Some believe that everyone has their own “lady luck”, whether they are a family member or a mentor at work.
For 21-year-old Hazel Wah, owner of nail salon Eden’s Atelier Co., her “lady luck” turned out to be global pop sensation Madison Beer, who made headlines for paying S$3,460 for the salon’s monthly rental on top of the manicure she received for her concert in Singapore.
It’s been about a month since Hazel’s story went viral. How is the salon doing now?
From a poly dropout at 18 to opening a nail salon
But first, we need to go back to the beginning, when Hazel boldly decided to drop out of school at 18—something that not many people her age dare to do.
“I only dropped out early on as I wanted to be financially independent to support myself!” Hazel exclaimed. She went on to work multiple part-time jobs, such as cashiering, performing admin tasks at an office, and even teaching children at a childcare centre.
Despite juggling many roles, Hazel lacked an avenue to generate immediate cash and figured that becoming a nail technician could allow her to get paid after providing her services.
This spurred her to hone her skills, and together with a business partner, they invested S$3,000 to open a small nail art studio at the end of 2022 named berrybearynails, which was eventually renamed to totonailstudio.
The path that led to Madison Beer
Getting their name out was the biggest challenge for small nail art businesses like Hazel’s, which led her to collaborate with a local content creator to spread awareness and help her gain traction.
The growing support from her clients eventually gave Hazel the confidence to “take a leap of faith” to move to a bigger location, offering more services and hiring more nail technicians. She also renamed the business from totonailstudio to Eden’s Atelier Co. earlier this April.
However, things were not as rosy when her relationship with her business partner started to sour.
While Hazel stated that she does not want to divulge too many details as she does not want him to be “affiliated with any form of a bad reputation”, she shared that it was due to her partner’s lack of financial support.
“To cut it short, he wasn’t present when financial troubles arose, which caused me to struggle,” she stated, having since parted ways with him a few months later.
The split only left Hazel financially strapped, and she lost over S$20,000 to keep up with the monthly rental fees and other expenses, including electricity bills and monthly salaries for her team.
“My fiance and friends [also] aided me by helping me out slightly with finances. They loaned me money here and there to help me keep the business afloat,” lamented Hazel. She also received a S$500 loan from another content creator friend she made on TikTok to make ends meet.
As Hazel continued to tide through and even debated moving back into a smaller studio to make ends meet, she received a DM on Instagram from, surprise, surprise, Madison Beer!
In an Instagram carousel, Hazel explained that upon learning about Hazel’s predicament, the starlet paid for her nails and her rental for the month! Ultimately, this became a lifeline for Hazel, and even a month later, she remains in awe of the experience.
It felt really surreal and I am still, really in disbelief by what happened. She was genuinely so nice and I’ll eternally be grateful for her actions! I never thought people could be so nice to others and I would like to pass it on after I manage to succeed.
Hazel Wah, founder of Eden’s Atelier Co.
A month later, how is the business doing now?
Since sharing her story, Eden’s Atelier Co.’s Instagram account grew by over 4,000 followers to 9,120 total at the time of writing. All their nail technicians, including Hazel, have been fully booked for appointments.
“Bookings have definitely picked up! For instance, we could have one to two appointments per day last time, but now, we have three to four per day!” she excitedly shared.
While Hazel is delighted at the support she has received, she admitted that the business was not prepared for the sudden influx of customers. She explained that she and her team had to work overtime to fit in more appointments and simultaneously fulfil multiple orders for press-on nails.
To sustain the momentum, Hazel set a routine for her nail technicians to follow that allowed them to help each other when they were in need.
“For instance, we help each other complete the presson orders [and] prep customer’s nails if the admin in charge is busy. Everyone is really helpful towards each other!”
Aside from maintaining its current momentum, the salon is looking to bring in more services in the next year or so. This includes doing lash extensions and facials and conducting live sales on TikTok for their press-ons to interact more with their followers.
Hazel also shared her ambition to open a chain of salons to cater to various needs and remains extremely grateful for the opportunities presented to her and her business.
Everyone at Eden’s Atelier Co. is extremely grateful for the opportunity presented to us. This was pure luck, and I am forever thankful [that] I am the chosen one for her kind act. To our family and friends who supported us, I love all of you and thank you for always being here for me.
Hazel Wah, founder of Eden’s Atelier Co.
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Featured Image Credit: Eden’s Atelier Co.