Today we’d like to introduce you to Melissa Mugisha.
Hi Melissa, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
I think my story starts with being an artist my whole life. It’s been my longest and truest passion. I’m self-taught, and I started out doing black-and-white realistic portraits with pencils.
I’ve always had a lot of interests, and I ended up going to business school because I’ve always had a very creative business mind. I loved coming up with businesses that could solve problems, so it felt like a natural direction for me. While I was there, I took marketing classes, and during Covid I got a job doing sales for a small company. They needed a lot of help with marketing, so I started doing their social media. As I continued through school, that turned into more of a marketing role. I learned web design, some coding, SEO, digital marketing, and even a little graphic design.
It was useful experience, but marketing itself wasn’t really my passion. Around the same time, I was thinking about changing careers and becoming interested in tattooing. I ended up going to tattoo school for six months and completed a small apprenticeship through the school to meet my licensing requirements.
My business background made starting my own LLC a lot less intimidating than it probably would have been otherwise. I designed my own website and logo, and I handle my own digital marketing, so there was a lot that goes into running a successful business that I was actually already prepared for.
Since becoming a tattoo artist, I’ve continued learning and refining my skills every year. I really appreciate that Oregon requires continuing education for tattoo artists. I also spend a lot of time practicing and studying outside of those requirements because I genuinely want to be as good at this as I can be.
One thing I became especially interested in was how different skin types need different considerations when tattooing. I started studying how to better accommodate everything from skin conditions and sensitivities to the sometimes subtle differences that need to be considered when tattooing melanated skin.
I hope I never stop learning. I want to keep refining my skills and finding ways to give people the best tattoo and the best experience I possibly can for the rest of my career.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Yes and no. Honestly, my path has lined up pretty well for me, and I recognize that I’ve been fortunate in a lot of ways. But there have definitely been challenges.
The hardest part for me has been dealing with rude clients and harsh internet criticism. I’ve gotten plenty of opinions online from people who, frankly, I can tell don’t know much about tattooing. I’ve only had three genuinely bad client experiences, but those experiences really shook me.
They berated me, used vulnerabilities I had shared during our sessions against me, and repeatedly attacked my small business. I knew difficult clients were part of running a business, but I don’t think I really understood how it would feel until it happened to me. Customer service and creating a safe space for anxious clients are some of the biggest goals of Tattoo Kiss. So it was difficult when those experiences made me question whether I was actually providing that kind of environment.
Thankfully, the overwhelming majority of my clients are wonderful. I get to meet wonderful people, have great conversations, and hear incredibly kind feedback about their experiences. Those clients are the reason I keep doing it. They make all of the difficult parts worth it.
As you know, we’re big fans of Tattoo Kiss. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about the brand?
I’ve poured a ridiculous amount of love and care into Tattoo Kiss. I really wanted to create something that felt different from the typical tattoo experience: a unique, safe, private space where people can actually feel comfortable.
One of my biggest goals is to make getting tattooed less stressful and intimidating, especially for people who the tattoo industry doesn’t always accommodate well. I really want Tattoo Kiss to be a place where people with sensitive skin, different skin tones, neurodivergent people, and anxious first-timers all feel welcome and considered.
I’m probably most proud of how many clients have told me that they loved their experience at Tattoo Kiss and that it was the best tattoo experience they’ve ever had. That means more to me than almost anything else.
I also take a lot of pride in listening to my clients and creating designs that actually feel like theirs, not just something I wanted to tattoo. Seeing someone look at their finished tattoo and absolutely fall in love with it never gets old.
Those two things, giving people a genuinely good experience and making art they’re excited to live with, bring me so much joy. I’m incredibly grateful that this is my job. Building a life around work I genuinely love has made the less glamorous parts of being an adult a whole lot easier, and I feel really lucky that I get to make a living doing something that matters to me.
Before we go, is there anything else you can share with us?
I think the biggest thing I’d want people to know is that you don’t have to be a specific kind of person to get a tattoo, and you don’t have to fit the stereotype of someone who gets tattooed.
You can be nervous. You can have sensitive skin. You can have a million questions. You can have no idea what you’re doing. You can want something tiny and delicate, or something deeply personal, or just something you think is pretty.
I built Tattoo Kiss because I wanted there to be a place where those things weren’t treated like inconveniences. Getting tattooed should be an experience you feel comfortable being part of, not something you have to toughen yourself up for.
And I think that’s probably what I love most about this career. I get to make art for a living, but I also get to make the process of getting that art a little easier for people.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://tattookissshop.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tattookissshop
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/share/1AgDdrUHnC/?mibextid=wwXIfr
- Other: https://venue.ink/@tattookissshop
