We were lucky to catch up with Josh, Zach Absher recently and have shared our conversation below.
Alright, Josh, Zach thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. How did you come up with the idea for your business?
Josh – I came up with the idea of the Dead Yeti Tattoo Studio in 2018. I had been working in finance in some form for over 10 years. During those ten years I had realized this was not a career I wanted to continue and I always longed to be self employed. The question was, what could I create that would provide a true living for myself and family? In 2017 I started getting heavily tattooed. During this time I observed multiple tattoo artist and shop owners interacting with clients as they worked. I made a point to become tattooed by many different artists and tattoo shops to get a grasp of this environment. I realized this business is in high demand if done right. Coming from a business background in college I began planning the early stages of how this could work. I’ve been an artist in some form my entire life and looked at the prospect as being a good opportunity to be self employed. I knew skin was another medium in the art field. Once I would know how to work in skin with art I would do well considering my artistic abilities.
The first thing I did was come up with a name. I needed something that would catch people’s attention. I wanted people to ask what the hell is the Dead Yeti Tattoo? I wanted a catchy name that was fun and not too serious. The name stuck and I created the logo you see today. The logo needed to be iconic and fun. I played with the idea for a bit until I had it how I wanted it.
When it was time to open the business I had already had the practice necessary and the research in place for success. My goal was to bring styles to the table that you didn’t see anywhere close to us. I wanted to be as versatile as possible so I could tackle a broad spectrum of clients and meet their needs as far as tattooing goes. I worked 7 days a week for a few years in order to build the clientele up and solidify this business as a staple in Evansville. Close to two years in business with success, my brother Zach started tattooing part time while maintaining his full time job. Zach started studying the arts of Fineline tattoo and wanted to tackle and tap into this market which he has found great success as well with it.
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?
My name is Zach Absher. I married my high school sweetheart and have three beautiful kiddos. My family is my world. I am fortunate to support them by running a successful tattoo business with my older brother Josh. If you would have told me I was going to be a tattoo artist ten years ago I would have laughed. I always looked at art as a hobby but never thought I could make a career out of it. I guess you never know what opportunities God has in store for you.
Ever since I could hold a pencil I was drawing or doodling something. When we used to go on family road trips, you could find my brother and I sitting in the back seat drawing. Every time we would load up we made sure we had our notebooks and pencils ready to go.
I always feel like I had a creative imagination and could make some form of art with it.
I didn’t really do much with my art throughout school, just random drawings from time to time and some occasional sketches for my friends. After high school, I focused on getting my college degree and set out to go into the corporate world. My first job out of college was working customer service and inside sales at Bear Archery. I have always had a love for the outdoors and hunting so I was excited to land the job. After work, I would often times occupy my evenings doing some kind of woodworking in my garage. I had previously picked up on some woodworking skills from my past job at a door and cabinet shop. I would build furniture such as coffee tables and small end tables to fill our house. I then started getting people asking for furniture as I could customize it to their needs. I created my own little business called Absher Original. The business name was inspired from friends and customers saying “I want an Absher Original piece of furniture.” As I added different tools and equipment to fulfill my next project, I became most intrigued with the Dremel. I would get different bits for it that allowed me to wood carve. I loved to carve walking sticks and Santa ornaments. As I dove deeper into the carving I ended up opening my own Etsy store. A big seller became the Santa ornaments. I also gained a lot of traction with the morel mushroom walking sticks. I still have people reaching out wanting both of those to this day. I ultimately believe that working with the dremel prepared me for tattooing. I held it the same way as I do the tattoo gun and did similar movements as I do when tattooing.
My brother started tattooing about a year and a half before I did. Once he established the business and went full time with it he would continuously tell me to give it a try and tattoo with him. I would laugh and blow it off. Only because it never crossed my mind being a tattoo artist or let alone, capable of it. I finally said “what the heck, I’ll try it. I’m always up for different forms of art. It can’t be much different than using a dremel,” I thought. So I did a little research and saw that people would sometimes use pig skin to practice tattooing. I got ahold of some pig skin along with a cheap tattoo gun. I would wrap the pig skin around a cylinder cardboard shipping container to try and simulate an arm. When I finally felt comfortable tattooing the pig skin, I started taking on small tattoos in the evenings. I would go from my day job at Bear Archery straight to the tattoo shop and work through the evening. Sometimes I wouldn’t get home until midnight. I did that for roughly two years until I felt like I built enough confidence and clientele to go full time with it. I had no idea the demand there was for people wanting tattoos. Once I was full time with it, I really felt like my passion started growing. I love lots of different styles of tattooing but set out to specialize in fine line. I love how elegant it looks and I’m a sucker for all of the details you can get out of the narrow lines. Most of my inspiration comes from my love for nature. My dad introduced me to the outdoors when I was a little boy and that passion has transpired into my creativity. Some of my favorite tattoos are nature related and involve some sort of animal.
I thoroughly enjoy tattooing and getting to know different people as well. The vibe of my room is chill and peaceful. I sometimes have to pinch myself because it doesn’t feel like a job most times. I get to express art that came from my imagination and turn it into something people love.
I feel that my clients are at peace when they come in my room. That is what I hope for. We can talk or just chill with a faint podcast as background sound. I thrive on trying to produce my best work each time someone sits in my chair. One of my favorite compliments is when my clients tell me how they are sometimes hassled when they are out in public with strangers wanting to get a closer look at their tattoo I did for them. I love putting art on skin and making people smile when they leave the shop.
I believe what sets me apart from others is my genuine honesty and caring personality. I truly bond with most of my clients and hope they not only walk away with a piece of art they love, but a good overall experience. I am proud to be part of a business with my brother where people want the product we produce.
What do you think helped you build your reputation within your market?
Josh – The most effective strategy for maintaining and increasing clientele is honesty, dedication and discipline. Word of mouth is the best form of advertisement for small business. The ability to exceed client expectations in the field of tattoo is quite challenging, but fully dedicated visions and executions of this field retains and expands clientele. The finished product of a tattoo on a person is a walking billboard and as long as you are doing a good job the word spreads rather quickly. Knowing your limitations and strengths in the art field is key to being consistent with top quality work. If you don’t think you can represent a clients vision then you should not take the job. We have grown our clientele substantially by being honest with expectations and creating a friendly but professional environment.
Zach – I believe many things have factored in on building a good reputation.
Being prompt whether it is through communication or appointments is very important. It shows that you are eager to work with your client and that you are legit. You aren’t there to waste anyone’s time. Honesty is another important factor. I have turned certain tattoos or projects down if I am not 100% confident or I don’t feel it would look good down the road. When you are transparent with people, they trust you and ultimately respect you more. Also being confident in what you are telling someone is important. I tell my clients if something doesn’t mesh well or look right in a design. I explain that clutter isn’t good for longevity with a tattoo. You have to give breathing room for ink to expand and settle. This of course comes with experience but is important to grasp along the way. Another important factor that I believe has helped my reputation is being persistent. I don’t mess around. I am efficient and only take necessary breaks. I don’t want to delay the tattoo as I know people have a life they have to get back to.
We’d love to hear about how you met your business partner.
Josh – I met my business partner when I was 4 and a half years old. He would’ve been a newborn. The Dead Yeti Tattoo is currenlty operated as a family business. It’s a small business that covers a lot of territory. Zach and I grew up under the same household and both spent a lot of time drawing and imagining things. Growing up in the 80s and 90s was truly an exceptional time. We had to entertain ourselves which led to vivid imaginations with art and other activities. Speaking for myself I’d say for imagination and developing a true gift for art this time frame was best. This was before the internet, cellphones, etc…. Less available distractions and lots of free time to create. I’m sure the art industry will continue to adapt but I feel it can be stagnant in present day as well as being overshadowed by technology and AI. Now’s the time to put in the serious work to create individuality in the art field, whether it be tattooing, painting, photography, writing. The human touch is essential in art to remain valid.
Zach – My business partner is my older brother Josh. We have always had a close relationship. I remember when we were little kids we would play with toys where we had to use our creativity to make it fun. I specifically remember when we would play with action figures. By the time we were done we felt accomplished. It was like we just played out an in depth action movie. I don’t feel that kids have to do as much with their creativity nowadays with all of the advanced technology that is offered. I believe having to use our imaginations when we were younger played a big role in our creativity with our art. I love the business we have together and I’m so glad my brother got me on board with it.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.thedeadyeti.com / www.joshabsher.com
- Instagram: @absherjoshua @absheroriginal
- Facebook: The Dead Yeti Tattoo Studio
- Other: Facebook for Josh:
https://www.facebook.com/share/1ApLgzaX7g/?mibextid=wwXIfr
Facebook for Zach:
https://www.facebook.com/share/16CcAircpv/?mibextid=wwXIfr
Business page Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/share/1ApLgzaX7g/?mibextid=wwXIfr
Image Credits
Jesus Tattoo portrait tattoo – Josh Absher
Athena Warrior portrait tattoo – Josh Absher
Flower Girl drawing – Josh Absher
Gnome drawing – Zach Absher
Fine line florals tattoo – Zach Absher
Birds and other animal tattoo – Zach Absher