Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Deanna Wardin. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Deanna, appreciate you joining us today. We’d love to hear the backstory behind a risk you’ve taken – whether big or small, walk us through what it was like and how it ultimately turned out.
Very early into my tattoo career, my mentor, Mez, very casually asked me if I wanted to open a tattoo shop in San Francisco. Just as casually as Mez had asked, I answered with a yes. The next shift I came in with a stack of research about the market in San Francisco, how to write a business plan and the steps to open a business in the area.
Mez responded with an “Oh shit, are we really going to do this?”
We got our other co-worker and my now husband, Chris Henry, onboard.
This was the start of what is now our 14th year of business at Tattoo Boogaloo in North Beach, San Francisco.
We all moved in together with two other folks. We had community savings and every spare dollar any one of us had we put in tapped off cardboard tubes. It didn’t matter who put more money in the fund, we all had a common goal, and we all pitched in what we could.
Once our business plan was ready, we were able to get a modest loan from my family to get started, which was quite an unexpected surprise.
We traveled to San Francisco and scoped out places to live as well as places to put the business. We ran into many obstacles. It is not easy to find a home for 5 humans, 5 cats and a dog in a place like San Francisco, but we met a man who was leaving San Francisco to go to our home state of Colorado, and he gave us a chance!
As far as the business went, we ran into landlords who didn’t want a tattoo shop, buildings that looked like something out of a movie set (wood planks over literal pits), and plumbers that told us we would have to bribe the inspectors if we wanted our shop in certain locations.
Given those choices, we settled on the landlord that didn’t want a tattoo shop. The landlord’s brokers were a lovely elderly couple who could clearly see our dream and they fought hard for us. Ultimately we ended up paying 6 months rent upfront to secure the location, and we are still in that same location to this day.
We had people fighting for us the whole way. People in the industry giving us their old equipment, clients and friends helping us with signage and furniture and others offered their advice, connections and well wishes.
By the time we got the pluming done, our modest budget pretty much had enough left over for some paint, a bag of Cheetos and a loaf of bread. We were going to sink or swim.
At the beginning, we all worked 7 days a week, eating our Cheeto sandwiches. Slowly but surely we found people who were as enthusiastic as we were about our little shop. There was one woman Peggy, who was our biggest cheerleader, and she really made that first year a good one. It wasn’t immediate, but little by little our clientele and our crew grew.
It hasn’t been a perfect ride, but I certainly do not regret packing up and moving across the country for a big dream with the best of friends!
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’m an artist and entrepreneur living in the bay area who is most well known for my tattoo work. I am the kind of person who likes to see the impossible become possible. I am restlessly experimenting… with art, with design, with animation, with product ideas, with pretty much everything I can get my hands on!
I studied graphic design and printmaking at the University of Northern Colorado. I noticed I was spending more time in the printmaking studio than the computer lab because I really enjoyed working with my hands.
While in college, during a wave of rebellion, I went to the local tattoo shop to get my septum pierced, where the piercer, Katie Grinstead, asked me if I had ever considered being a piercer. She handed me an application and sparked an interest in me that I didn’t know that I had. Thanks to her, I began my journey. Over time both her and I transitioned into tattooing. I am certainly thankful for her introduction into this world as well as her continued friendship.
Now in addition to tattooing, I am working with fellow tattoo artist, Heather Reynolds, and long time client and developer, Nicholas Bui LeTourneau, to create tattoo specific software. We are in the early stages, so I don’t want to say too much, but I am excited by the prospect of making something to help the folks within my industry.
Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?
During the pandemic, San Francisco and California in general, had some of the most strict restrictions in the country. In total, our business was shut down for about 9 months.
In addition to many of the fears I was sharing with everyone else experiencing the pandemic, I was also scared that we were going to lose our business, perhaps even our careers, so I panic enrolled in school. Since I already had the background in graphic design, I took a 6 month intensive course on UX and UI design. Although I was ultimately able to go back to tattooing, this period of time gave me some of the skills and inspiration to work on my current side project making software specific to tattoo artists.
For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?
For tattooing specifically, the fact that people, strangers even, give me their trust and carry my artwork on them for the rest of their lives is such an unbelievable honor. I love learning about others, their stories, motivations and what is important enough to them that they want to have it tattooed on their skin.
In other forms of art or creativity, I think the most rewarding aspects are pushing my limits, learning new things, and watching something that was just an idea turn into something that now exists in the world.
Contact Info:
- Website: tattooboogaloo.com
- Instagram: instagram.com/graphicward
