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

Mario, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Covid has brought about so many changes – has your business model changed?

Coming in for a walk inn tattoo during covid was unheard of.. We were actually shut down for a while here in Texas. At the time I was working at a appointment only tattoo shop. Very exclusive type place. We were only a few artist working there. During covid time I had plenty of time to think on how I can better get in contact with clients and better my understanding of what type of tattoo clients wanted without them actually coming in for a consultation. once I figured out how to use Google forms to my advantage and square appointments, I decided to open my own private studio. Closer to my home. After covid I felt like a private studio was a way to go.

Mario, 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?

Crazy how life works out for some of us. A few months after my 23 birthday I would be federally indicted and then sentenced to 151 months in a federal prison for a narcotics charge. Not my best moment in life. But definitely a new beginning. Being in prison was certainly a life lesson. Art was a way out. After years on top of years practicing drawing oil, painting, and colored pencil art. Once the confidence in my art was there. I started dabling into tattooing, which was not permitted. But I had this determination that this was what my calling was. I could not let my past predict my future. upon my release, I started washing dishes that at a fancy restaurant. Immediately with my first check, I started investing in my tattoo equipment. Soon I would make my way working at a tattoo shop as a part time artist. Working a few well recognized street shops I would build my clientele. Competing and networking in tattoo expos plus being active in the tattoo community would open up many doors. What sets me apart from other artist is that Im a oil painter first. Im sure there is plenty of other artists that dabbling in oil painting, and other mediums. But I feel like oil is one of the tougher mediums.
Things that Im proud of is that I can teach and show younger artist how to succeed in this industry. I love giving advice to young new artist coming into the industry.. love seeing growth not just in others but also in myself. Many of my clients and social media followers have seen me grow and getting feed back from my following is definitely a feeling to be proud of.

What’s been the most effective strategy for growing your clientele?

One of the hardest things to do as a tattoo artist is to respond quickly to new clientele. Organizing my routine and checking all social media outlets and responding in a timely matter has helped. Along with guest spotting in surrounding cities and expanding my clientele has also helped.

Where do you think you get most of your clients from?

So at this point, I have a lot of loyal customers. I hardly take the new clientele and when I do basically that are more referrals or Instagram followers. Tick-tock has been showing some results as well.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://saintceciliasartstudio.square.site/
• Instagram: https://instagram.com/saintceciliasartstudio?igshid=MWI4MTIyMDE=
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/saintceciliasartstudio?mibextid=LQQJ4d