Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Tyler Bloomingdale. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Tyler , appreciate you joining us today. What’s been the best thing you’ve ever seen (or done yourself) to show a customer that you appreciate them?

I had a client when I was working for Avalon Tattoo 2 in San Diego. The woman had come in with a T-shirt on very timid and nervous. She was sitting down for a consultation, which can be unnerving in itself, and she seemed a bit off. I learned very quickly that she had a preexisting tattoo that she was very disappointed in. So much so that she had not gone out in public without the tattoo covered for over 5 years. I was to be the first stranger to see her ink since it was tattooed on her body. Anyhow I sat down with her and assured her that I could create a design to mask and cover the previous tattoo. I spent enough time with her to gain some trust and honestly I think she just wanted to be free from the pain she had gone through for so long.
A couple weeks later she showed up for her appointment and I had created a floral motif for her that was built to cover the previous design and we moved into the first step of the process which was creating an outline on her arm.
So this is my favorite part…
She comes in for her second tattoo appointment and the third time ever meeting me wearing a tank top. She’s pushing her shoulder at me with the biggest grin on her face. It was so amazing. We laughed we cried and over the next couple appointment we completed the task of creating a beautiful half sleeve she could be proud of.
Nothing beats changing someone’s life forever in a positive way. ThT woman and that memory is one of many, but sticks out and has me smiling as I’m typing this. I’m so grateful for this life.

Tyler , love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

In 2002 I picked up my first tattoo machine. I had no understanding that I was ever going to become a professional in the craft quite honestly I was living a pretty tuckered life and struggling with addiction and mental health issues. Shortly there after I ended up going to prison for nearly 5 years, which was a major struggle coming from me family that truly didn’t understand and my actions weren’t something that I even understood. Anyhow, I didn’t have a lot of money, and I was putting a lot of time into drawing envelopes and doing artwork for people while I was incarcerated, and I met a good friend of mine Danny while I was in there, who had some connections in San Diego in the Tattoo industry. After I got out I went and did an audition tattoo with San Diego tattoo and a gentleman name. Scottie Dagger and the tattoo was a success in a failure all the same time. He was intrigued by the idea that I could take a single Kappa, black ink, and create 70 values out of it, which is something that I had learned while I was incarcerated. He did expressed to me that the length of time that it took me to complete the task was well be on something that could be considered Professional or be sold for the proper value as a professional artist. I did look into the situation well and good enough to get off for the Apprenticeship position and to practice with San Diego Tattoo at their rockstar tattoo location in normal heights San Diego with my buddy, Matt Hines. Anyhow, that’s where I first started to learn the craft of tattooing for real and equipment that was necessary. I also had a bookstore next-door that had a lot of reference books artist Vincy in Michelangelo Duron are people that I still pull inspiration from today. I was able to learn how to paint and gain some ground and confidence at the same time getting to know some people in the industry in San Diego. It was a good time and I quickly learned that I wanted to chase his career full-time. From there I went to Grossmont College ended up graduating with a culinary degree and was able to take a lot of art classes along the way, using a federal grant to pay for my living situation and school.

How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?

After my initial start and career in San Diego, I decided that I want to get out into the world and see things firsthand since I have never made it out of my hometown aside from being locked up in various parts of Northern California and Central California. I have been moved to Michigan where I took a job with heritage tattoo, and Was able to live with one of my good friends from high school. At the time in Michigan I was doing some work, but it wasn’t a big city. There came a day where a client from San Diego who is in the military reached out to me and she asked me if I knew anybody in the New Jersey area they might be able to do a tattoo for her. She was looking for a Leg Sleeve with horror characters such as Pennywise, Freddy Krueger, Mike Myers Dracula Lugosi one and a few others. Anyways, I told her I could drive out and I ended up coming and doing the tattoos on her at her and her boyfriends house. It was an interesting situation, but I was looking for growth and also needed to make some decent money. While I was there, I went into a couple different tattoo shops and I ended up walking into an old-school tattoo shop named deep six in Philadelphia proper. I showed , one of the gentleman who owned the shop, Mike Hill my work, and he had offered me a job on the spot. I moved to Pennsylvania within two weeks from that initial meeting. It was a life-changing moment as it’s still one of the most renowned shops in the United States for the artist that I have worked there .

How did you build your audience on social media?

So after I worked at deep six tattoo, I ended up taking a job in Trenton, New Jersey with Kiss Of Ink Tattoo working for a artist that had been in season three of besting, which was a television show in the mid-2000s. I saw his following and I got to understand the importance of having a solid clientele and honestly, I was a bit envious of how full his life and his ability and his following seem to make him feel. I started slowly with social media, mainly on Instagram, a few of the basic tracks doing some following and unfollowing and then graduated into regular posting and trying to send a specific message as well as make sure that my portfolio looked the same as far as the pictures that I was posting. Try to use the same lighting, same placement things like that to create continuity . Do you sell some of the tricks that I use today along with much more?

Contact Info:

• Website: Www.warhawktattoo.com
• Instagram: @tylerbloomingdaletattoo
• Facebook: Tyler bloomingdale
• Twitter: Tattooshoptwat
• Youtube: I meme tattooed are cool
• Other: Warhawk tattoo on snapchat

Image Credits
Photos taken by myself