For many people, getting their nails done is a routine part of self care, but different from your typical salon, Garam Glam has found a way to make it charitable.

A non-profit founded by two university students, Garam Glam’s mission is to bring broad warmth equity and education about the chronic effects of cold and dry weather, all through the sale of press-on nails.

“From the work that we’ve done so far, we’ve been able to raise close to $5,000, we donated a little bit over 1,700 warmth kits to YW Calgary, Inn from the Cold and the Niitoyis Family Support Society,” Aan Chahal, Garam Glam co-founder and second year UCalgary Bachelor of Science Exercise and Health Physiology student, told LWC.

Each $20-35 sale of culturally-inspired press-on nails directly supports a Calgary woman in need through handmade warmth kits, which include warm gloves, light gloves for layering, wool socks, hand lotion, and lip balm.

Through this connection, Garam Glam bridges two very different experiences of womanhood by celebrating culture and uplifting those facing homelessness and winter vulnerability, according to an organization-issued press release.

With her background in nail work, Chahal notices passerby’s hands more than the average person. During her daily commute, warmth inequality became very apparent to her.

“I’ve been doing nails for nearly two years. On one hand, I see up to five women a day spending their time and their money on something like getting their nails done, but on the other hand, taking the train to university every day, you see so many women in our city don’t even have something as basic as a pair of gloves, or some socks, or just general warmth in the wintertime,” Chahal said.

Chahal and her co-founder, Ananya Pati, a second-year Bachelor of Health Science, Biomedical Sciences student, wanted to take something familiar and use it for good, hence the nails to warmth kit model.

“We’re both very academic people, I think that nails are one thing I have outside of school that is a really defining part of who I am,” Chahal said. 

Nail designs are available on the Garam Glam website. Sets can be ordered through the Garam Glam order form.

Work-life-school balance proves tough but doable

Through the early goings, managing school and the organization has been a challenge, though not as difficult as Chahal expected going in.

“It’s definitely been rough, but I’ve been able to manage it better than what I had expected, especially having a background already being a business owner, I’ve already learned to set those boundaries between self-care, work and school,” she said.

“With something like owning a business or owning a nonprofit, it’s difficult to set hours of work. If you work like a job, you clock in at nine, you clock out at five, and that’s done.”

Separating herself from Garam Glam during off hours has been the hardest part for Chahal, who consistently has new business, campaign and nail ideas while away from the organization.

“Something like this, something that I’m especially passionate about, I’m always thinking about it. I always have new ideas, I always want to be writing it down,” she said.

“I obviously don’t want to just leave it and be like, ‘Oh, I’ll deal with it tomorrow,’ because tomorrow I’ll forget.”

Fundamentally honouring south asian heritage

For both Chahal and Pati, tying culture into the organization was a top priority, whether through nail design, branding, or the name itself.

“Especially with the climate that’s so active in Alberta right now, against South Asian people, we wanted to redefine it a little bit, because it’s a big part of who we are, we wanted to bring our values and things into what we do,” Chahal said.

Garam, meaning warmth in Punjabi, acts as a reminder that warmth is both a cultural symbol and a fundamental human need.

“The name Garam Glam, it’s nice, it’s cute if I do say so like myself,” Chahal said.

In their first official event, Garam Glam hosted UCalgary and Mount Royal University students to help assemble all the warmth kits. The packaging was a successful first event and a great stepping stone.

“It was fun, there was music, there was food. It was a nice way to get to know people who have been watching behind the scenes from our mission so far,” Chahal said.

In January, Garam Glam will partner with HotShop Hot Yoga & Spin to host a one-hour hot yoga session, with 20 per cent off nail sets available onsite.

“It’ll combine that warmth and culture part of our nonprofit, and all of the revenue from that will also be donated to what we’re doing,” she said.

Hot yoga registration is available online.

Come spring or summer 2026, the organization is hoping to host a night market with various small businesses, centred around locally-made self-care, with a portion of all profit going towards their winter 2026 efforts.