We recently connected with Jalon Clark and have shared our conversation below.

Jalon, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Are you happier as a business owner? Do you sometimes think about what it would be like to just have a regular job?

I can’t say happier because I’ve never worked a regular job but I am for sure happy as a business owner. I definitely have those thoughts of security often. When I started my business I was low on the radar and currently still feel that way, but before money wasn’t stable enough to take care of myself. Also, because of my sport if I were to injure my hands I would have to look at other ways of income. Lastly, just the curiosity and new experience would make me wonder what a regular job would feel like.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

My name is Jalon, I got into tattooing because I started liking the evolution of artistry in tattoos. I got my first tattoo at 18 and every summer coming back home from college I added to my body. Once the pandemic hit, it was a perfect time to try things out. Also, the tattoo ideas I wanted at that time became expensive and I have always been good at art so I thought why not giving it a shot. I ordered a tattoo kit on Amazon and practiced tattooing on pig skin for two weeks, then next was my left thigh. Once I saw progression of each tattoo I did on myself, my friends wanted tattoos as well then the rest is history. I professionalize in black and gray realism tattoos. The part of me liking realism pieces was connected to the start of me getting a tattoo. Something about realism just amazes me how you can put something on human flesh and make it look as if it was a picture. The thing I push to my clients is to make an investment with your body, a lot of people look at tattoos as just ink on skin instead of someone showing their story with art. The thing that separates me from a lot of artists besides the work itself would be the connections I make with my clients, I treat them with love just as if they were family. So it makes each session worth the experience due to the vibe, surroundings, and energy I bring.

Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?

The story I will share is whenever I first started tattooing it was hard enough to get clients and I didn’t want to be mobile, but I ended up driving long distances just to get business. I learned that I’ll do things I don’t want to do to reach my goals.

Have you ever had to pivot?

Also, this is tied a little bit to the reason of me tattooing. Before the pandemic hit I was playing basketball in college and in my freshman summer I injured my knee and it resulted in me getting four knee surgeries and at this time I didn’t know anything but basketball. I was struggling mentally, so I asked God to provide something in my life that can make me feel purposeful and months later I started tattooing. Looking back I am so grateful for that time because it not only gives me another talent to work with, but it allowed me to see God really working in my life.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://smoovtattoo.my.canva.site/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/smoovtattoo?igsh=MWowODRodXQzdG9iNw==
• Other: TikTok
  https://www.tiktok.com/@smoovtattoo?_t=8sFRuaDvtLn&_r=1

Image Credits

All photos taken by me