Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Casey Hart. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Casey, appreciate you joining us today. What was it like going from idea to execution? Can you share some of the backstory and some of the major steps or milestones?
how does any good business idea start? There has got to be a better way! After ten years in the business, I found a repeating problem between artists and clients. There were too many incidents where clients loved their tattoo, but not the artist or the shop. The shop was cool and the artist was super nice, but the work is not high quality. Overcharging, harassment, poor time management and communication were common issues clients had with their artists. Artists complained of incompetent shop owners, quality of the shop and what it supplies, and the balance of their work life was in shambles. With my personal way of work, I found a perfect balance where the client can have an awesome tattoo, they love the artist, and they have an incredible shop experience that they love so much they do not want to leave. From there, I discovered that the secrets to that success are artwork with integrity, the quality of the client experience, and the people that you hire have to be nothing less than awesome and taken care of first. I set out to create a space that provided these values and found like-minded people who felt strongly to give their clients the same experience. To get started, you have to sit down and paint an experience that you would want from a client perspective. From there, layout the priorities, define the vales, and do not negotiate with your vision. You have to follow your intuition, because a ton of people who have never taken a risk in their life will tell you not to do this, don’t do it like that. You know your business, you know best.
Casey, 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?
I am Casey Hart, a tattoo artist and shop owner of Foxwood Tattoo Collective in Eldersburg Maryland. I have been tattooing for over ten years and specialize in illustrative black and grey work. I have three artists and a permanent makeup artist in my studio, which has been described as a “spa-like” tattoo shop, featuring cozy furniture, fox decor, live plants, wood textures, with a soft ambiance. I believe what sets me apart from other artists and shop owners is my discipline in mindfulness and my values. I know my values are integrity, gratitude, and balance and I keep strong time management skills that with combined with my values create a very unique and smooth tattoo experience from start to finish. For my clients, they leave with a custom one-of-a-kind tattoo in a safe and comfortable environment, where expectations are clear, and leave wanting to turn right back around and do it all again. Nothing drives me more crazy then when I go up to someone and say “hey beautiful tattoo who did it, where etc” and they say “I don’t know, I can’t remember” Thats bad business, I bet if I asked about your shoes, shirt, or bag you could tell me. I set out to make sure people feel the same about their tattoos. This artist, this shop, this cost, it was all completely worth it, here is their card, they’re amazing. I am most proud of fully living my values, creating a shop environment where my artists thrive and manage themselves, and providing the most elevated experience for my clients year after year. I strive to continue to elevate the standard in the tattoo industry, teach others mindfulness and time management, and heal as many as I can through my values and teachings.
How’d you meet your business partner?
I met my apprentice Ryan in December of 2019, he came into a shop I was working at to be tattooed by another artist and he briefly introduced us. After talking some and following him on social media, I knew from that day on that he had insane talent and all the knowledge and potential necessary to begin the tattoo journey. A few months later, an apprenticeship opportunity came in our shop and I knew exactly the man for the job. I called Ryan and he landed his apprenticeship that night. We hit the ground running day one to get him to become the most technical artist he could be and within six months, he has a calendar booked for the unforeseeable future and his skill was beyond his years. We had a mutual understanding of the issues within the industry and how those factors effect our clients and essentially the success of our business. They say two heads are better than one, so we came together with our vision and created Foxwood Tattoo Collective.
Any advice for growing your clientele? What’s been most effective for you?
Definitely the number one is separating yourself from the competition. How do you do that? With tattooing, the client experience can really fall short, the professionalism and communication of the artist is usually poor, and the expectations are so different and constantly changing it can be challenging for clients to understand what is going on. I love setting my entire client experience expectations from the beginning by creating a website that could answer just about any question about my business. Many people do not want to invest the time or money in building a website, but the time and money I save daily not answering fifteen random questions, calls, or emails a day is worth it. Create an experience you would want from an artist. Maybe don’t show up late, unshowerd, and hung over with the drawing not done for your client. Have integrity in your artwork and set realistic expectations. I am telling you, if you give the client an incredible experience, they will rave about your work and recommend everyone to you. Be consistent, with every little thing. With your work week, the amount of times you post on social media, the paperwork. every bit of it. Clients notice, and they each deserve the same effort from you each time you do a procedure. How you feel is how you tattoo, and if you feel confident, the client and you will have a much better day.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.caseyharttattoos.com
- Instagram: artxharttattoos
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/tattoosbycaseyhart
Image Credits
Casey Hart, I took the photos