment.

“Artists are definitely overlooked and there’s not a lot of opportunities unless you make those opportunities for yourself,” she said.