Meet Trina & Eileen | Milk Tea Nails

We had the good fortune of connecting with Trina & Eileen and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Trina & Eileen, what was your thought process behind starting your own business?
Our story began as a hobby of making press-on nails for our friends and family. A lot of friends were very supportive and encouraged us to start our own small business selling these custom and personalized designs. Despite the demands of our full-time corporate jobs, making press-on nails became an avenue for us to express our artistic skills and to bring our friends’ nail inspirations to life. So we took a leap of faith and started Milk Tea Nails.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
One of the key factors that differentiates us is the fact that we started this small business as friends just spending time together doing what we love and bouncing off each other’s ideas for nail inspiration. Our passion for creating unique press-on nails fueled our drive for quality craftsmanship and personalized experiences for our customers. We faced many challenges along the way, and the process of learning the art through trial and error was both rewarding and demanding. From casually making nails as friends to honing our nail sculpting techniques, every step was a valuable lesson that shaped our skills and elevated our artistry.

As a minority women-owned small business, we are driven by our passion and the unwavering support of our community. We are excited to continue sharing our art with our community, pushing boundaries, and exploring new techniques and styles. Through our brand, we hope to inspire others to embrace their passions.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
You may have guessed it from our name… We love milk tea, and our first destination is our favorite spot in the Phoenix area – DaYung’s. They truly have the best fruit tea and milk teas in the area. After our morning boba, we’ll stop by Great Wall Cuisine for a lunchtime feast of dim sum. Their siu mai, shrimp rice noodles, and pineapple buns are a must-try. To satisfy our sweet tooth with a midday dessert, we’ll stop by Bearded Papa for Japanese cream puffs before shopping at Scottsdale Quarters. As dinnertime arrives, we’ll head to Koreatown for dinner. They have generous portion sizes and the best bang for your buck when it comes to their KBBQ experience. To cap off the night on a high note, we’ll make our way to Tipsy Chicken, a Korean bar, to get drinks and crispy fried chicken to end our night out.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
Shout out to Ace and Denver, our loving yorkie and corgi for keeping us company all those nights when we first started making nails. We also want to express appreciation to our friends who have supported our small business by spreading the love and always ordering nails with us for their special occasions. We can’t thank them enough for being an integral part of our journey and for the invaluable role they played in making our small business a reality.

We would also like to extend a special shoutout to Matt, whose creative talents brought our business logo to life. With his expertise and artistic vision, he crafted a visually captivating and unique logo that perfectly represents the essence of our brand.

We also couldn’t have started this all without the support of our friends and family. Thank you!

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/milkteanailsco/

Other: @milkteanailsco on TikTok