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

Hi Cierra, thanks for joining us today. Have you been able to earn a full-time living from your creative work? If so, can you walk us through your journey and how you made it happen? Was it like that from day one? If not, what were some of the major steps and milestones and do you think you could have sped up the process somehow knowing what you know now?

Earning a living wage doing what I love hasn’t been easy, but all my hard work becomes more worth it as my career grows in the tattoo industry. I started off in a small 400 sq ft. building off the side of the highway, which I opened with my best friend in 2020. During this time, I was basically homeless, wondering if I’d ever have a hot shower again or if I might freeze in my sleep. I was maybe making $40 a day at the beginning (those $80 days felt like baller days) and not making a profit, just loving what I did and making enough to barely breathe. As long as I had a chance to grow, that was enough for me. I never really had a proper apprenticeship, but through blood, sweat, and tears, I made it.

After moving to a main location and being surrounded by other motivated artists, I really started taking off. I went from doing little $40 tattoos and saying “you can pay me whatever you want” to now winning best tattoo artist locally two years in a row and clearing a six-figure salary. For any small artist out there with big dreams, keep looking forward, take risks, and don’t look back. Start small, and sometimes sell yourself for less than what you’d like because once you get your name out there, it all pays off. If you make money doing what you love, you’ll never really work a day in your life.

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’ve always wanted to be a tattoo artist since the day I found out what they were. I think I was 13 when I told myself I was going to open a tattoo shop one day.

I opened Rivalry Tattoo & Piercing in 2020 with my best friend Ellie Eckman. We’d always tell each other as teenagers, “We’re gonna open a tattoo shop one day. I’ll tattoo, and you can pierce!” And one day, we were sitting there in our own shop, thinking, “Holy shit, we just did it.”

We’ve focused on empowering the women around us in the body art industry and helping out as much as we can in our local community, from benefit flash sales to toy/coat runs and free tattoos for those hitting sobriety milestones.

I believe that as a tattoo artist, our clients are trusting us to permanently mark their bodies for the rest of their lives. This is something no one should take lightly. I love to create long-lasting, meaningful friendships with my clients. In my opinion, I’m able to create better artwork for them if I know them on a deeper level. I want them to feel safe in my chair and never afraid to speak up about anything. The fact that they let me permanently mark their bodies with my own artwork makes me appreciate them so much more. (If you’re reading this, I love you.)

This is something I hear time and time again about my shop: it’s welcoming, friendly, and you always feel like you’re part of our family. And that is something I will never change about Rivalry. Everyone is accepted and loved, no matter what. That’s our brand. That’s what we stand for. Giving you some cool tattoos and being some cool people while we’re at it.

Looking back, are there any resources you wish you knew about earlier in your creative journey?

For new floor artist, if you’re in a small town with lower end tattoo shops, I’m telling you. GUEST SPOT AS MUCH AS YOU CAN! Make friends in the industry! They’ll help you more than you’ll ever know.

What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?

I get to live my life doing what I love, and not only that, I get to see success in doing what I love. It makes every day worth it as I get to watch the growth of my business and myself.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: @unusualspecimen

Image Credits

None