We recently connected with Laura Babsie and have shared our conversation below.

Laura, appreciate you joining us today. Do you take vacations? How do you keep things going – any advice for entrepreneurs who feel like they can’t step away from their business for a short vacation?

Yes, I believe that taking a break from the daily grind of constantly creating is essential for business owners. I have been fortunate to have the ability to structure my business in a way that is manageable from a distance. That has required a great deal of trust and communication with my employees; that they feel comfortable expressing their needs from the space in my absence. I have one co-worker in particular who shares some of the greater caretaking responsibilities in our space. From an artists perspective, taking vacations is a great way to find new artistic inspiration. When I am able to take vacations, I typically try to focus the trip around furthering my education in the arts and expanding the scope of my artistic inspiration.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

I began my tattoo career in 2011 in Denver, Colorado. I was mentored by a local shop owner for 3 years before beginning the journey on my career path. After working at several tattoo shops, I wanted to cultivate a space that encompassed my beliefs philosophies surrounding tattooing. In 2018 I wanted to create a safe space for clients to be tattooed without intimidation or judgement, and a space for artists to flourish artistically, whilst maintaining their autonomy and freedom. I’m very grateful and proud of the energy we have worked together to manifest within our space. It’s something my co-workers and I have worked together to cultivate, and the community we have found within each other is unbelievably supportive and uplifting. We are always working together to help each other grow as artists.
I was inspired to open my own shop in downtown Denver; Three Fates Tattoo. We work by appointment only, creating custom designs that are a culmination of our individual artistic vision of the artist and client.
I have been focusing on an ornamental, art nouveau style of tattooing that incorporates soft color with bold black flourishes; shapes that flow to accentuate the contours of the body. Much of my inspiration comes from growing up in Europe and witnessing the wealth of art history that exists there in abundance. I’m particularly inspired by Baroque, Neoclassical, Romanticist, and Art Nouveau/ Art Deco periods in art history.

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

There were many things I had to unlearn after completing my tattooing apprenticeship. For a great deal of time, I took my mentor’s word for God; believing that there was only one method to making good tattoos. Time, experience, and perspective forced me to realize that there are many means to an end when it comes to technique.
My mentor found methods and techniques that he was comfortable in, and had no desire to explore the rapidly evolving technologies and information at the fingertips of our industry. Because of this, I feel as if my growth as an artist was stunted, and it wasn’t until I started working with and getting tattooed by artists who deeply inspire me, that I began the pursuit of finding what works best for me.
There are so many different tools, techniques, and philosophies when it comes to tattooing. It’s almost as if we all have our individual approach. There isn’t one ‘right way’ to tattoo, but there are certainly many wrong ways. I spent a long time unwinding the bad habits I’d collected along my journey.

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

I definitely think of myself as a resilient person. As a woman in a historically male-dominated industry, there have been many times I have faced marginalization & discrimination in the workplace. A monster that reveals its many faces. When interviewing for jobs at several tattoo shops, I was told by the owners that they “dont usually hire women, because they tend to be dramatic. But your work looks pretty good, so I can offer you the position.”
When deciding to leave another shop I had previously worked with, I was told by the owner that I’d be lucky to end up at a Colfax Avenue street shop if I slept my way into the position. I’ve been told that I owe my career to people that had little hand in my evolution. The degrading comments and slander are too many to articulate here.

I can’t imagine myself ever saying something like this to any person who interviewed with me.

Although this was early in my career, I was conscious of this waving red flag, and decided to pursue employment elsewhere. To let the words roll off, and continue to focus on evolving as an artist and as a human. Always searching for the balance between resilience and vulnerability.

Contact Info:

• Website:threefatesco.com
• Instagram: @le_babs

Image Credits
Portrait credit : Alyssa Albert Bain IG @alyssabainphotography_