We recently connected with Lexi Jimenez and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Lexi, thanks for joining us today. Are you happier as a creative? Do you sometimes think about what it would be like to just have a regular job? Can you talk to us about how you think through these emotions?

I absolutely love my job and the fact that I am able to do art for a living. However, I sometimes wonder what it would be like having a “regular” job. One that when I clock out of work, I can also clock out mentally. As a tattoo artists and shop owner, work never seems to have an end time. I also feel like I am identified as what my job is instead of who I am as a person. It is also hard to find the time or desire to want to create art outside of work due to creating art all day.
As I said earlier though, I do love my job and the flexibility that can come with it. I couldn’t imagine myself doing anything else.

Lexi, 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?

My name is Lexi Jimenez wife of Drake Jimenez and I am 30 years old. I am from Defiance, Ohio but will soon be a resident of Wilmington, NC. I have been a tattoo artist since I was 19 years old and started my own studio, White Horse Tattoo Boutique, in 2021. I have always loved art since a very young age, and as I got closer to graduating high school, I wasn’t sure which avenue to take as an artists. At the time, there wasn’t many art careers that paid that well. I decided to look into becoming a tattoo artists. I started my apprenticeship a year after graduation and have been doing it ever since. During my time as a tattoo artist, I have contemplated whether or not this was what I wanted to continue doing. It was a mentally taxing job and I noticed people treating me differently. Good and bad ways. I felt my job was my identity.
Since starting my tattoo career, I have established boundaries and created a healthy work environment. This has been the key to finding joy in my job.

I currently own a tattoo studio that consists of all women who all have our own styles and boundaries. I believe this is one thing that sets me and my studio apart. The studio is much different than your stereotypical tattoo shop. It is a warm and welcoming environment, with privacy, chill music, and approachable artists. We do our best to make our clients as comfortable and happy as possible. I am very proud of the environment we have created and the comfort our clients feel. Outside of great artwork, that is our biggest goal. Your art matters to us.

Looking back, are there any resources you wish you knew about earlier in your creative journey?

The tattoo industry hasn’t always been as popular and appreciate as it is today. Because of that, there hasn’t always been as many resources out there to learn about the industry and the art of tattooing. I wish I had the resources that there are today when I started my career, such as seminars, online and in-person courses, and the information that is all over social media now. I do wish there were more ways to learn the art of tattooing. It is such a multi-faceted form of art that can be very challenging to learn. It also can be a competitive industry, which I wish would change so other artists could learn from each other.

Is there something you think non-creatives will struggle to understand about your journey as a creative?

I think something that non-creative can struggle to understand about creatives, is that our work is very personal. Our art is an expression of us and a bit of our soul on display. Art is very subjective. Not everyone will like it, understand it, or appreciate it but art that one person may not enjoy, could speak volumes to someone else. Art is truly in the eye of the beholder.

Something else I wish others would understand, especially about the tattoo industry specifically, is that we work constantly. I think a lot of people think we have such a cool and fun job and view it as easy. And although it is fun, it’s far from easy. We work to build clientele, so it’s a very hard start. Once clientele is built, that’s when the constant messages come in that we have to respond to, on top of creating designs that is typically done outside of our work hours. So, if we are tattooing 6-8 hours a day, we still have work to do after that. I would love if people would understand that it is a taxing job like a lot of others and to be patient with creatives because it takes a lot of mental and emotional compacity.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: @lexijimeneztattoo @whitehorsetattooboutique
• Facebook: Lexi Jimenez – White Horse Tattoo Boutique

Image Credits
She Wanders Photography