We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Hannah Abeyta a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Hannah, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Are you happier as a creative? Do you sometimes think about what it would be like to just have a regular job? Can you talk to us about how you think through these emotions?

I am in disbelief that I am a professional artist. Not because I didn’t earn it or deserve it or am talented enough. I just feel so privileged that I get to do work that is fun, challenging, and personal. When I decided to go to school for art, I had no aspirations of making art professionally. I knew I wanted to go to college, I loved drawing, and that I have never wanted a “regular” job. I bartended for a decade before tattooing and really loved it.

In some ways, I actually feel like my current career is the most “regular” job I’ve had yet. Building and investing in my tattoo business, keeping track of finances, and sending more emails than I have in my entire life. I get to balance the joys of creating art and building relationships with my clients with the responsibilities and challenges of owning a small business.

So, yes, I am thankful every day that I’m not wasting away in some cubical. I am also happy that I get the chance to be apart of both worlds, and learn so much about myself along the way.

Hannah, 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 fell in love with hand-poked tattoos after years of tattooing myself! What had become a little bit of a part-time gig, grew quickly once I found the perfect studio to work out of. I quickly found that I could provide a service that made people comfy, and seen, and excited. I was so upset to hear the vast majority of my clients had experienced humiliation, disrespect, and intimidation at other tattoo shops.

Immediately, my vision shifted to creating an intimate space where everyone feels validated in their experience. I make sure that my clients are 100% confident before getting into my chair. Tattooing is an extremely intimate process, physically and emotionally. For the comfort of my clients, I tattoo out of a private room. This allows me to connect with my clients without distractions, and for us to be vulnerable with each other. I am overjoyed to be able to say my beautiful clients are mostly women and/or queer individuals.

My favorite part about the process is how much lower the intensity is when hand-poking tattoos. There’s no buzzing of machines, or fast-paced needles. I simply place the ink manually into the skin. Because this method causes a lot less trauma to the skin, it typically tends to be less painful and most pieces heal twice as fast.

I tend to book most of my sessions a week to a month in advance! Nowadays it can be so difficult to find an artist that matches your vibe and is available within a reasonable time-frame, or even at all. I respond to every booking email and instagram message personally (no forms or automated responses) because I want you to feel like you’re collaborating with an actual human.

Any insights you can share with us about how you built up your social media presence?

At previous jobs, I had the opportunity to post on behalf of the company I worked for. I found myself restricted and without voice, having to remain socially neutral, and appropriate. I always knew that if I owned a business, it’s social presence would be 100% authentic. I try to post the vast majority of projects that I tattoo on a daily basis, not just the excited projects or highlights. I try my best to connect with my clients, by showing them love and tagging them in photos (which also makes my posts easier for clients to share to their followers). I also linked my personal IG in my tattoo bio so people can get to know me better before they reach out.

I try not to be overly concerned with branding, but at the same time create a cohesive style for specific reoccurring events or promotions so that people can start to recognize them automatically. I have also found that booking is a particularly large obstacle for folks, so I try to update my availability on both my IG stories and website.

My biggest piece of advice is to keep things casual. If you start to overthink things, posting will become more and more of a chore over time, Keep things light and fun, and people will feel like they’re following a friend and not just one of a million faceless artists online. I don’t have a bunch of followers, but trust me when I say the quality is way better than quantity when it comes to actually getting people to book.

In your view, what can society to do to best support artists, creatives and a thriving creative ecosystem?

You don’t have to just support artists financially! If you can’t afford to pay for a service or product, share your friend’s small business on your IG story. If you see someone who is really and truly doing something right in this world, blow up their spot, be their biggest cheerleader! If you have a successful business or creative pursuit, don’t gate keep. Share your failure and tools with people who are struggling to get their feet off the ground. I don’t know a single artist that doesn’t experience imposter-syndrome on a daily basis, so just know that you ARE good enough, and cool enough and talented enough to do it.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.hannahabeyta.com
• Instagram: @abeyta.tattoo