Fighting Fish Design strives to make henna safe, intricate designs.
Sarah Holey-Schwartz first gained professional experience in using henna by “booth babing” for her friend and now business partner, Olena Wilshanetsky.
Their business, Fighting Fish Design, does henna body art in the Athens area from home and books personal events, such as baby showers and other various celebrations.
“I’m the one who stands out front covered in henna and glitter and everything and shows it off,” Holey-Schwartz, an Athens resident, said. “We got so busy … (Wilshanetsky) just looked at me and said ‘Sarah, pick up a cone,’ and that was like my first official, professional gig.”
The “booth babing” strategy was Holey-Schwartz’s first day as a professional henna artist, and even though she did not plan on pursuing henna, she was invited to henna parties and spurred a passion to continue.
“I had no idea when I started that day that I was going to be doing it so yeah and it went really well and I’ve been doing it ever since,” Holey-Schwartz, 39, said.
Holey-Schwartz and her husband Aaron Schwartz are originally from Toledo and moved to Athens eight years ago when her husband was hired to teach the English language at Ohio University.
Schwartz said Holey-Schwartz’s affinity for henna started in Athens.
“She fell in love with a group of friends who taught her how to do it,” Schwartz said. “It’s become a big part of her life … she always has something on.”
In addition to body art, Holey-Schwartz uses henna for hair dye and as a nail strengthener.
“That’s become a part of her regular routine is her hair and her nails,” Schwartz said.
Holey-Schwartz admits that a lot of the time she uses more henna on herself than on all of her clients combined.
“If they ever tell you that the henna is going to be black, if they ever tell you that it will stain your skin black immediately, or they won’t tell you what’s in their paste, don’t let them touch you with a ten-foot pole,” she added.
Winsome Chunnu-Brayda is a client of Holey Schwartz and has booked her for the Moms Weekend Expo and International Women’s Day.
“She stays busy the moment we open until close, and most times she ends up going after close because people are in line, and they really, really want to do it,” Chunnu-Brayda, advisor for the Black Student Cultural Programming Board, said.
Chunnu-Brayda said Holey-Schwartz is not only professional to work with, but she is also detailed in her work.
“I think she stands out because she is really talented,” Chunnu-Brayda said. “Her designs are amazing, and she is very meticulous when she is doing her henna.”
Holey-Schwartz has been a professional henna artist since becoming friends with several henna artists.
"I think the perfect storm had to happen where I met my business partner. I was really in an artistic place in my life at the time,” Holey-Schwartz said.
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Holey Schwartz and her husband both agreed Athens is a great place for henna artists because of the diverse demographic, compared to somewhere more conservative like Toledo.
“I think it’s a very artsy community,” Holey-Schwartz said. “We’ve also got a lot of hippie kids and everything that are really into the body art.”
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