Today we’d like to introduce you to Kellie Marie.
Hi Kellie, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I started getting tattooed when I was in the military. I would say that tattoo shops and the art of tattooing were my main coping mechanism for alot of the trauma I was going through at that time. So after getting a ptsd diagnosis when I got out of the military I finally started getting actual help and art therapy was a really big part of that. So i ended up getting really into drawing again through therapy. After that I moved to Portland and I got really lucky. This tattoo school/shop there hooked me up and let me just learn to tattoo and take walk ins because the VA wouldn’t cover that haha. Then I finished that and got my license. 5 other artists and myself decided to open bloodhound tattoo. We opened it as a collective and im very proud of how our business has flourished over the last 2 years.
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?
It’s been really rough trying to open a business in the current economy. I know we are not the only artists out here feeling it nor are we the only industry struggling. It’s very difficult to operate a business that revolves around people having expendable income to spend on tattoos when nobody has that expendable income. There are so many talented artists in Portland it’s extremely competitive and times are just hard for everyone right now. We have had a break in as well which set us back for a little but mostly I think we have had about a smooth road as anyone over the last couple years.
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
I am a tattoo artist. I love doing American traditonal, neotraditional, anime and Japanese traditional. Im very proud of my work i love giving clients a cool piece and watching their face light up and talk about how cool it looks. I think tattooing is supposed to be an extremely accessible thing to all of us. Humans have been marking themselves since the dawn of time and I do think that it’s a trade that should cater to the common person. I always try to work with a budget and ill offer certain groups sliding scale like sex workers or anyone going through a rough tine. I really pride myself on doing quality work but keeping it accessible for people. I don’t want to develop an ego and act pretentious about my art and I try to price it to meet people where they are at. At the same time I understand that tattoos are extremely meaningful for many people and I feel proud that clients trust me when they see my art to mark them permanently. I think what sets me apart is that I’m just a girl from Appalachia out here trying to give you a really cool tattoo and have a good time for a very fair price. I also care about my clients and do my best to give back to our community. Im also proud of organizing a bunch of fundraising and trying to help the community with our shop but there’s no way I can take sole credit for any of that. I am so supported by the women at bloodhound tattoo and im extremely proud of all of them
How do you think about happiness?
My dog and my girlfriend both make me very happy because I love them. Godzilla also makes me very happy because he isn’t judgemental and always looks cool
Contact Info:
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/supersonicducktattoo?igsi=MTBjNGxoemx0dnV2aA==
- Other: https://venue.ink/@supersonicducktattoo
