We recently connected with Bree Stallworth-Rouse and have shared our conversation below.

Bree , looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. It’s always helpful to hear about times when someone’s had to take a risk – how did they think through the decision, why did they take the risk, and what ended up happening. We’d love to hear about a risk you’ve taken.

Honestly this entire career was a huge risk . I was entering my final semester of college when I was given the choice of apprenticeship or school. I had been apprenticing for about 6/7 months when I had to make the decision to pick one or the other because it was just not possible for me at the time to do both . It was really scary for me to go all in with tattooing but I knew it was what I wanted to do deep down . It was by far the most amazing thing I could have done for myself .

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

I was trying for the longest time to get an apprenticeship and it was just not working . I was told left and right by shops “no”. During this time I was also pursuing a degree in fine art (printmaking was my area of focus) . I hated school and I mean absolutely hated it . I was getting so bored with the “expectations” and “subjective manner” of college . I just felt like I could do more and I needed more . I was getting tired of doing things I didn’t want to do . I got my first apprenticeship by meeting an artist at an art store I was working at in Atlanta and I worked in his shop for about four months and got offered an even better one at a shop that I thought suited me more . I worked at this next shop for about six months of so until we all separated to a brand new shop that would eventually be my last and final apprenticeship that lasted about a year . I started working at my current shop maybe six months after my apprenticeship. I actually got most of my tattoos from there when I was really young . It’s been a really awesome experience so far . My boss and coworkers have been really supportive when it has come to my growth and development as an artist . I’ve been able to develop a style and really focus on what I wanted to do for once . I’ve been enjoying working with primarily black and grey focusing on floral and portrait work . I have always had this insane attraction to floral and intricate things. I like to focus on beautiful things but with a darker manner and I feel like that is something you can see in my work .

: Is there a particular goal or mission driving your creative journey?

I’ve always strived to represent what I wish I had in a Tattooer when I was younger . I wanted to see more strong , thriving , successful women in this industry. I felt like women haven’t always been represented much in the industry and I just have that in me as the driving force of my career . It’s not something I feel I need to prove to anyone else but myself . At the end of the day I just wanted to become a Tattooer that my younger self would be proud of .

What’s a lesson you had to unlearn and what’s the backstory?

I’ve had to learn that men may think they dominate this industry but women are a force to be reckon with when it comes to tattooing . I’ve always been made to feel somewhat inadequate just by being a woman but I’ve grown to see that there are so so so many women killing it in tattooing . I also feel like women are the reason the industry is starting to become more inclusive and progressive.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: Breestallworthtattoo

Image Credits
Hannah crump (sapphire heart photography)