New Instagram

I’m super excited to share my new instagram page dedicated to my hand modeling career, with only the occasional cat picture 

It has been an exciting past few months and I’m looking forward to the journey on instagram.  Thanks for your support  Instagram.com/HandModelUSA

Manicures or something like them

It was an exciting day to get a last minute call to do a job while I was out in California last fall.  I came for a wedding and then stayed for the interview with The Doctors and surprise, surprise some spur of the moment  hand modeling work popped up with some of my fave crew!
The natural nail color that I had on for the interview needed to come off and I was without my hand kit (I wasn’t expecting to be working.) The crew had my back.  Shellie Anderson, who has an eye for making food gorgeous, had some polish remover in her kit and the master product manipulator and handy guy, Justin Harris, helped with the change.

The spot starred Sharon Osbourne and there was all sorts of handy happenings for the Atkins commercial.  Pickups, dollop, cookie breaks, cheese pulls and spooning – hand model skills day.

Interview on The Doctors

Last year, I had the pleasure of being interviewed about my life as a hand model on the tv show, The Doctors.  The incredible hair stylist, Sydney Valentine of Goddard + Bragg Salon rocked an amazing cut and color and the LA Manicurist to the stars, Chantalynn Huynh beautified my hands for the pre-taping.

I arrived at the set and shared a dressing room with Fran, a remarkable woman who has been suffering from a degenerative eye disease her entire life.  She underwent an incredible procedure that enabled her to have a perception of vision with a bionic eye!  One day, they hope to restore some loss of sight with what they are learning from her experience!  Fran and her son, Eric, are lovely people and we had so much fun chatting before the taping.  Click here to watch Fran’s story!

The makeup and hair team at The Doctors is downright awesome.  Two lovely ladies who rocked my new style and made me feel fantastic.

Before the show I was sent images of Dr. Travis Stork, Dr. Rachael Ross, Dr. Jennifer Ashton & Dr. Andrew Ordon’s hands to scout for any hand modeling potential.  I believe they all have already all found their true calling with having healing hands  

Dr. Stork has even skin tone, this is a key for a good hand model, as your skin has to be a nice even tone so that it is almost unnoticeable.  If you have skin discoloration or redness it can be distracting from the real star of the photo shoot – whatever the product.  When a hand is holding a bottle of dishwashing soap, the clients don’t want viewers to be distracted by the hand holding it.   Dr. Stork also had a good shape to his nails.  The nails were nice and rounded.  He did have a perfect hitch hikers thumb, which could be the perfect thumb for a very specific type of ad but would rule him out for most hand modeling work.

Dr. Ashton has lovely straight fingers.  Before I started hand modeling, I never really thought about fingers being straight or not, aren’t all fingers straight?  I soon discovered that was not the case as most fingers are not.  It is purely genetics and Dr. Ashton and I can thank our ancestors for passing along their straight fingers to us.  She also has a very nice curve to her thumb with a pretty shape.

Dr. Ordon had the best nails on the panel.  His nail shape is beautiful and you can tell he has taken great care with them.  That is a big key, you have to take care of your nails.  He was also blessed with the nice broad nail shape that is so wanted by clients for male hand models.

I declared Dr. Ross the winner of The Doctors Next Top Hand Model as she was blessed with great even skin tone, a nice shape to her nails with a great curve to her thumb AND she also has very versatile hands.  With a good manicure and polish, her hands could be in beauty or a jewlrey ad and if she removed the polish and had her nails filed short, she could also play the hands of children in toy or video game ads.  She has the hand size that can play both parts!

Private: Starting Over

Posted October 22, 2018 by HandModelUSA

I get a lot and I mean A LOT of emails from people wanting to know how to get started in the industry. So I’m starting this post as I’m about to restart in the industry! I took a break y’all. When I left NYC and all of my agents and all of my work contacts, I knew that I was taking a risk. I took a risk to try for something that I love and something that I do love but what I’ve found out recently is that I am missing what I loved before. I worked on a shoot all last week with an incredible team and it reminded me of just how much I love the work. I love figuring out how to get a shot quickly for camera. Almost anyone can set down a drink, but to set it down for camera is another deal entirely. & I love figuring out how to contort my body around the camera or flags or other obstacles to try to find a way to make my hand look like it is naturally doing whatever is needed.  It was an incredible week on set and I loved being back in that world. So I’m going to give it a go and see what I can get started out here, in a new state!

Granted, I have a good background to start with. I am not starting from scratch, like so many people are. But I did start from ground one back in the days before google and self promotion became easy. I had to research for long periods to figure out who to mail my information too. Now everything can be found in a few clicks. and contact can be made by filling out a form on a website. So here goes, I’m going to keep track of what I’m doing to get started, lay it out, step by step.

Time to get back into the gloves!!!

Today, I am researching places to send my composite cards to in search of work… Also, starting to think about finding an agency to rep me for commercial work.

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New Instagram :D

Posted September 1, 2015 by HandModelUSA

I’m super excited to share my new instagram page dedicated to my hand modeling career, with only the occasional cat picture 

It has been an exciting past few months and I’m looking forward to the journey on instagram.  Thanks for your support  Instagram.com/HandModelUSA

 Posted in: Behind The Scenes, Hand Model | Leave a comment

….I’ve changed my skincare ways

Posted March 26, 2015 by HandModelUSA

I have had the same basic skin care routine for over a decade now, with Extra Virgin Olive Oil (EVOO)  being the foundation – the core – the trust of my routine.  It was pretty much all that I used on my hands (and face and body) to moisturize and condition.  I disliked every product that I tried as most of them left my skin feeling dry and all had a long list of ingredients that I honestly didn’t want to put on my skin.  EVOO is natural, nothing bad added and I always have returned exclusively to it after a 7 day trial of a manufactured product test run on my face.  Occasionally, I have been asked to test out other products or friends would want my opinion, and I’m always game to try new things.  Just nothing took.  Nothing could replace what EVOO did for my skin.  Until now.

I almost don’t have words to describe my reaction to my new glowing goddess of all lotion bottles.  When trying a new skin cream, I test it out on my face.  As an agent told me once, ‘Forget your head, it’s your hands!’ I always do test patches and try new samples on my face before putting anything on my livelihood.

So, a little backstory to my new favorite moisturizers.  I have a friend who is awesome.  She is a ring master, aerialist and all around badass chick and I hadn’t seen her in 4 years.  Our paths finally crossed 44 days ago (yes, I know the days……cuz the path my skin has taken in 44 days is mind blowing, so I’m counting each one!!)  I couldn’t get over her skin.  Tess has always been gorgeous but now she was gorgeous and glowing with flawless tight skin!  What was going on?  It had been 4 years since I last saw her and here she was looking years and years younger!  WHAT THE HEY!!  & um, share the secret, please!

Tess did and that night she took me to a party to meet others on the same skincare journey.  See, this is not only the best product I have ever tried in my entire life (I will never stop using this) it is an incredible community of positive minded entrepreneurs spreading the word and improving lives.  I left that night with a bottle of the day and night cream and resisted the urge to slather it on my face as I drove home from the party.

The night cream is a little different than anything I have ever tried.  You dampen your face and then spread 5 pumps of the lotion all over – forehead, eyes, lips, neck, cheeks – any skin – cover it.  I was, of course, testing this on my face before even considering to put it on my hands.   The cream dries and your skin feels pleasantly tight and smooth.  I noticed the texture improvement almost immediately.  After a few days, my skin was noticeably smoother and softer and I started to swear that my eyes looked more open.  There are a lot of traits I inherited from my father and I love all of them except for the dreaded eyelid fold.  I had resigned myself to it, if I had to have droopy lids in order to get all the other bonuses from my dad, then so be it.  My eyelids started to get saggy when I turned 30.  Just heavy lids, nothing to do about them because I am not having surgery on my face and as a hand model, my face doesn’t matter so much!  But it was always something that I’ve disliked.  Now, when I started trying out the new creams, I was expecting improvement in my fine lines and wrinkles, discoloration and uneven skin tone.  I was not expecting an eye lift in a bottle.   How is that even possible???  It doesn’t seem like it should be.

Here are MY 20 day before and after pictures!  MINE.  My personal results that I took with my iphone in my bathroom!!!

WHAT?!?!  The eyelid drop is lifting.  HOW??!!  WHAT??!!  After I saw these images, I started using the creams on my hand.  (duh) The only difference in my hand routine is that during the day I do keep moisturizing my hands with either EVOO or Coconut Oil, as I can’t just moisturize my hands 2X a day.  

My 42 day before & afters – This is a magic eraser for wrinkles!

SO!!!!!   WHAT IS IT???  WHAT IS THIS AMAZING STUFF?????

What is the product that has seriously changed my skin for the better and been the first product to go on my hands in years??  This will change your life if you decide to try it risk free for 30 days – we have a great money back guarantee!  & the magic cream is just the tip of the iceberg of awesome, if after reading more on my link below, you want more information on the incredible business opportunity, email me at info@handmodelusa.com and put ‘The Glow’ in the subject box. Looking forward to seeing everyone looking younger and younger with every single day.  I notice improvement EVERY morning.   I never knew I could be so excited about face cream.

After you read about this amazing lotion, if you want more information or would like to see tons of my personal before & after images along with my friends (who are now as addicted as I am), send an email to info @ handmodelusa.com with ‘The Glow’ in the subject line.  I am so excited and cannot wait to share with everyone!!!

 Posted in: Hand Model, Skin Care | Leave a comment

Interview on The Doctors

Posted February 2, 2015 by HandModelUSA

Last year, I had the pleasure of being interviewed about my life as a hand model on the tv show, The Doctors.  The incredible hair stylist, Sydney Valentine of Goddard + Bragg Salon rocked an amazing cut and color and the LA Manicurist to the stars, Chantalynn Huynh beautified my hands for the pre-taping.

I arrived at the set and shared a dressing room with Fran, a remarkable woman who has been suffering from a degenerative eye disease her entire life.  She underwent an incredible procedure that enabled her to have a perception of vision with a bionic eye!  One day, they hope to restore some loss of sight with what they are learning from her experience!  Fran and her son, Eric, are lovely people and we had so much fun chatting before the taping.  Click here to watch Fran’s story!

The makeup and hair team at The Doctors is downright awesome.  Two lovely ladies who rocked my new style and made me feel fantastic.

Before the show I was sent images of Dr. Travis Stork, Dr. Rachael Ross, Dr. Jennifer Ashton & Dr. Andrew Ordon’s hands to scout for any hand modeling potential.  I believe they all have already all found their true calling with having healing hands  

Dr. Stork has even skin tone, this is a key for a good hand model, as your skin has to be a nice even tone so that it is almost unnoticeable.  If you have skin discoloration or redness it can be distracting from the real star of the photo shoot – whatever the product.  When a hand is holding a bottle of dishwashing soap, the clients don’t want viewers to be distracted by the hand holding it.   Dr. Stork also had a good shape to his nails.  The nails were nice and rounded.  He did have a perfect hitch hikers thumb, which could be the perfect thumb for a very specific type of ad but would rule him out for most hand modeling work.

Dr. Ashton has lovely straight fingers.  Before I started hand modeling, I never really thought about fingers being straight or not, aren’t all fingers straight?  I soon discovered that was not the case as most fingers are not.  It is purely genetics and Dr. Ashton and I can thank our ancestors for passing along their straight fingers to us.  She also has a very nice curve to her thumb with a pretty shape.

Dr. Ordon had the best nails on the panel.  His nail shape is beautiful and you can tell he has taken great care with them.  That is a big key, you have to take care of your nails.  He was also blessed with the nice broad nail shape that is so wanted by clients for male hand models.

I declared Dr. Ross the winner of The Doctors Next Top Hand Model as she was blessed with great even skin tone, a nice shape to her nails with a great curve to her thumb AND she also has very versatile hands.  With a good manicure and polish, her hands could be in beauty or a jewlrey ad and if she removed the polish and had her nails filed short, she could also play the hands of children in toy or video game ads.  She has the hand size that can play both parts!

Thanks to the great peeps involved in the experience, I had a fantastic time with everyone, the studio audience was awesome and I hope one day, the legal department lets them release an outake of the Doctors reaction to what I originally said instead of ‘hand modeling jobs.’    hahahah  

 I’m pleased to note that my penchant for making faces on camera is still going strong.  McKenzie and Matt nailed it with this camera snap of the episode!

g'day Australia! Sunrise Interview

When I got the email about being on the Australian morning show, Sunrise, I immediately wrote back and said yes and would they rather an in person interview?  I’ve always wanted to visit Australia, I worked with Scott Hicks on the movie Hearts in Atlantis years ago and I loved chatting with his family about their home country.  & my friend Meredith has fantastic stories about her time in the country.  One day, one day!!  If I ever make it down and around, I look forward to accepting their invitation to come join them at the studio.

The neatest thing of the whole experience was when I walked in the studio, the producer came right over and said ‘Ashly Covington?  Were you a For Kid Sake Ambassador for Channel 6?’
‘Yes, absolutely!’  My years as a FKS kid were life shaping for me.  It was a program developed by an amazing woman, Norma Blalock.  Norma created a team of kids that represented the television station.  We were at park openings, walked in the parades, read at the hospitals AND we got to ‘work’ at the station.  We had a saturday morning slot on the station and each week we created a new show.  They had us working all sides of production and it was a learning experience like none other.

Well, small worlds are small worlds and it turned out the producer standing in front of me was Sarah Alderson who was one of the producers of the FKS program.  It was incredible to catch up and to be able to make the connection of how those early years shaped everything that we are both doing today.  I’m forever indebted to WTVR TV6 for taking a chance on a group of kids and letting us create, grow and take responsibility for the community.  I’m also forever grateful to my mom who whisked all over town to get me everything I needed for the audition that I told her about probably the night before.  My mom rocks.

Sarah got me all set up with the earpiece and camera frame.  It is funny to try and listen to someone through an earpiece and chat back to the camera.  There was a bit of a delay but I am still impressed that I was able to chat with SAMANTHA ARMYTAGE and ANDREW O’KEEFE with such ease.  They were great fun and I hope one day I can meet them in Australia for an in person chat & ‘hand off’    We wanted to have a little hand judging competition but were unable to get a live feed situated back at my end in Virginia.