We were lucky to catch up with Shannon Moxie recently and have shared our conversation below.

Shannon, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Can you talk to us about how you learned to do what you do?

If you decide to sink your teeth into a career of passion, you will want to constantly evolve. If it’s a creative endeavor, you often spend time ruminating over what you are doing, and how to do the next thing even better. Be honest with yourself, reasonable, and receptive to critiques. Listening and paying attention to what you are doing saves you from communication errors and occupational hazards.

And lastly, the environment that you build around you is the most conducive to your success. I often found that my loyalty/obligation/ and overall lack of self-confidence kept me from growing. Knuckle down, stay courteous and kind, and move on.

Shannon, 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?

I moved to Austin in July 2019, and since then it has been an awesome, humbling, and whirlwind experience. However, the path to my tattoo career started in New York City. I moved to New York City to pursue a degree in Illustration at Pratt Institute. Over the course of my four-year college career I had jobs working in bars, restaurants, and tattoo studios, and curating art shows around the Lower East Side and Brooklyn.

You always meet someone or someone that knows someone else. Once you open up to a stranger the events of your life always take on a new direction. In this instance, I met one of the tattoo artists working at the shop across the street. He saw that I was heavily tattooed and would be happy to look over my portfolio with me. Two days later I was standing in front of a studio with my portfolio in tow facing a sign that said “closed” on the door. I was supposed to meet with one of the guys at noon. I waited across the street at my job looking out the window like a lost puppy. Eventually, around 2 pm, the doors opened and we chatted. The following day I started my official apprenticeship.

My apprenticeship entailed all of the typical apprenticeship duties; greeting clients, cleaning, drawing, cleaning, scrubbing tubes, sweeping, mopping, drawing, draw, drawing, and then some more drawing. Eventually, I was able to start tattooing friends. By the time I graduated college, I had been an apprentice for a little over a year. Unfortunately for me, I had to quit. I was working seven days a week and had gotten severely ill and was not making enough money to support my health concerns. Maybe a handful of people had known what was happening to me at the time. I didn’t say much and, at the time, didn’t know how to. So when I left my job and apprenticeship, there were plenty of people that were upset with me without knowing the whole story.

Eventually, I had to get my life together. After about two weeks I applied for a job working at a tattoo supply warehouse in Chinatown. I met tattooers from all over the world, and learned about products, how to make, fix, find, and whatever was necessary to make tattooing happen. Just talking to other tattoo artists and listening to their perspectives, stories, methods, you name it, was its own education.

After five years, I learned all that I could from that position and put in my notice at the warehouse. While I loved it, it was time to move on. From there, I worked in nonprofit ventures, managed tattoo studios, and finally, tattooing full-time. Since my departure from New York, I have been fortunate enough to do a tattoo tour for a month. I worked as a guest artist at four different studios. I slept in my truck, Air BnB’s, and some questionable hotels when I was too tired to drive. I’d do it all over again and for longer- truth be told!

When I finally made it to Austin, I got myself a job working downtown. I’m happy to say that I had a very warm reception at my first studio here in Austin and continue to be friends with the folks that work there. I moved over to Rose and Crown Tattoos in October 2019, and it feels like the home I’ve always wanted. I adore my clients and appreciate them for being so supportive of me, and of my work.

What do you think helped you build your reputation within your market?

Being honest with my limitations and being mindful of clients helped establish my reputation. I think when it comes to business and basic human interaction, it’s totally ok to set yourself apart by knowing your limitations, setting the bar with your standards and practices, and maintaining transparency with clientele. No, I cannot make everyone’s dreams come true, and no my education and experiences may not align with what my peers or clients want to hear, but being honest while being receptive to their thoughts has always provided a positive experience overall.

Have any books or other resources had a big impact on you?

Yes! And this list is always ever-growing. In terms of self-development, I recommend reading the following:

From Strength to Strength: Finding Success, Happiness, and Deep Purpose in the Second Half of Life
By: Arthur C. Brooks

Atomic Habits: An Easy & Proven Way to Build Good Habits & Break Bad Ones
By: James Clear

I like to follow social media accounts with quotes from great philosophers, and the school of Stoicism. When it comes to anything regarding marketing, I enjoy podcasts from Michael Stelzner. When it comes to topics relative to tattooing, I thoroughly enjoy Tattoo Tales with Stef Bastien, and for physical well-being- which is so frequently undermined, I listen to the Running Clean podcast with Patrick McGilvray.

Having a sound mind and body is so important, and the weight of that didn’t really hit me until I started to implement the things I was most passionate about in my life. I had a boss tell me years ago that I was no good to him if I was no good to myself. In the moment I brushed it off, but as its marinates in my memories, the more gravity it has.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://shannonmoxietattoos.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/shannonmoxietattoos/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ShannonMoxieTattoos/
• Other: https://roseandcrowntattoos.com/tattoo-artists/shannon-moxie-tattoos/

Image Credits
Tattoo images by Shannon Moxie Image of the artist by stylist Minnie (IG Minnietheshagger) owner of Shag Noir in Austin, TX