We recently had the chance to connect with Mia Rubie and have shared our conversation below.
Good morning Mia, we’re so happy to have you here with us and we’d love to explore your story and how you think about life and legacy and so much more. So let’s start with a question we often ask: What is a normal day like for you right now?
On a normal week day I wake up at 6:30am totally groggy, make a hot cup of coffee with a splash of oatmilk and cinnamon and chug it until my eyes adjust to reality. I scroll mindlessly for about 20 minutes on social media (terrible habit!) and then I feed my two French bulldogs (Nacho and Nugget). At 7am I wake up my 8 year old daughter and help her get ready for school. I drop her off and head to my nail salon – Sparkle SF. For about an hour, I do a bit of admin and housekeeping tasks to ensure my team and I are ready for the day, It’s mostly sorting staff schedules, replying to clients, ordering supplies and whatever miscellaneous things that need to be handled (yes – I can change lightbulbs on 15 foot ceilings!). We begin taking clients at 11am and usually wrap up by 7pm. After the salon is tidied up, I head home to my family. I try to cook 3-4 nights a week, but honestly, takeout and Trader Joe’s frozen meals are on heavy rotation. I do few random chores like a load of laundry or vacuuming so the place isn’t a total disaster. My daughter and I read for 30 minutes together before her bedtime at 8:30 – it’s my favorite time of day because all responsibilities are done and we get some quality time to talk and laugh. She’s hilarious! After she goes to sleep, I check emails, eat the all the junk snacks I hide from her and either binge a show, research new nail products or designs or go straight to bed because I’m EXHAUSTED!
Can you briefly introduce yourself and share what makes you or your brand unique?
My name is Mia – I also go by @superflynails online. I’m a professional nail artist and salon owner. Over the last 12 years, I have had the privilege of growing my business, Sparkle SF into a destination for the Bay Area’s manicure obsessed community. I started out solo in a tiny studio after I left my corporate job and followed my heart toward the path of becoming an entrepreneur that specialized in nail art. At that time, detailed and avant garde nails were really tough to find as a customer. I set out to fill that void. It has led me on a very unique journey where I’ve been able to help other nail artists, both aspiring and pros, find employment in an environment that I created that holds both the employee and the client at equal importance and value. The nail industry can be a dangerous place for worker exploitation, wage theft, and unsafe conditions – my core values won’t allow me to participate in any shady practices. I always wanted those who worked for me and with me to feel a sense of relief that they aren’t being taken advantage of and can express themselves and their artistry without a micromanager or power tripping boss ruining their experience as a nail artist. Beyond growing a nail art salon, I’ve been fortunate to be an editorial and advertising manicurist for some really major brands, publications and celebrities. Polishing the nails of Kendall Jenner, Alicia Keys, Gigi Hadid, Jennifer Garner, Demi Lovato, Janelle Monae and Nicole Scherzinger are moments I will never forget from the span of my career. I’ll tell my grandkids about it someday and they will probably be like “who the heck are they ?”and I’ll just have to laugh.
Appreciate your sharing that. Let’s talk about your life, growing up and some of topics and learnings around that. What part of you has served its purpose and must now be released?
The over achieving, people pleasing, hustling/grinding young woman that believed she couldn’t turn down any opportunity, event, collaboration and who would never say NO out of fear and scarcity mindset. Working hard as hell for a decade got me where I’m at, but I’m older, wiser, a mother and have less energy to do ALL the things ALL the time. My priorities have shifted and the years are flying by. I don’t want my daughter to remember her childhood who had a mom who worked all the time. Of course, I want her to learn discipline and going after her dreams, but not at the expense of other valuable relationships and experiences during this small window of time we have on earth. Currently, I’m scaling back the hours that I am able to take my own clients. It’s painful to do because it sort of feels like a bunch of little breakups, but my mind and body are screaming out to slow down and focus my energy on growing and supporting the newer generation of nail artists that want to work with me and further curating the salon and client experience.
Was there ever a time you almost gave up?
Absolutely. In January 2025, the nail industry in California changed dramatically with the AB5 law going into effect. This law prohibits manicurists from being booth renters or independent contractors. There are only two choices for manicurists now: W-2 employment or a salon ownership. My business has been a booth rent model since I expanded from being solo over 10 years ago. My philosophy was that it was the best way for nail artists to work in an established nail salon and thrive with independence as their own “boss.” I know from my own experience that creatives typically don’t want to be restricted to the common rules of employment. It was also worked well for me to still be able to take my own clients and have renters work at my salon without me having to keep track of all of their appointments, administrative work and supplies. Converting my entire business to an employee based salon seemed totally overwhelming to me and truthfully, none of the artists that rented from me wanted to become employees. And it was totally understandable. Why would they now want their hours, pay and performance “controlled” so to speak. At the end of 2024, we had to make some hard decisions. Thankfully, my renters had built enough clientele and experience to step into salon ownership. It was bittersweet. I cried many times thinking that what I worked so hard on was coming to an end. I struggled and questioned if I was built for a true “boss” leadership role. I’m easy going by nature and I was worried I wasn’t “tough” enough for managing a whole staff and their customers – all the while continuing to see my own clients! I eventually picked myself up by my bootstraps and decided I didn’t come this far to quit. I still had more to offer to the industry and walking away would not be of service to nail artists who were seeking a workplace environment that I could create to be different in a good way. I realized I could take all the things traditional nail salons did wrong or unfairly and do it better. I started to get excited at the idea of focusing on treating employees well, paying them fairly, providing flexible hours, mentoring, education, support and kindness. Interviewing and hiring employees, onboarding, writing contracts, developing pay and benefit structures, stocking all supplies and revamping my salon seemed so overwhelming – thinking of what it would take almost made me throw in the towel. It seemed like too much for one person. But guess what? I did all the things I was afraid of and now I have a team of happy and amazing nail artists that work so well together, a rad social media manager and loads of new clients coming through our doors to check out the “new” version of Sparkle SF! I’m so glad I did not give up.
So a lot of these questions go deep, but if you are open to it, we’ve got a few more questions that we’d love to get your take on. Is the public version of you the real you?
Mostly. I’d love to be one of those “what you see is what you get” type of people but some parts of me might be best saved for home and in my personal life. My public persona at work and online is pretty reserved, professional, polite, laid back and friendly. I am all of those things in real life – but there is much more to me. Nobody is one dimensional. The truth is my mind is usually going 100 miles per hour which is quite annoying when I need to focus. There’s a constant inner monologue and running to-do list, anxieties, song lyrics, fart jokes and random existential thoughts cycling in my mind. When you get to know me, and I feel comfortable, I reveal more of my quirks and can be quite a sarcastic smart ass, drop some inappropriate humor and overshare. Laughter is truly one of life’s best medicines. So when things are feeling too serious or uncomfortable, saying something weird or humbling myself by showing I’m imperfect, clumsy and make mistakes is how I break the ice with clients and employees. I’m an oddball and free spirit at heart which is not a bad thing when you are your own boss!
Okay, we’ve made it essentially to the end. One last question before you go. If immortality were real, what would you build?
If immortality were real, I’d build technology that allows you to cease to exist. Is that dark? Haha! I don’t think it sounds fun to live forever and ever. What would be the point of anything if you have infinite chances and time? No risk – no reward!
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.sparklesanfrancisco.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/superflynails/?hl=en
- Yelp: https://yelp.to/pF5bbVMkIW
Image Credits
Justice Alcantar
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