It’s late in the evening on a Monday night when I call Nikki Nelms to talk about her work. The New York-based hair and session stylist is in her hair room, crafting away on a secret project while on the phone with me. She tells me she has been working on something day and night, and you can hear the excitement in her voice, but it’s very hush-hush and she won’t give anything away: “Ah I wish you could see what I’m working on, I’m so happy! It’s so good. But it’ll probably take a while until I can show it.”

We start talking about another lockdown project of hers, her Walk-in Wednesday series on Instagram, where various guests appeared on her live sessions to share personal experiences about all things hair and careers. “I did this every week on Instagram Live, and I had some of my clients, some really cool people like Miss Tina, Jurnee Smollett, Janelle Monáe, they all came onto the show, and it was really fun.” Nelms first had the idea when she started getting calls from clients and friends, and her DMs filled up with followers and their hair questions. “Everyone was in a panic because nobody could get salon appointments anymore. I figured maybe I could create something that resembles what happens when you don’t have an appointment with a salon; you go and try to get a spot as a walk-in.”

Initially bombarded with hair-related questions, Nelms soon started receiving messages asking about business, questions like how to break into the industry and how to become an assistant. “I didn’t want to talk about it at first because it was just supposed to be about giving hair and product tips. But then I realised this is a time to grow and get yourself together for the next phase of life, so I started having different people on the show that could help out with some of those questions, people who may be more qualified than me. I can’t tell you what a celebrity client looks for in a stylist, so I would have some of my clients on to give their perspective on what they liked, as well as issues they’ve had in the past.”

For eight weeks Nelms created weekly advertisements, booked talent, planned shows and created a space for an extensive body of knowledge to be shared. Frustratingly, Nelms explains, issues with the app meant she was unable to save a majority of the sessions. “It was really sad! I had a really good show one time where it was all hair stylists, and Miss Tina was on, that’s Beyoncé’s mum, who used to be a salon owner and a hair stylist, and she gave a lot of really amazing advice! I also had Kim Kimble on there, and Myleik (Teele) the owner of Curlbox – really smart. I learned so much. And none of it saved!”

I ask her if she would consider continuing the show seeing how well people responded to it, but Nelms doesn’t see herself having the time, or energy, with life slowly going back to normal. “It seemed simple because it was just an IG live, but I wanted it to be like a TV show. I had a new commercial that I ran every week, which would include some of my clients who sent in a video for me. Then you had to book people to be on the show, schedule it, plan it. And I always tried to make sure that I made it on brand for my clients and not be cheesy. I have some pretty cool clients and I like them a lot. In a world of cheesiness right now, you gotta appreciate the naturally cool people. I didn’t want to do anything to make them look or feel silly, so I put a little thought into it. But I’m over it now, it was getting too much.”

In the past Nelms has expressed that she doesn’t like looking at other people’s hair work too much, to minimise being influenced. But non-hair-related inspiration strikes everywhere. “My mind is open to receive. I can get inspired by a mistake. I can think that I saw something that I really liked and then realise that it wasn’t what I thought I saw, but then I think what I thought I saw was still cool.” She goes on to explain that anything from nature to fashion can suddenly catalyse creative visions, “I can pass a person wearing an outfit that I like and be inspired to create the hair version of it in my head. That might sound a bit crazy.” But it makes sense and it’s probably quite common with creative people who are passionate about what they do; the passion becomes like a language that everything can be translated into. “Exactly, if you’re that way then you get it. Not having a method is also a method. You can’t discount anything.”

Nelms reveals that most of the time she prefers not to prep too much. She looks at mood boards to understand the direction that people want to go in, but one of her biggest tools, she says, is the moment: “I get something different when my back is against the wall. There are certain creative thoughts that will come to mind, that I won’t necessarily get when I’m planning ahead. But then there are also times where I’m laying in my bed at night and I go…” Nelms imitates a eureka gasp, “‘Oh my god I can’t forget that, I better write it down right now.’ Other times I’m in my hair room and I try to do what I thought about just to see if it can really work or if I’m just tripping. Ideas come in different ways.”

Her hair room, Nelms tell me, is a “salon meets storage meets creative studio”. It’s where she works, keeps her tools and equipment, and where she tends to her clients’ hair emergencies on off days. “I might be in my kitchen, cooking, and I’m not even supposed to be thinking about hair, but if they call frantically like ‘Nikki I need to go to this thing, please help me’, I’ll tell them, ‘Okay, come over.’ They’ll come over, we have drinks, and I do their hair. And it’s just the cutest little salon, so boutique-y.”

This hair room is also where she broadcasted her Walk-In Wednesday shows, but the camera stayed stationary for a reason: “I’m not into giving too much access. That’s what I love about old Hollywood sometimes. The mystery of the artist.” Nelms explains that when it comes to art, not knowing everything about the artist and their methods can be vital to truly appreciating the piece of work. “Sometimes the process is like a gift just for the artist. Otherwise it loses something, it becomes familiar or regular, you know?”