We were lucky to catch up with Brittany Ziems recently and have shared our conversation below.

Brittany, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. We’d love to hear about a project that you’ve worked on that’s meant a lot to you.

I’d say the most meaningful project I’ve been working on has certainly been The Calling Bell.

Long story short, a few friends and I had the idea of going in on a shared art studio back in 2020, after Covid had us all thinking more about our futures. Only two years later, I found myself suddenly a sole owner of a private tattoo studio and art gallery, with a few employees, and coming to the end of our lease. Needless to say, my life took me down a path I certainly wasn’t anticipating.

During that winter when I first became the sole owner of the business, I took some time to deeply consider the position I was in; if this was a path I wanted to pursue, and what it is I wanted for my own life and career. I felt like all of the hard work and lessons I learned from starting a business with some friends ultimately prepared me for the opportunity I had before me- to create a space that I felt called to create.

Thus came The Calling Bell.

I felt like Long Island was lacking a place for creative community, outside of learning institutions or places you had to pay to be a member of. Community through art and tattooing are extremely important to me, and I wanted to cultivate a space where those communities could come together and serve as a safe space for creative folks of all kinds.
I rebranded the business to The Calling Bell in April of 2023, and it has been the most rewarding, fulfilling project that I have ever pursued, and continue to work on.

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 started my tattoo apprenticeship at a very busy walk-in shop back in 2013. I was working full time at a local tea house/coffee shop, The Witches Brew, after dropping out of college, where one of the cooks was dating the counter girl at a nearby tattoo shop. She really helped me out by putting in a good word for me with her boss, and I’ll never forget her for that. During college I had been shot down from every shop I tried to get an apprenticeship at, so I was extremely grateful for her help getting my foot in the door. Thank you always Annie!

Since then I had moved on to work in a more high end tattoo studio before opening up my own studio and gallery with a friend. When she left the business, I decided to rebrand the shop into what I felt aligned more with my personal vision for a communal space.

I really strive to offer a safe, welcoming environment for my clients and guests to get tattooed, and be able to experience art from a true DIY perspective. Inclusivity is very important to me, and I love having my clients feel like they’re a part of the process, not just with the tattoo but with the whole creative practice in the shop. As much as I appreciate folks choosing my own work to wear, I get so much enjoyment from connecting with people and creating a piece specially made for them. Most of my clients come to me with a general, sometimes very vague concept for a tattoo. It’s so fun to play with ideas and come up with a design that we both can be really excited about creating. To feel like I could help someone feel truly represented for who they are by wearing these designs is an incredibly rewarding experience, and makes every tattoo I do so special and unique. I am eternally grateful for everyone who trusts me with their body and self expression.

I think my experiences at such different types of shops has helped me form a pretty broad skillset stylistically. While I have my own style for the original pieces I like to put out, I enjoy doing a variety of styles depending on what fits the clients vision for themselves. Whatever style it is, my goal is always to provide a solid tattoo that can stand the test of time.

Is there something you think non-creatives will struggle to understand about your journey as a creative? Maybe you can provide some insight – you never know who might benefit from the enlightenment.

I think theres a couple aspects about having a creative career that can be hard to express to those outside of creative fields. Creativity for me is an impulse, more than a conscious thought. It’s a way of being and moving through life, which when you rely on that instinct to support yourself, there’s no way to fully pull yourself out of work mode. There’s no “clocking out” when you work a creative career- there hardly even feels like there’s time off. In a lot of ways, its exciting, because my home life and work life feel so symbiotic, but it can make dealing with burnout pretty difficult.

Another thing that I personally find hard to express is my creative style. Whether it’s with my tattoos, self expression, personal interests; I feel like my style is forever shifting and evolving. With tattooing, it can be hard to feel consistent in building a brand or name for myself, which is an important thing to consider in any business. I think a lot of the pressure I feel definitely comes from a societal expectation to be easily identifiable and categorized, so with an ever changing approach to my designs, it can feel a bit like I’m doing something wrong. I think it can be hard for non-creatives to understand that struggle with creative identity. Although I find sometimes that lack of understanding can serve as a liberating reminder that I don’t have to conform to anything. My process is my story, and the evolution of my work reflects just that. It’s a testament to who I was, and who I am becoming- there will always be growth.

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

I think ultimately what drives my creative journey is the pursuit of knowledge. I love to learn and grow, I think its imperative to the human experience. My goal in my creative career and my life in general, is to always keep growing. There is so much of this world that I can’t possibly experience in one lifetime, which means there is an endless opportunity to learn. For me, exploration is the driving force of creativity and innovation.

My mission is to build and share an incredibly enriched life, immersed in art, beyond what you might picture “art” to be. I believe creativity is a mindset stemmed from authenticity, and it’s not exclusive to any one type of person.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.thecallingbell.co
• Instagram: @thecallingbell @brit.tattoo

Image Credits

Action shots courtesy of Julian Bracero