Episode description

Jessica Washick is a Senior Color Designer at Nike focusing on primarily on Air Force 1's for Men's Footwear. When she's not creating your favorite Nike AF1's (think interchangeable swooshes or double stacked eyestays) by day, she's a professional nail artist by night. Her instagram page gives us a glimpse into her thought process where jelly nails coincide with the AF1's jelly swoosh or her iridescent manicure cross over with the iridescent details on a sneaker. Both careers require meticulous attention to detail, and for Jessica, they draw inspiration from each other.

The Parsons graduate boasts of an impressive resume where she's utilized her fashion design degree at Fossil, Rocawear, Marc Jacobs, Coach and more. During her seven year career at Coach, she began using nail art as a form of therapy from a bad break up and thus began her successful side hustle. Her website, U Don't Need a Man, U Need a Manicure was a hit success and she began taking freelance projects alongside her day job. Through a number of trial and error in her career, she breaks down how she landed her coveted role at Nike and balances her two careers today.

Beyond her work, she stresses the importance of self-reflection and being able to "ask ourselves the hard questions", the value of finding a job that nourishes creativity and the often necessity to start over and take risks. 

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For more info: https://hypebeast.com/2020/2/jessica-washick-interview-business-of-hype-episode-66

Jessica Washick's Website: https://uneedamanicure.tumblr.com/

Jessica Washick's Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jessicawashick/?hl=en