We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Jenn Golgan. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Jenn below.

Alright, Jenn thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with 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.

I definitely took a risk starting my tattoo apprenticeship. I was 25, married with a 1 year old, trade school drop out. I also had previously been a piercer and had to leave that as well. After many discussions my husband just said do it! Told me the worst thing that would happen is I get turned down, but I didn’t. It was a huge risk for us to turn our lives kinda upside down. I would absolutely say it turned out pretty well and hopefully continues to do so.

Jenn, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

I guess I would describe my work as illustrative/ neo traditional. I really just draw the things I like. Usually just inspired by my own surroundings, music, movies, art, and other interests. One day could be horror movies, the next day could be flowers and bugs. This usually end up with me having a lot in common with my clients and sessions that are full of laughing and interesting conversations. Which I think is important for a tattoo appointment. I’m big on giving people a really fun and pleasant experience.

Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?

I had to unlearn that I had to do it all on my own. I was under the impression that other artists wouldn’t never help me. Like they were gunna keep their secrets and be very unsupportive because it’s very competitive. I was surprised to find out that everyone is pretty supportive! I also hd to learn to ask for help and critique. Instead of beating my head agains a wall because what I was trying wasn’t working, asking for help and different ideas makes a world of difference.

Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?

When I started tattooing there’s was a particular style that was becoming pretty popular. Being new I didn’t have much of a clientele and was doing anything and everything I was able to do. So my portfolio pretty much became that style. Though I was fine with it for a while I really wanted to do something else. After a while I started drawing more and more of the things I was interested in doing and sharing that on social media. After a while with help from everyone I was able to really develop my own style and do what I wanted to do.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: @saltyflamingotattoo