Temeka’s humble beginnings started out in New Haven, CT.

She was a girl with a vision to take her artistic talents to heights far beyond the four corners of her city and state. 

Temeka has always had a knack for art; artistic talent is in her veins as she comes from a family full of talented people.

She took on the challenge of becoming the first African-American nail technician in the city of New Haven at the humble age of 19 years old.

She was formally trained at Shear Brilliance Institute in West Haven, CT. Temeka has worked at various neighborhood salons in the New Haven, CT area.

One in particular, where her name was put on the map during her tenure, is TJ Nails, which was located in the heart of New Haven on Whalley Ave. 

Though most of the clients were African-American, they always referred to her as the “black girl that does nails” and wouldn’t even give her the opportunity to showcase her work.

One day she was given the opportunity to show exactly how rare of a gem she was in that tiny salon on Whalley Ave. Soon thereafter, Temeka became the talk of the town and the most sought after nail tech in New Haven.

Her demand broke the confines of CTs borders, having worked in salons in NY, Atlanta and now in Los Angeles. She has been featured in multiple NAILS Magazine articles, as well as contestant in their Next Top Nail artist competition. She was also a contestant on Oxygen’s inaugural season of Nail’d IT. 

Recently Ms. Jackson won a competition sponsored by KISS Products giving her the opportunity to become a premier press on nail designer, featuring two of her designs which are now in stores across the country.

She is also the owner of Custom Nails by Temeka LLC based out of Los Angeles, CA.