We were lucky to catch up with Jessica Fox recently and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Jessica thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. We’d love to have you retell us the story behind how you came up with the idea for your business, I think our audience would really enjoy hearing the backstory.

Jessica Fox is an award winning tattoo artist from Buffalo, New York who currently owns a tattoo studio that doubles as an oddities shop. Jessica has tattooed coast to coast and has experience working next to world renowned artists as well as done lots of community driven work in her local hometown. Jessica is inspired by the macabre- which had driven her to open her current studio- True Gloom Tattoo & Oddities Shop. You can find one of a kind items at this studio that inspire her daily for the subject matter of her tattoos. Jessica currently specializes in illustrative blackwork style tattooing. Jessica has lived coast to coast- in her travels she would always seek out oddities and metaphysical shops in hopes to create more connections and acquire things for her personal collection- once that collection became too big she wanted to offer a place in Buffalo to showcase “dark” arts- a conglomerate of local artists, unique items and other specialty items you may only find if you dare!

Jessica, 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?

Jessica says she is most proud of being able to bring not only tattooing as a worldwide industry something unique- but also create a place in Buffalo, New York for the weirdos! Before this- we just had tattoo studios, Jessica has now been able to create a duel space which allows us to cross market, pull real life reference into our tattoos and meet people we normally wouldn’t unless they had an appointment to get a tattoo. The True Gloom brand has been around now for 2 years, and we have already expanded our space and thrown local night markets within the community to also share this spotlight with other artists needing to have exposure.

How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?

Once True Gloom Tattoo opened, Jessica knew that she had wanted to offer more to the tattoo itself- but also the experience. The tattoo studio provides a unique adventure which can create sensory pockets throughout the space- including good smells, uniquely decorated stations all from handpicked victorian era furniture, victorian wall paper and fixtures and of course the storefront of oddities. Challenging the norm from what you’d normally see in a tattoo studio of flash art, tool chests and brightly colored signs- Jessica took a more rustic approach with gold hand painted windows, taxidermy and Eastlake dressers for the artists. Taking a pivot into the unknown felt at the time scary, feeling worried people would not be as receptive to what they’re used to seeing- however, it’s been said by clients and other artists that there is nothing like this even in larger cities. Creating this a destination for guest artists and even the novice tattoo collectors.

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

Jessica is not only a tattoo artist and owner, but she is also an insulin dependent type 1 diabetic. At age 7 Jessica was fully dependent on insulin which created its own challenges growing up. Unlike other kids, there were limitations on things Jessica could do due to her illness- however, as it stands now Jessica has been living with type 1 diabetes for over 20 years. Since tattooing is a very scared exchange- there is no time for mistakes. While dealing with an unpredictable chronic illness- this could mean sudden changes in how Jessica can feel during a tattoo. Luckily, most people would consider Jessica resilient as she ensures daily that her challenges do not come in the way of her work and we can only hope that she can continue to inspire others dealing with this issue.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://truegloomtattoobflo.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jessfoxtattoos/?hl=en