Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Iris Showalter. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Iris , looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. To kick things off, we’d love to hear about things you or your brand do that diverge from the industry standard.
It is humbling and rewarding at the same time to provide a service most women do not even know exist. I connect with each of my clients. I speak to them about what makes them insecure and why, and often we connect with other things outside of the service. I value integrity by continuously evolving and maintaining my signature “naturalism” style, always remaining passionate and authentic with every service, which always leaves the client leaving happy and thrilled with the results.
Many in the industry take one class and run with the certificate so to quickly make a buck without actually putting in the time and effort in evolving in the the craft and to gain additional artistic skills so you can give the client something original and specifically tailored to them. I make certain the final result is so natural and realistic that it is consistently undetectable to anyone else they encounter and that is the point. That is what stands out from the rest.
It is never too late to have something done for yourself that makes you feel more confident and secure about yourself. It is not to say that it is for everyone or that everyone needs this service to feel confident or secure, however, the entire purpose of this unique service is so everyone knows its existence. It is made for the sole purpose to be available for those seeking it out. Everyone researches who they want as their Hair Stylist, Masseuse, or even a Doctor or Specialist. They either hear good things from others by word of mouth, read reviews and rankings, or just see their portfolio work and it speaks for itself. It is no different when looking for the right artist when it comes to Reconstruction and Cosmetic Tattooing. This is your body and you must be your own advocate when selecting the right artist for you. It is the client’s duty to themself to thoroughly research for an artist that not only they love the style and abilities but feels confident that this is the artist for me due to all the factors involved; talent, capabilities, expertise, and style (portfolio). As an Artist it is imperative to continually keep up with advanced education and modernizing this unique artistic craft so that every client leaves feeling their absolute best version of themselves.
A couple of stories of how “connecting” and “evolving” in this craft matters:
My client Sherry lost both areolas due to cancer. She is 72 years old. She did not have areolas for over 20 years when the cancer was removed and went through chemo. When she found out I existed due to a re-zoning approval published by the local paper, she immediately reached out to meet with me for a consult. After meeting with me and going over some options, she was eager and happy to book her first session on restoring her areolas. The day of her appointment she was nervous but excited. As the areolas started to blossom and visibly come together she became very excited. The end result was natural looking areolas she didn’t have for over 20 years. She was so ecstatic she and her husband invited me out to lunch and we instantly connected and became friends. We remain friends to this day. The overall experience and outcome brought tears of joy to my client and we both hugged at the end. She said she “will always remember me and this experience” and that “I am her angel”. There is nothing more rewarding than tears of joy and a warm hug.
Ada had a unilateral mastectomy and wanted to feel herself again. She reached out to me for a 3D realism tattoo to reconstruct her areola. We immediately connected and were able to communicate speaking both our native language (Spanish). When it was complete, she stood up and her eyes started to water, and she then gave me the biggest hug. The impact you make by creating what they lost will forever be imbedded in their lives.
As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?
I have always been a “natural” when it comes to art and creative projects. I am a native New Yorker and Miamian. I studied several creative industries beginning with my love for architecture, music, and illustration and earned a BA in Interior Design. For decades, I had careers both as a professional Interior Designer and a professional hair stylist. In 2008, I made the transition into beauty and shortly after found a new passion in cosmetic tattooing. I trained with the absolute best, Claire Vuillemot, owner of Laurel Cosmetic Tattoo in New York City – voted best Tattoo Studio in New York City. I later helped develop the distinct natural brow look at Laurel.
I believe that my creative design backgrounds have helped influence my work as a Restorative and Cosmetic Tattoo Artist and Educator. It allowed me to push outside the “standard” (outside the limits) of what is considered the “norm” and has helped influence my developments of creating my own “softer” approach to Cosmetic Tattooing. People want more of a “natural” look. They don’t want to be “obvious” that they had any sort of enhancement done to their face or body in any way. They want discreetness, effortless, and natural. I tend to break the boundary or what is considered the industry standard of “permanent make up” by combining multiple techniques and tools resulting in a more “natural” and “realistic” appearance. Most people do not even know that this method of specialized technique even exists. Often times I have to show them or its word of mouth. It is definitely a unique style not often seen in the industry. Services I provide are; Areola and belly button restoration, super natural lip tinting/lip blush, eyebrow restoration, and eyeliner lash enhancements.
I recently opened a private boutique Restorative studio called “Studio Iris” located inside Elan Med Spa in Waxahachie Texas just 30 mins south of Dallas. Studio Iris specializes in soft natural brows, areola restoration, super natural lip tint/lip blush, lash enhancement eyeliner, and natural looking freckles and beauty marks. In addition to the services, I also offer private one on one education to learn my unique natural style so that others can provide this special service to other regions of the world.
My main focus is to educate others with the same passion to master this unique style so that everyone getting this service leaves looking their very best version of themselves!
I collaborated with Studio Kynd for the creation of my brand with my own personal influences and based off how I would like my clients to feel; peaceful, at ease, comfortable, naturally relaxed, safe, confident, and beautiful. With that mood in mind, I really wanted to bring in pale colors, soft edges, natural textures, warm lighting, and overall simplicity to the palette. I believe my branding speaks for itself with all those things into consideration.
I am continuously inspired and in admiration of my lifelong partner, Casey Showalter – who is truly gifted in so many different creative outlets and capable of capturing his artistic visions on film, effortlessly. I will always be inspired by my mentor and master artist, Claire Vuillemot – who changed my career path and continuously opens the doors to growth and evolvement.
What nurtures my soul is surrounding myself with others that have the same drive and passion to evolve. I love seeing the beauty in all of its imperfections, enhancing the very natural elements found in each individual, and witnessing the level of confidence boost is by far the highest feeling of reward in this career path and the very core reason why I love doing what I do.
Have you ever had to pivot?
In 2008, the world experienced a recession. New York was hit pretty hard and suddenly jobs were being cut left and right. As an Interior Designer for a big corporate business in NYC, I was one of the last to go in the development Department. It was considered a “luxury” to even have my position on staff. It was sudden and I had to think quick. During this time I started to quickly brainstorm what I should be doing next in order to adapt, a natural human defense mechanism. As I am regrouping my thoughts on how to approach this adaptation, potential shift in my life, I bartended and managed a boutique saloon in Brooklyn, New York. This kept me afloat as I was trying to figure out what my next step is. It couldn’t just be anything but it had to be something challenging and rewarding, something that makes others feel good and beautiful. I decided to get into beauty school for hair styling and coloring. It was a difficult shift for someone my age to make such a sudden change already having a professional career in Design.
After the transition and successfully going through apprenticeships, I began my new path as a Hair Stylist and quickly became a Master Colorist. However, I started to feel stuck and felt the creativity aspect of it also felt stagnant. I wanted to do more and I wanted more of a challenge but I just didn’t know what that was yet.
One day I started to research into brow artists near me and decided to get some brow work done for myself, which was not a popular service during this time. I am very particular and did extensive research on artists. When I discovered Claire, I knew then she was the artist for me. I wanted something natural and soft and she had a style I have never seen before. I was immediately happy with my service. After a year, I noticed she was offering first time courses to learning her technique. I immediately knew this was something I wanted to try. Her class was very small, only 4 students. After taking her class with 4 others, I was approached by her to come train and work for her. It blossomed into what it is today.
What’s been the most effective strategy for growing your clientele?
Honestly, the old fashion word of mouth is the best way to growing my clientele base, and even Instagram. Wherever my work is posted up on a legit account with a legit audience and not “fake” or “bought” followers, I immediately recognize people taking notice. I get more emails from people contacting me for work. And whenever my work is on someones face or anywhere on their body, that is instant advertisement. That is one of the reasons it is so important to be your best at this craft. Others will take notice of the subtle change and compliment the client. My client then mentions my name to others (family, friends, colleagues, etc). It’s very efficient way to getting your name out there, and it is flattering and feels good at the same time. This is especially true when I hear of the client getting a sweet compliment from someone they hardly know saying things like, “you have beautiful brows, you are so lucky”…….,client: “Actually, Iris did them for me. They didn’t look like this before. You should see her other work!”
Contact Info:
- Website: https://studioirisbeauty.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/irisdesotoshowalter/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100080476424084&mibextid=LQQJ4d
Image Credits
All photos are taken by me. All clients sign permission waivers for their photos to be published.