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

Hi Katarina, thanks for joining us today. Almost all entrepreneurs have had to decide whether to start now or later? There are always pros and cons for waiting and so we’d love to hear what you think about your decision in retrospect. If you could go back in time, would you have started your business sooner, later or at the exact time you started?

I started pursuing this dream of mine to become a reputable tattoo artist a couple times in life. First once in my twenties, my son was three or four, I was chronically laid off yearly at the pottery studio I worked for. It was the late 2000s and the economy was the pitts. Our jobs relied on customers who could afford things that weren’t commodities. The prices of gas were too high for the facility to pay us and also fire the kilns. So amid a 7mo layoff, happy I could spend quality time raising my son, but depressed and feeling like I needed purpose in life, I took a risk. I bravely walked into a new place, a tattoo studio in Wilmington De, and asked them about an apprenticeship. Certainly naive and unfamiliar with the way the process worked but brave enough that day to see what happens. They asked me to replicate a drawing of my choosing from a flash sheet on the wall. And I freehand sketched a dragon that stuck out as interesting. The wanted to see if I could draw. I never felt confident during that process it took me longer then I thought it should have, because I was used to using stamps for designs at work, or simpler less detailed patterns. To my surprise they then asked me to come back tomorrow. With a person who would let me tattoo them! I was elated and certainly unaware that this was unusual. I brought my sons father with me the next day and there was a station set up for me. An artist sat with me and watched me pull straight lines and all the guys were impressed. I was the only woman in the studio, I don’t feel like it was a time when a lot of women were dominating the industry. My mentor for the day set everything up for me and taught me how to fill in areas of solid black. The tattoo was the size of a baseball and was his favorite bands logo . I was happy with the outcome and they said when they return from a Las Vegas trip they’d be in touch. This never happened and soon after I was called back in to work at the pottery studio. So I went with what was familiar for the last three years and went back to painting instead. I’m really glad it happened this way. In hindsight it would have been too soon. Fast forward 7 more years and I had better established who I was, I gained confidence and certainty. I had a better support system that believed in me. I had so much more experience being an artist at that time. I stayed painting pottery for a total of 10years. 2007-2017 And branched out into having a side hustle where I would make my own henna and work with clients doing freehand body art. It was the pace needed for me to step into the roll I wanted in life. I did events, parties and festivals. I got my name out there and developed a style. People would reach out to me for “tattoo practice” before I could afford to purchase the tools needed for my now career. It was fulfilling but I knew I needed to make the leap sooner then later again. Through a spark of kismet I found an opportunity online through friends of a friend of mine. Where a local tattoo artist was asking for an artist to hire and train. He was looking for his “last apprentice” and I reached out for an interview immediately. This time I showed up with a portfolio of my own artwork, henna flash sheets and drawings I was proud of. I’m grateful all the time had passed, some more life experience was earned and confidence built. I was ready. I was hired that day.

Katarina, 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?

Growing up I was an only child living with just my mother my whole life. We relied on government assistance and being thrifty and frugal. I watched her go back to school and get her bachelors degree in fine arts and photography. From a young age art was always talked about and shown to me. We would go to free museums and she would take me with her to classes on campus. Creativity was a staple in my mind for expression and leaving a mark on the world. I wanted to take what I saw and be the next Kandinsky or Matisse or Esher. I was always drawing, on paper or myself, my cousins and friends. To be able to perceive composition may have been taught to me through osmosis seeing my mother’s art projects or photographs. She took me with her to photograph old buildings and I saw that her passion was fulfilling and fun. As an early teenager I was brave enough to tattoo myself and thought I was so cool. It was a little symmetrical heart with flames on my ankle that my friend and I decided we’d do as matching “stick n poke” tattoos. I could see the appeal that other people could also like themselves a little more with something meaningful permanently inked on them too. But I knew I wanted to be a master of the craft as early as 13. That I wanted to be in a reputable place and not tattoo in a friend’s basement where sanitation was questionable. I found out many years later that my Uncle on my Dads side was a career tattoo artist and that inspired me even more. I always favored abstract art that people could interpret as they saw. A person can look at one thing in a museum and see through their eyes and experiences in life something different then another person. That was always interesting to me. Curating a style of abstract nature took time and effort but also trust in myself that it would turn out in the end. I love offering a unique experience to people that aren’t copies of what they ask me for. But an elevated version of an intuitive form. Something that comes from a place of all inspirations I’ve ever encountered and practiced.

How did you build your audience on social media?

Building a brand on a creative front has been a slow progression. Social media can be mentally draining but an important tool for exposure. Whatever I was into creating at any given time I shared the process online. With each passion project balancing life and health and family took practice too. I used to make polymer clay jewelry when I was laid off. I would paint rocks, and bottles and frames before starting the same technique in henna on customers. I showed each stage of my learning online to gain interest and just mirrored what people who inspired me were doing. I lost sleep because I was making extra time for myself. It was worth it. I did a few art vendor events which in turn get you talking to similar minded individuals. Those connections can also bring opportunity. I funded my art vendor table and tent set up with the money earned and the personal touches alone were gratifying. It was all me. Curating how you want to be represented and fueling that passion is all something that can inspire others. They see you making it possible and you become a role model for younger artists who also want to be a part of that world.

What’s worked well for you in terms of a source for new clients?

Combining so many avenues of inspiration into my now career, I’d say second to word of mouth and experiences where you’re physically putting yourself in a room of like minded individuals… Instagram was always my favorite advertising platform. It acts as a portfolio that you can share your best work, your processes and progress. Going back 10 years you can see the progression of where you were, and how far you’ve come. I typically ask all new clients how they’ve found me, And 90% of them all say Instagram.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://athenstattooco.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/katcha_22?igsh=MWd0OG52cnN2MTJvdw%3D%3D&utm_source=qr