Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Molly Vee. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Hi Molly, thanks for joining us today. Have you ever had an amazing boss, mentor or leader leading you? Can you us a story or anecdote that helps illustrate why this person was such a great leader and the impact they had on you or their team?

The man who taught me how to tattoo had his nipples removed, kept them in a jar of formaldehyde, and then traded them on Facebook for a signed photo of John Wayne Gacy in his clown costume. He also has a full face and next tattoo that prompted me to think of him as the “lizard man” in my head when we first met. That should give some context for the kind of magnificent strange that he is. That being said, Damon is also one of the most supportive and precious people in my life. He is right up there with my parents, husband, and best gal pals as the wind in my sails. When I was learning to tattoo, Damon was encouraging but fair, letting me know where I needed to focus my attention and efforts, but also giving me praise for what I was doing right. After finishing my training, I was privileged to work in Damon’s shop for several years until I went out on my own. As an authority figure, he embodies the do-no-harm-but-take-no-garbage attitude. He’s never one to withhold a hug, but he also shows no hesitation to put an end to anything he finds unacceptable in his business. I once saw him kick a client out of the shop for using racist language toward one of the artists. The client threw a fit on the way out the door, knocking things off of a nearby shelf and calling Damon every name in the book, but Damon’s face and demeanor were unflinching. That day opened a whole new chapter of my respect for him. Damon taught me all the basic tenants of tattooing, yes, but he also taught me so much about life as a human being and artist. I am forever in his debt.

Molly, 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?

I’m a tattoo artist from Seattle, Washington. I have been tattooing for eight years and I still think I have one of the coolest jobs in the world.
I received my tattoo training in Portland, Oregon starting in 2016, and lived and worked in Portland until February of 2022. I began my tattoo career after going through a life-altering breakup that pushed me to pivot my life and career aspirations. I have always loved art, and I decided to take a leap of faith, hoping that tattooing would combine my love of art with my desire to work in personal service. Thankfully, that leap of faith paid off in ways I couldn’t even have imagined.
I like to think that I offer a client-focused tattoo experience that combines the structure of fine art with the freedom of not taking my work too seriously. I love to tattoo historical, natural, and sweet/cute subject matter, which is kind of a wide span, but somehow I believe I’m making it work. I also place a substantial amount of emphasis on body acceptance in my work. As someone who has personally suffered at the hands of the diet industry and unjust beauty standards of out culture, I consider it an essential facet of my business to support bodies of all sizes, abilities, genders, and colors in my work. I’m deeply convicted of the importance of body acceptance and consider it part of my responsibility as someone who touches people as part of my daily practice. I’m also a person of faith, and that only bolsters my belief in the importance of making my workspace and my practice a place of safety.
I think what I am proudest of in my work is the feedback I get from clients. When a client tells you that their tattoo has added joy to their life and their experience with you has strengthened their relationship with their body, it is hard not to get emotional. I screenshot the messages I get from clients about how I’ve benefitted them in one way or another, and I treasure them. Tattoos are, at the root, about people, their stories, and their experiences. I get a strange kind of comfort from knowing that my art will only physically live as long as the person who carries it on their skin. I just hope to add some value and joy to my client’s lives, knowing that they have given me the gift of being able to make art for a living.

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

In my life and career so far I have had to learn, unlearn, and relearn my relationship to work many times. When I first began tattooing, I just needed to pay my rent and thus took any project I felt I could execute well. I booked whatever days the clients could come in and often worked six (or even seven) days a week. I leaned hard into the hustle that was, at the time, so glorified on social media. It absolutely worked for a while, but that lifestyle, come to find out, is totally unsustainable in the long run.
Once I got a little momentum in my business and didn’t need to work six days a week, I realized how hard it can be to back off on the hustle to which you’ve grown so attached. Hustle culture is insidious in many ways, and over the years I have had to slowly untangle myself from its web. Of course I am not suggesting hard work and effort are bad in any way. What I am saying is that balance is crucial. I would advise anyone embarking on a creative career to keep track of the hours you work and be cognizant of how you balance other areas of life. No matter how much you love your career or artistic endeavors, work is not a substitute for love, rest, spiritual practice or physical nourishment. The sooner you become aware of these things, the sooner you can put systems in place to support and protect your body and your soul.
My recent years of work have involved a lot of exploring what it means to maintain a sustainable and honorable work ethic in a culture that will push you to utter exhaustion if you let it. I’ve had to examine how work life balance was modeled to me as a child, rethink my relationship with rest, and learn to express and uphold boundaries in order to protect my energy and sanity. It has been a wild ride, but I have no regrets.

Are there any books, videos or other content that you feel have meaningfully impacted your thinking?

I’ve read so many books over the course of my career so far, and many of them have benefitted me and my work. To be honest, even the books I have enjoyed the most might have a point or two with which I don’t agree or some ideas I find dubious, but that doesn’t mean I didn’t get value from the book. So when I recommend written resources, I’m not upholding them as unquestionable intellectual authority. I feel like I have to say that to cover my butt if someone does’t like a book I recommend. That being said, here a few of the books that I’ve really benefitted from and enjoyed over the last few years:

This is Marketing by Seth Godin
A Minute to Think by Juliet Funt
What the Dog Saw-A collection of essays by Malcolm Gladwell
Set Boundaries, Find Peace by Nedra Glover Tawwab

I also find I go back over and over to the biblical book of proverbs–it never ceases to give me new insight on people, business, and balance.

In addition, I highly recommend creative folks download and subscribe to the Skillshare app. The sheer number of classes and resources you can access in there is amazing. Such a great source for a good price, in my opinion.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://mollyveetattoo.com
• Instagram: https://instagram.com/ladywolly
• Twitter: @LadyWolly
• Other: Pinterest: Tattoos by Molly Vee

  pinterest.com/mollyveetattoo/