An interview by Ivy Nina Valentina xx
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IN2ART. Into Art. Inter(viewing) Art(ists).
Welcome back to IN2ART, the series where I interview cool and interesting artists to find out more about their practice, art form and what inspires them. For the second instalment of this series, I thought who better to interview than my very own sister!
A constant source of inspiration to me, Maxy is a wildly talented nail artist with a long history in art and graphic design. Creating under the name Miss Maxy (@missm4xy), she has been delivering beautiful nail designs to friends, family and extended clientele for a little over a year. Her designs are vast in their range of style. Maxy can develop and execute the most intricately detailed, sleek and technical set and with her next client be imagining an explosive world of colourful creativity with gems, piercings and chrome embellishments. Her nails turn heads, elevate outfits and serve as a form of expression for the inner self. Every time I have had the pleasure of getting my nails done by her, I have been stopped and complimented by strangers admiring her sophisticated compositions.
Fittingly, this interview was conducted in Miss Maxy’s bedroom studio while she worked on our friend Senna’s nails. In this very cozy interview, I chatted to Miss Maxy about nail artistry and her dreams for her business…
Ivy: To start off, what was the first thing that got you into doing nails, was there a specific event? Or perhaps you saw a design somewhere and thought “I think I can do that”?
Maxy: The first thing was when our friend, Senna, started getting really cool nails and I was like, “Oh, I want to get cool nails too!”. But you can’t get those at our local nail salon, so I went and got my nails done at the same place Senna did. She did Gel-X nails on me, which I had never seen done before, but it looked approachable. Yeah, it was definitely a bit of an “I think I can do this” moment.
Then I went to another nail artist who had an at-home salon. That artist was just starting out at the time and I asked her so many questions about doing nails and her business. I was like, “How do you do this? Where did you buy this?”. I was asking her everything and she was really happy to tell me all about it – she was the GOAT. So after that I just went and bought a bunch of really cheap beginner nail stuff. This was when I was just trying things out and only working on my own nails. I also watched a few TikToks on how to do Gel-X nails and took some recommendations from there too. There was definitely a bit of trial and error. I remember at the start nails were falling off straight away and I had to try lots of different tactics and methods of application to work out the reason.
Ivy: When did you start doing nails?
Maxy: It was around March 2024.
Ivy: Was that when you began working on clients or just yourself?
Maxy: Just myself. I started using that cheap stuff and then Senna was the first person other than myself that I did nails for. I can’t even believe she let me use some of those products on her! We were really just experimenting with stuff. Some of the paints would peel instantaneously or nails would just pop off. But after working really hard on my nail preparation and application and still having issues, I realised that it was more of a money issue and that the products I had just weren’t very good at the time.
Ivy: Well, it’s been a little while since you’ve started out now and I’m curious to know more about your personal style when it comes to designing a nail set. What are three words that you would use to describe your personal style when you are making a nail set for yourself?
Maxy: With all of the nails that I do, even if they’re not my style, I still try to end up with a result that I’m happy with and proud of. But when it comes to the stuff I like to do on myself I would say I have a more simple, girly and matchy style. I don’t really like the really crazy ones for myself, but I still enjoy creating those designs for my clients.
Ivy: When you are doing these designs for yourself, where do you look for inspiration? I imagine you’d have a lot of inspiration coming up in your social media feeds, but are there any other random ideas like the art style of an animated show or something of that nature that has inspired you?
Maxy: More often than not, I am getting my inspiration from social media. I usually go to Pinterest and Instagram. I follow heaps of Korean nail artists, they do the best stuff. There’s this one girl, @shifunail, she’s awesome. Her stuff is always so cohesive, it’s a lot of what I like to do on myself. Also her profile picture being Master Shifu is just so funny. There’s another artist @breathnailz who I really like. “I don’t breathe when I do your nails” is her Instagram bio. She does a lot of work for K-Pop groups like TWICE and FIFTY FIFTY. Her designs and the detail in them are just insane.
Ivy: Are there any nail sets you have done where the inspiration has been something really left of field or abstract? Like a collage or an artwork perhaps?
Maxy: Usually people just come to me with photos of nails that they like and we take it from there. But there was one time where I was commissioned to make a couple of nail sets based off of some moodboards. VILE Production Company (@vileproductionco) asked me to make these sets for their fundraising event which was being held to support the opening of their first theatre show called ‘Playing Haus’. It was honestly really fun. The first set was more based on the aesthetic of their company. Their logo is a very cursive tangled ‘V’ and then the moodboard had a lot of green and animal print so I took a lot of inspiration from that. The second was a set of stiletto nails which were more inspired by the play they were putting on. ‘Playing Haus’ was a whodunnit, so the nails were very red, Cluedo, murder-mystery vibes. I made my own charms for that nail set which I had never done before. I made little poker chips and cigarettes which was really fun – and then one of the actors actually wore the nails in the show!
Ivy: I would love to know your top three favourite nail sets you’ve ever done. I’ll include some photos.
Maxy: The ones I just did on myself – these pink and chrome nails – are kind of awesome. I also love the set that I did for Glitter Bomb (@gli77erbomb) because of the detail and accuracy in the writing and design. The grey and orange nails I did that had the hearts with wings were really cool too.
Ivy: Currently you offer Gel-X or press-on nail services. Which do you prefer doing of the two and why?
Maxy: I prefer doing press-ons. I think it’s just a bit easier and there’s less pressure because it’s not up to me to do the nail preparation and application. I don’t have to worry about doing someone’s cuticles and accidentally nipping their skin.
Ivy: In your opinion, what is the most annoying thing to do on a nail? Are there any finicky sort of designs, techniques or embellishments that come up?
Maxy: Right now, it’s ombré. But that’s only because I don’t have an airbrush gun and that’s the method that gives the best results. I’m using either a sponge or eye shadow at the moment but when I get an airbrush gun it will be so over. Either that, or French tips, just because I like to be very precise and it can be hard to make them all look the same.
Ivy: What is the ultimate dream for Miss Maxy nails? Where would you like to see your business go?
Maxy: Having my own studio or even sharing a studio would be awesome. I think if I had my own space I would be a lot more willing to go out of my comfort zone and take on a lot more clients. It would also really legitimise the business and make me feel less awkward about the payment side of things which I sometimes struggle with. But yeah, my own studio is definitely the dream.
Ivy: So cool! And just to finish things off with a fun one – if you could do any celebrity’s nails who would you do and what design would you do on them?
Maxy: XG! That would be bomb! I’d just do something actually crazy. They always do the craziest looks so I would definitely take inspiration from that. I would do a futuristic cyber set because they usually go for that sort of style. Maybe claw nails, that would be awesome to try out too!
To enquire about nails and see more from Miss Maxy, head to @missm4xy.
Thank you to the moon for reading this article through to the end and a big thank you to my awesome sister Maxy for being the best ever and the second interviewee in this series! I love you <3 ! Please comment, please share! And if you enjoyed this interview, please stick around my blogosphere – there is definitely more IN2ART in the works ;)
Image sources:
Photographs of nails and nail supplies by Miss Maxy (@missm4xy)
All photos of the artist taken by Ivy Nina Valentina (2025)
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