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How Tippy Type Was Invented…Finally!

Hey! Hi. Hello! Sara here – founder/CEO of Tippy Type. Aka the girl working to help you be able to have the beautiful nails you want AND be able to type well (and without finger pains!)

I wanted to share a bit on how this all got started…

I wasn’t always a nail girlie. I mean, I always got regular manis on my short natural nails but it wasn’t until a few years ago that I discovered and fell in love with long extension nails.

They’re pure joy! The art, the colors, the way they make you feel. I’m so obsessed!

These are a few of my favorite recent designs (all by @chicnailsadt ) 

I, like everyone else I know, just dealt with the struggle of typing on my laptop…

I couldn’t go too long with my nails or it would be too much to manage. But I could get away with a decent length if I typed with stick straight fingers. But…there’s still a lot of typos and it’s kinda slow, and most of all my hand really friggin’ hurts after several hours of typing.

I just chalked the discomfort up to another thing girls have to put up with (like waxes, and botox needles and all the other painful things we do) for the sake of beauty.

But at the end of the day, I really could not type super well. And it was ok because I had been working for myself and didn’t have a boss or co-workers or clients to watch me type or monitor my (reduced) productivity.

Until…[enter a career change] I started interviewing for several corporate jobs.

I know many corporate professional women have long nails and make it work. But, as a generally anxious person, I was worried I would look silly or just not be able to type effectively in the way I would need to. The particular scenario I dreaded was being on an otherwise all-male team or sitting in front of a male boss or client and obviously making typos or audible noise if my nails hit the keyboard. I can vividly picture the subtle eyerolls and feel the embarrassment just thinking about it now.

What’s puzzling (well not too puzzling because womens needs in the workplace are often a distant concern) is that having nice nails is somewhat considered a beauty standard in professional settings. But it’s never really acknowledged or discussed that it’s really challenging for us to type!

I was so anxious about not being able to type well (not to mention the hand strain from long workdays typing with straight fingers) I was resigned to just getting rid of my nail extensions if I got the job.

While I do think short nails can be super cute, my extensions are such a fun way that I express myself and part of what I see and like when I look in the mirror or down at my hands during the day. And to get rid of them would also feel like I’m giving up my authenticity for a job:(

I started to think, I wish there was something I could put on my laptop to help me type. I really don’t want to give up my nails. And that’s how I started to think about what that something could be and look like!

Turns out, I didn’t get the job. But I got Tippy Type instead:) 

And it’s my dream that for all those who feel similar…who love their long nails but also want to get work done and have more comfortable typing to have this tool.

That’s why we say stay fun and get it done!

xo Sara

Ps. This is photo of the very first Tippy Type during development – little eraser ends! I was just playing around with designs that could give our nails more clearance, and this worked! Now Tippy Type is the first product to directly address the challenge of typing with long nails and is patent pending!

How Tippy Type was invented - Tippy Type South Africa (1)
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