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

Alright, Edwin thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. One deeply underappreciated facet of entrepreneurship is the kind of crazy stuff we have to deal with as business owners. Sometimes it’s crazy positive sometimes it’s crazy negative, but crazy experiences unite entrepreneurs regardless of industry. Can you share a crazy story with our readers?

It was Spring of 2019, I had been tattooing for around five and a half years at the time and I was working in a fairly well known walk in shop in downtown San Diego. We rotated the walk ins and as I had no appointment for that day, I was up next. A somewhat disheveled woman walked in so I hopped up to help her out. As I approached her she was pretty dirty and her hair was a mess. I do my best not to judge and try to think the best of people so I just tell myself she must have just gotten off work or had one hell of a start to her day. She lets me know she needs a coverup and was desperately hoping I could help. One of my specialties is in coverups so I proceed to show her some of my previous work and then ask her what it is she’d like covered up. She very casually looks me in the eye and says “all of the guys I sleep with keep complaining about having to stare at this other man’s name on my *ss and I need it gone as soon as possible.” I just start nodding and let her know I need to see the tattoo and we can run over some options. Without hesitation she begins pulling her pants down right then and there in the front of the shop for all of downtown San Diego and it’s passerby’s to see. I asked her politely to come around the corner where there’s more privacy and she followed me around to a more discreet location. Although, she definitely wasn’t shy or seemed to care much for discretion. Before I know it, she’s got her pants and underwear, both, down around her ankles, face by the ground, and both hands grasping at the cheeks of her *ss, pulling apart with a firm grip. So I do what any professional would do, I presume the name is between the crack or in that area, bend over and begin to look for a tattoo. She had a very dark complexion so I looked pretty intently. After a good 10-15 seconds of the most gut wrenching smell, and inspection of her crack, the herniated *sshole, and then entirety of her cheeks, I finally found the tattoo! It was up by her love handle/outter left cheek. It was small, incomprehensible, and unfortunately not possible to coverup due to her extremely dark complexion in that area. I let her know she can get dressed, and the news that I wouldn’t be able to help her. She thanked me and quickly left. I turned around to the other artists and they were all just face down on their phones. I asked if they saw any of that and not a single one had been paying attention. They then asked if I got a photo or video of the ordeal and we all just started laughing. I didn’t even think to pull my phone out during the entire ordeal. It was one of the weirdest experiences I’ve ever had. One of the artists later told me when she walked in they all ignored her because she was a local prostitute who’s been in before asking for tattoos but they always turned her away due to her hygiene. If only I had known but I was new to the shop and try to be nice to everyone.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

I’ve been getting tattooed for over 25 years and have always loved the craft. I debated on tattooing from around the age of 18 but didn’t feel I was good enough. I tried talking to a few different shops but they weren’t interested or weren’t currently looking to add a new apprentice. I moved on to the music industry for several years and worked for myself doing a variety of things from web and graphic design, to photography, to life coaching. I had a couple of day jobs here and there in the restaurant industry but those were all short lived. In 2013 I was fed up with most of the artists I had met and worked with. I would often save up for months to get a new tattoo and they’d always seem to just rush me in and out giving me some pretty mediocre work. I knew I was a better artist and began ranting to my roommate about how I could do it better. She surprised me that Christmas with one of those terrible tattoo kits that should honestly be illegal. I was so shocked and happy though. I had an 80 hour course under my belt for blood borne pathogens and cross contamination thanks to managing restaurants, and my roommate was previously a phlebotomist. We felt confident we could keep a sterile environment so I did my first tattoo right then and there. A little “13” on my left hand. Unfortunately the next Friday the 13th was months out and I figured, f*ck it, why not. I spent the next two years practicing on myself, my roommate, and a small handful of other people. I really didn’t do that many pieces. So the first two years, although I count them, I didn’t really do more than maybe 20 or so tattoos. In 2015 I lied my way into my first shop out in Virginia. That was short lived. The owner was up to some shady stuff and I didn’t want any part of it. So I left and opened a private studio in my apartment for the next couple of years. In Spring of 2018 I ended up working at Red Octopus, one of Duffy Fortner’s shops in Maryland (Ink Master / Inked Angels) for a short stint before deciding to move back to my hometown of San Diego later that year. I worked in three different shops, picking up some minor things here or there but mainly just experience from tattooing more and more since walk ins were now a steady option vs. appointment only. Each shop was beyond flawed and I took note of everything I would do differently. By the end of 2019 I moved to Lancaster, Pennsylvania where I worked at a local shop for around 3 months. Again, heavily flawed, the owners even stole my custom artwork and would tattoo my original designs behind my back. Covid shutdowns hit, so I again opened a private studio at my apartment. Times were weird but people wanted tattoos and I had bills to pay so it all worked out well. After some riots outside my apartment I moved to the Poconos Mountains and finally opened my own shop, “Blaque Arts Tattoos” in Hazleton, Pennsylvania. We opened in November 2021 in the downtown area. After a year we had to move locations due to the crime rate at our first location and the unfortunate drug problems in the area. Since moving however we’ve been able to really establish ourselves. My wife is my second artist and sole piercer and we run the place better than any shop I’ve ever worked at. Six, sometimes seven days a week we make this place our own. The entire shop is Halloween themed, and we can proudly say we offer the best quality tattoos, piercings, and service within an hour of our location. Since opening the shop, I’m proud to be a part of the JCOnly Pro Team for the USA. They’re truly the best cartridge I’ve ever used and the best company to be a part of! If you’re in the industry I highly recommend you check them out, you won’t regret it!

Any advice for growing your clientele? What’s been most effective for you?

I think for us, the most effective strategy, if you can call it that, is just staying true to ourselves. We always treat everyone like a guest in our own home and strive to deliver the highest quality work and customer service. I’ve been in and out of countless shops, mainly as a client, as well as an artist. Too many times the artists will “cool guy” you almost immediately and give you a “no f*cks given” attitude; I always loathed that. People should be excited to come into a tattoo shop. Piercings and tattoos are fun, built with anticipation, excitement, and really just a longing to feel and look cool. So we treat everyone like family and always invite them back, even just to hang out and kill time on a day off or if they’re bored and want to hang out at the shop. Many of our clients are friends because of our approach and we couldn’t be happier.

We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.

Every shop I ever worked at had at least one egotistical jerk, at least one. They would always be in a mood, and always way too happy to bring you down to their level, or try at least. Constant criticism about my art and designs, my tattoo work, my pricing. Honestly anything and everything to make themselves feel better. I would often ignore them, sometimes feel the need to defend myself, and other rare occasions have to handle the situation a bit more sternly. There’s always room for constructive criticism, but some people in the tattoo industry only want to see you fail. I was often told that I had no clue what I was doing due to being self taught but I always just ignored them. I would tattoo just as clean and smoothly as they were, especially for the amount of experience I had, and I had to tell myself to just keep my head down and work harder. I’ve always had to prove myself in this industry and I’m still doing that to this day. Owning my own shop is definitely way better. Having the right environment that is positive, consistent, and always stocked with inventory (a major problem in every other shop), has helped to build a solid career and keep me pushing forward. At the end of the day, this is my dream. I’ve sacrificed the last decade of my life for it and I’d do it again.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.BlaqueArts.com
• Instagram: www.Instagram.com/BlaqueArts
• Facebook: www.FaceBook.com/BlaqueArts
• Youtube: www.Yelp.com/BlaqueArts
• Other: Sponsored Pro Team Artist of JCOnly: www.instagram.com/jconly

Image Credits
Blaque Arts Tattoo