About Chaya Shurkin
Chaya Shurkin is an up-and-coming nail artist from Jersey City. She enjoys intricate nail designs, but she is also fond of the super minimalist look. From neon micro-French tips to tiny hearts and dots, nail artist Chaya Shurkin creates a huge impact with her delicate designs. There’s a reason she’s the go-to nail artist for everyone in Jersey City.
Her creations are whimsical and quirky, while still very wearable. Candy-colored French tips, floral motifs, geometric negative space — all fabulous, all totally doable. Chaya often plays around with trendy patterns like cow print and vintage florals and applies them to a modern manicure. She’s a true visionary!
The Early Beginnings
Chaya Shurkin’s journey to doing nail art started out a bit unconventionally for a nail artist. She studied business management in college and even planned on becoming a certified accountant. But everything changed when she started doing some of her closest friend’s nails. Once she discovered her talent and passion for nail art, there was no going back.
Within the first year of obtaining her license, she opened her own nail salon. After that, brands reached out to work with her. She started working with local businesses to create products and educate other nail techs about techniques. During that job, she started working on photoshoots and landed an opportunity to work with some fashion magazines. One job led to another and another and the clientele kept rolling in.
Since her early beginnings, Chaya Shurkin has done an impressive amount of work. She tries to create art on the nail versus nail art. Her work is defined by simple, clean manicures with an unexpected twist here and there. She can sculpt gorgeous stiletto nails in nude hues, and she’s also capable of creating 3D looks.
As with all her work, she ensures that she’s not only creating excellence but that it complements her client’s entire vibe, including the wardrobe, hair, and makeup. It’s not just about her freestyling on her own but fitting the manicure into the whole look. The art or the nail that Chaya creates is kind of that exclamation point at the end of the sentence that finishes it off.
Creative Process and Inspiration
Chaya Shurkin loves fashion, art, and beauty, so before she even had time to realize, she was a nail artist. While attending colege in Jersey City, she also worked at a nail salon where she further cultivated her skill. She started uploading her masterful nail creations onto Instagram, which led to DMs and emails from current clients.
Today, Chaya’s Instragram account is eye candy from start to finish. She’s the queen of sleek, stunning nail designs, utilizing bright colors, accents, and unexpected shapes. She also makes limited-release press-ons of some of her most popular nail designs, so you can do your own Chaya Shurkin design with zero effort.
Chaya has an entire host of French manicure inspo for those looking for classic styles and subtle pops. Her inspiration comes from a variety of places including fashion and even the art supply store. She likes to challenge herself to use new items and techniques, and she encourages others to do the same.