For many students, side hustles are a quick way to make some extra cash while pursuing their studies. For junior Simar Kaur, her passion for nail art has turned her creativity into compassion as she donates all the money she makes from her small business to the UCLA Mattel Children’s Hospital.
Kaur became affiliated with the UCLA Mattel Children’s Hospital after beginning her internship in May of 2024, where she worked with and listened to medical professionals explain different aspects of their field multiple times a week online, which sparked her deep interest in the field. The yearlong internship required raising $1250 toward the hospital as well as participating in service projects to benefit the children.
“I made cards for them during holidays to uplift their spirits,” Kaur said. “I made some little mandala design papers as decorations for their rooms with the main goal of raising money.”
Although Kaur began to raise money through efforts like one-on-one tutoring, Kaur did not have sufficient time during the school year to consistently mentor kids. Meanwhile, she began practicing nail designs on herself during the summer and created a nail art Instagram page, inspired by others she saw.
“I started with my friends,” Kaur said. “I started following a lot of people to gain traction, and then when I would do my friends’ nails, they would repost their nails being done on my account, @nails.by.simark. Then, I would see other people DMing me on that account asking, ‘Oh, can you do my nails for prom?’ I would just start setting up appointments that way and getting clients.”
Simar Kaur began by practicing on her younger sister, freshman Sana Kaur, which built up her confidence to do more complex designs.
“I saw her really improve,” Sana Kaur said. “Now she can do so many cool designs, like French. She can do so much more stuff just with nail art and the brushes. I think she’s really taken her time to learn and grow with that. It’s just a passion that she has been able to develop so much.”
After some practice, Kaur expanded to begin doing sets on her close friends throughout the school year.
“Simar was very thorough with all of my nails,” junior Luci Pa said. “As a new nail tech she was able to really hone on the little details that go into acrylic nails. The design of my french tips were very clean and she just did a great job overall.”
Having reached her goal of $1,250 over prom weekend, Simar Kaur will continue her business with about six sets a month, continuing to donate to UCLA Mattel Children’s Hospital.
“From Winter Formal to Prom, I’ve seen a lot more growth in the business,” Simar Kaur said. “Now where I’m at, I don’t have time to do that many people’s nails. In the summer, I’d want to do more people’s nails and advertise it more, because I’ll have more time again.”
