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

Alex, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Do you take vacations? How do you keep things going – any advice for entrepreneurs who feel like they can’t step away from their business for a short vacation?

Tattoo is a unique career that allows us to travel and connect with other artists. My essential tattoo equipment fits in a backpack so I’m easily able to hit the road and setup at other tattoo studios. Tattooing is a skill that seems to be in high demand worldwide. We live in a town of 2000 people so travel feels crucial to our career advancement. We like to travel near and far to gather inspiration and meet new clients. The internet has infinite information but we gain more impactful memories through lived experiences and personal connections. I love to travel for conventions, seminars and guest spots. I’ve been fortunate to meet and learn from many of the worlds best tattooers. I’m also lucky to be married to another highly motivated tattoo artist. For our honeymoon, we were able to tattoo in nine countries over 90 days.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

I learned to tattoo through an apprenticeship in Crested Butte, Colorado. I spent five years at that shop, primarily tattooing small walk-in customers. In a tourist town, these tattoos were mostly small mountains, wildflowers and words. Eventually I realized I would need to change my routine in order to further grow as an artist.
I decided to travel to learn from other artists, collecting tattoos and working alongside different artists showed me the potential of where I could take tattooing. I reconnected with my old college friend, Janice, over a shared love for adventure travel and tattooing. We quickly started dating and she moved to Crested Butte with me to start High Nowhere Tattoo. Janice was a huge help in refining my tattoo style. Her encouragement helped me to persuade clients towards my artistic vision of their ideas. I draw tattoos with clear subjects that fit the body, have strong contrast and bold colors. I prefer interesting compositions rather than stand alone sticker subjects.
Working in a mountain town, most of my customers request tattoo ideas from nature. Through skiing and fly fishing, I’m lucky to spend a lot of time exploring the mountains. I pull artistic inspiration from my experience in nature. I feel that my work does well to represent our common love for the natural world.

We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?

When I began tattooing, I learned I had to give every customer exactly what they asked for. This seemed obvious, I was a great people pleaser, for my boss and everyone that came through the door with half baked, generic ideas.
I had to change my environment to re learn that most people don’t know exactly what they want and I could give them something better. When someone requests too many elements in a tattoo, it becomes crowded and unreadable. When they want the exact image from the internet, I can find a way to make it better and more unique to them. When they want it too small, I can explain the limitations of skin and help create a better lasting tattoo.

Any advice for growing your clientele? What’s been most effective for you?

Putting my whole heart into every project and treating people well has earned me a good reputation. I make tattoos that people are proud to show off. Word of mouth is pretty powerful in a small town. I’m traveling for work more now to spread my art beyond this isolated mountain town.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://crestedbuttetattoo.com
• Instagram: @stevenson.a.tattoo

Image Credits

Alex Stevenson