A Month of Moms, and a Very Stubborn Hot Water Problem — May at Nail Dreamers

May was a month we'll never forget.

It brought some of our favourite moments since opening, and also some of the most humbling challenges we've faced as a small business. We want to share both honestly with you, because you've been here with us through it all.

Celebrating the Moms in Our Lives

Mother's Day was a true highlight for us this month.

Getting to welcome so many moms, as guests, as the ones being treated, and as the reason their families came in, was a beautiful reminder of why we do this. There is something so meaningful about being part of how someone says "I love you" to the most important person in their life. Thank you to everyone who chose Nail Dreamers as the place to celebrate their mom. It meant the world to us.

We also got to enjoy a well-deserved day off for Victoria Day. As a small team that puts everything into this salon, that kind of pause, however brief, is something we genuinely appreciate. We hope you had a wonderful long weekend too.

The Hot Water Saga (we're calling it that now)

We want to be fully transparent with you about something that affected our service throughout May, and that we are, honestly, still working through as we write this.

It started with our washer and dryer. The old one had clearly been with us since another era, maybe the 90's, and while there's something charming about that, it had become very loud, inefficient, and was starting to fall apart. We replaced it, which felt like a straightforward win.

Then we ran out of hot water.

We assumed the new appliances had something to do with it, since we had never experienced this problem before. Thankfully, one of our wonderful loyal clients happens to be a plumber. He came out, took a look, made a few adjustments, and we thought the problem was solved.

It was not.

Following his professional recommendation, we replaced our hot water tank entirely. New tank, fresh start, we were confident that would be the end of it.

It was not.

We upgraded the electrical breaker, because the new tank required 30 amps and our panel wasn't keeping up. That had to be it.

It was not.

We would do a few pedicures and run out of hot water completely. It got to the point where we were boiling kettles just to keep up. We felt terrible. Not just the inconvenience of it, but the embarrassment of not being able to give our clients the warm, comfortable experience they deserve and that we hold ourselves to.

Our plumber has been diligently working on this problem for over a week now. He's come back out multiple times, isolated every variable he could think of, called for back-up, and has been nothing short of dedicated in trying to find an answer for us. We're so grateful for his patience and perseverance, and we genuinely feel bad for how many times we've had to call him with the same frustrating news.

His current conclusion: despite being brand new, the water tank itself needs to be replaced again.

We're truly hoping that this is finally the answer.

A Thank You That Doesn't Feel Like Enough

To every client who sat in our chairs during this time, who noticed something was off, who said "don't worry about it" or "you're doing great" — thank you. Your grace and understanding during such a stressful period has meant more to us than we can put into words.

Running a small salon means that when something goes wrong, there's no back-up to call.

It's just us, doing our best, and hoping that best is enough.

Your patience reminded us that we have built something real here, a community that shows up for us the way we try to show up for you.

We're not out of the woods yet, but we're still here, still showing up every day, and still committed to giving you the best experience we possibly can.

Thank you for being part of our journey, even the chapters that don't go according to plan.

With so much gratitude,

Hannie & the Nail Dreamers Team