We recently connected with Kiki and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Kiki thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Before we get into specifics, let’s talk about success more generally. What do you think it takes to be successful?

First of all, I think it’s important to understand that everyone has their own definition of success. Most of the time, what success looks like is greatly affected by the environment and people were surrounded by.

When I was younger I was taught that a successful life looked like this – you graduate with honours, secure a big job, make lots of money, get married and have kids. And if I wasn’t on that path, I wasn’t going to be successful.

As cliche as it sounds, it’s true. Art changed my life. I was able to see the world through a different lens, learn how to think for myself and find the right space for me.

What it takes to be successful is to really look inward, get to truly know yourself and understand what’s important to you and why. The why’s are so important because it’s so easy to get lost, but if you have a strong reason to why you are on this path, it’s easier to be consistent and stay motivated.

My values strongly revolve around love, connection and growth and I find that if these weren’t present in anything I do, then i feel down, pointless and unsuccessful.

Consistently checking in with yourself, your values and truly understanding why you do what you do is key.

Kiki, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

My name is Kiki and I am a resident tattoo artist at Black Cloud Tattoos located in Toronto, Canada. I tattoo a lot of flowers, butterflies and cats!
Honestly, I don’t have a cool story about hustling hard studio after studio on landing an apprenticeship. It was just pure luck. I was getting a tattoo in 2017 and the artist mentioned they we’re looking for an apprentice, so I took that opportunity.

It was my early 20s, I didn’t even know what my style or niche was at the time. I didn’t go to college or university to further study art, I couldn’t even say I was an artist with much confidence. But I knew I love to create and my career had to be in art. So I made my first ever portfolio and show’d them where I was at even if I was just an aspiring artist.

I’m grateful to have had the opportunity to learn and grow at Black Cloud Tattoos. In my apprenticeship I was able to find who I was as an artist. I carried the mindset that I was here to learn and that always opened up new doors. And I’m proud that I still have that mindset to this day keeping me humble and open to more growth.

I learned that I love drawing and tattooing plants. Nature has always inspired my since the beginning. I love playing around with contrasts – fine lines + bold lines, dark + light, soft + hardcore, etc. I like playing around flow and composition like I’m putting together a bouquet. And I love adding texture in my shading. I realized I didn’t have to try so hard to have my own style or niche, I just had to do what I liked and people saw and appreciated my work.

I love connecting with people. through tattooing, I get to meet such amazing individuals. And I strongly believe the energy I put out there, in my work and my intentions have brought me the right people. There’s always something new to learn from each other and I’m grateful I get to cross paths with so many gems.

To me tattooing is more than just a service and a business. It’s connecting and creating with each other.

Any insights you can share with us about how you built up your social media presence?

During my apprenticeship, I made a new Instagram account for my tattoo journey. I followed all my friends and asked them if they could share/spread the word. The real ones would do this for you!

I also followed other artists who inspire me and apprentices who were sharing the same journey. I made connections by reaching out, asking questions and holding conversations.

Being active was key. Although I didn’t have much tattoos to share early on, I still shared quite a lot – my drawings, tattoo process, my environment, what I learned, what materials I used. There’s a whole lot you can share about your art beyond just the final results.

My advice for those starting to build their social media presence is to first sit down and reflect. What are your values? What are your intentions? When you reach a certain number of followers what does that mean to you? Who is your ideal client? What kind of people do you want to reach?
It’s important to reflect and ask yourself questions like these to really ground you and set your goals.

When people see you on social media, what kind of vibes are you giving? Are you welcoming and do you look fun to work with? Or do you look too cool and intimidating? When you’re ready to take commissions or bookings, is it easy for your potential clients to contact you?

Stepping back and also seeing yourself from a client’s perspective is very important.

I’m very mindful of the energy I put out there. It’s so easy to get lost in the sauce – the number of followers, likes, comments, reach and trends. I wouldn’t say my Instagram is a business account as I share a lot of personal parts of me including my skating hobbies, my cat, what I like eat and don’t like, and even things that make me sad. I don’t want to look like just a business, I want people to see me as another human being. And I find that with the intention of showing up as authentically me, I meet the right people.

How do you keep in touch with clients and foster brand loyalty?

With the intentions of making friends, I form true connections with my clients.

I follow up with my clients and their healed tattoo through email. But I mostly keep in touch through social media. Sometimes I share memes and restaurant recos related to our last conversation. I ask them if they can drop by the studio and show me their healed tattoos and sometimes we just end up catching up and hanging out. If we vibe enough, we end up grabbing, brunch, ice cream or even go t0 karaoke bar.

The number of returning clients I’ve been getting for the last year has been so rewarding. Its been a blessing to be able to make meaningful connections through the art of tattooing.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kikimo/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/hello_kikimo
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@hello_kikimo
• Other: Inkbox Temporary Tattoos: https://inkbox.com/artists/kikimo Stickers: https://kikimo.bigcartel.com/