It was a hot afternoon in Savannah; the kind of hot where the sun’s rays felt like sharp, gold needles piercing the skin like hay.

After circling several blocks searching for parking, I was more than grateful to enter the air conditioning oasis on 102 E. Liberty to get my nails done by the bad witch herself — Emma Fischer.

Though she goes by Bad Witch Nails, not once did Fischer lure me to her table with breadcrumbs or try to shove me in an oven. No, she beckoned me over with an excited wave and a prominent, spot lit smile. Fischer shares the space with the hair salon, Les Proper, brought along last October by a coworker from her previous station at Polished.

Now, Fischer enjoys the freedom of running her own business.

Fiber arts:As Moraa Nyaribo pursues fashion dream in Savannah, she aims to inspire back home in Kenya

The 912:You can't ignore the influence of Black culture on fashion

Of course, independence and being her own boss still come with their challenges. “I love working for myself,” Fischer says. “I'm a really strict boss, but I'm also like a really lazy employee. So finding the middle ground is really hard.”

Since graduating with her nail technician license from Savannah Technical College in 2019, she’s garnered a stable level of consistency and success in a fairly short time period, and even in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic. This has prompted her to re-evaluate her business plan, even considering shifting her hours to accommodate her nine-to-five customers.

“I'm like a terrible morning person,” she admits with a hearty laugh. “I guess that's another business thing. It's putting yourself in the customer's shoes.” 

And that she does. Fischer confesses that while she was okay with the older clientele and reserved atmosphere of traditional salons, she’s excited to foster a “more young and urban and creative” environment of her own.

“I think most people are used to going to the nail salon and just sitting on their phones and kind of like zoning out,” she explains.

“It's not like that when you come to an appointment with me. I mean, I feel like I can read the room if someone doesn't want to talk, but really you're hanging out with me for a couple hours.”

As I set my bag on the floor and offered her my hands by resting my elbows on the glass table, that’s exactly what it felt like. The last time I got a manicure my nail technician remained quiet the entire time. This time, it felt like I was at a slumber party and my best friend’s cool, stylish older sister was doing my nails. She was dressed in a short black romper with white trim tennis shoes; dark, curly hair pulled up into a messy ponytail and through an olive green baseball cap, and because she hails from Brooklyn, N.Y., the look was topped off with thin gold chain necklaces and big gold hoops.

In images:2022 Junk 2 Funk presents 'Off the Canvas'

As Fischer focused on filing and buffing my nails, and trimming my cuticles, her full, bright berry-colored lips puckered. When we weren’t chatting, we were ear-hustling as a man getting a haircut beside us relayed his girlfriend troubles.

“You must hear a lot of tea working in a hair salon,” I said.

She smirked. “Oh, you have no idea.”

It was all part of the fun. But more than the juicy gossip, Fischer looks forward to the art aspect the most. “It's always really cool to see how someone's style translates to the nail art they pick and also seeing how someone's vibe can change completely like every three weeks,” she explains. “Someone will come in like, ‘I want black flames,’ and then the next time [they want] rainbow daisies.” 

It was my first appointment but that already got me thinking of what nails I’d get next time.

More from Ka'Dia:Savannah poet Chris Williams is dispelling myths and emphasizing the 'craft' of spoken word

Bringing me back to the present, she asked what design I had in mind. I pulled a reference photo I’d found on Pinterest. We picked the colors and she got to work, painting a nude base coat, alternating hands so one could rest under the LED light and cure, while she painted the other. For all her bald-faced enthusiasm, her grip around my hands was firm and self-assured, her eye attentive to every detail. (She even whipped out a mini LED light to make sure my thumbnails were cured just as well as my other nails.) 

Once the foundation was laid, she began working her magic. The reference photo showed almond-shaped acrylics with three nails painted a solid sage green, while the ring-finger had graphic spots and the pointer-finger was French-tipped in the same green. For me, she suggested a brighter teal to celebrate the mini-heat wave and compliment my deep brown skin. I couldn’t agree more.

After laying the base swirls and curves with a thin striper brush and curing them under the LED light, I held out my fingers, wiggling them for final approval. Something was missing. As Fischer scanned them, twisting her lips and humming in what I now recognized as her thinking face, I knew she felt it too. 

She pulled out a lighter teal polish and poured a bit on the iridescent marble coaster acting as her paint palette. After cleaning her brush in a cap of rubbing alcohol, she dipped it in the new polish and looked up at me.

Exclusive:Amiri Farris wants to make his art accessible with downloadable Juneteenth print

“Hear me out,” she began.

She outlined one of the shapes with the lighter teal. 

We both squealed, then broke into a peal of laughter at our reaction. Once she added an outline to all my other nails, we oohed and awed at how the design was elevated with the addition of such a small detail. 

It was then I witnessed what set Fischer apart from Savannah’s nail scene — her artistic eye. This, she attested to her time pursuing a fibers degree at the Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD). “I know quite a few very talented nail artists in Savannah who are doing like really well, but I think that going to SCAD definitely gave me an edge up on the artistic skill for sure,” Fischer says. “A lot of people tell me that they've been looking for someone who can do the kind of stuff that I do.” 

Her education not only plays a role in her creative skill, but also her marketing materials.

'In Savannah things move slowly':How the city's art scene has changed in longtime writers' eyes

Fischer recalls the struggle of coming up with a name for her Instagram and her brand as a whole when first starting out. She knew she didn’t want it to be anything cheesy like “Nailed It.” And even though she enjoyed the persona of the Bad B*tch, she knew very well that using a curse word would limit where she could market her business. “In the end, I [figured] I'm into a lot of nerdy, witchy stuff [like] Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Harry Potter, so I wanted the word witch in it,” Fischer says.

And thus, Bad Witch Nails was born. 

Despite what looks like quick success on paper, Fischer believes being a nail tech may have been in her cards all along. Fischer points to high school prom as a stand-out "mani" memory for her. “I have so many photos where you can see I purposefully have my hands out.”

She demonstrates, posing her hands with an elegant but proud flourish. “I remember my mom thought it was so unnecessary. She's just not a very girly girl.”

For subscribers:How Savannah artists, educators are using arts grants to enrich local classroom experiences

This eventually led to Fischer picking up babysitting gigs, so she didn’t have to ask her mom for the forty dollars it took to get a full set. In full 90s fashion, she remembers getting a set with air-brush palm trees right before summer camp and being the coolest kid there. 

Growing up Jewish in the diverse community of the Brooklyn borough, Fischer became accustomed with nails being just as much an accessory as shoes or bags. She was also exposed to an endless array of styles and personalities. For her, nails were the perfect intersection of art and fashion.

“I've always loved to make things, I just never really knew where I was going to take it,” Fischer says. “So when I figured out that I was pretty good at [doing nails], I was like, ‘Oh, this would be perfect for me.’”

'A magical time':A history of First Friday in Starland and how it shaped Savannah's hip district

After my appointment, I completely agreed. Experiencing someone in their element, pursuing their passion is special.

Some may even call it magical.

Learn more at badwitchnails.com or on Instagram @badwitchnails.