Avisha Tewani, 35, earns up to $3,000(£2,300) working as a professional hand model working with high end brands like Dior and Chanel. However, it’s not as easy as it sounds
A woman who rakes in around £2,300 per day working as a professional hand model revealed how she makes so much money from her talons – and it’s no easy feat.
Avisha Tewani, 35, entered the field in 2020 after initially working as a freelance stylist, which she continues alongside running her own venture and modelling.
After assisting a relative on a photoshoot for wedding and engagement rings, she sent the images to an agent and was grafting “within the first week or two” of signing up.
Since that time, she has collaborated with major names including Starbucks, Coca Cola, Absolut Vodka and Kylie Cosmetics.
To maintain her hands in pristine condition, Avisha has ceased cycling in her home city of New York to prevent any mishaps, and dons gloves while washing up to preserve her manicure.
Banking between $300 (£230)to $3,000 (£2,300) per day on set, she has expanded into other body part modelling encompassing her legs, feet, ears and neck. Avisha, a professional hand model, from New York, USA, said: “There’s a couple of life changes I’ve had to do.
“I had to give away my membership for my city bike as I previously got into accidents and I fractured my elbow and wrist. I couldn’t take that chance anymore. I used to love boxing as a workout but I stopped doing that as I don’t want to damage anything in my hands. If I’m doing any sort of workout I wear lifting gloves to help with not showing any callouses.
“I used to never wear gloves doing the dishes but now I do more often. Generally I’m not walking around with gloves on all day everyday – I know people that do that”.
Since signing with her agent in August 2020, Avisha’s career has “snowballed”, and she now collaborates with several agencies who specialise in particular body parts such as her legs, ears and neck.
She explains that many people simply think shoots involve “holding things” but maintains it can frequently be “challenging”. Operating anywhere from two to 12 hours on location depending on client demands, Avisha reveals crews can range from five individuals to a 35-strong team.
With bookings sometimes confirmed as late as 7am on the morning of filming, Avisha admits “it is really tough.” She added: “The client doesn’t know exactly what they’re looking for either.
“They are relying on you to show your creativity and make the product look appealing, show the branding and make sure your hand looks nice.
“To give an example sometimes a brand may only have one or two samples of product open like a lipstick you have to twist it, try it on, do something with it.
“But there’s only two samples so you have to make sure you get it right. I had a lot of excitement for the one I did with Chanel.
“It was a two day job for a Valentines Day. The manicure was really nice and they changed it out two or three times.
“I got to hold a dove for the shot”.
Prior to any photoshoot, Avisha dedicates time to preparing her hands with a bespoke manicure tailored to the client’s requirements, whilst being “really careful” throughout her daily routine to avoid any damage to her hands.
Avisha concluded: “Being a middle skin tone person right now is a very good thing for the industry. A lot of things are changing and a lot of clients looking for the ambiguous look or the middle skin tone.
“I’m getting more work which I’m very grateful for”.