We recently connected with Shonna Roberts and have shared our conversation below.

Shonna, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today It’s always helpful to hear about times when someone’s had to take a risk – how did they think through the decision, why did they take the risk, and what ended up happening. We’d love to hear about a risk you’ve taken.

I feel like I’ve taken a lot of risks in my life. However, at the time I didn’t feel like they were risks. I thought I had really well thought out plans. It wasn’t until some time later and looking back I realized “Whoa, that was a risk!”. When Covid initially hit, I was in my early 40’s. I had a degree in Environmental Science and a few years prior, I had left my cushy government job in the Haz Mat field, to take a position as the Director of Sales and Marketing for a hemp company. That was the first of my “mid-life” risks. One of those that I look back on now and think “why did I do that!?”
I had no formal education in this field, I was just one of those people who seemed to fall into the position with some sense of understanding and I was pretty good at it!
However, the job was extremely stressful and I wasn’t happy. At that time hemp was not legal in most states and everyday I found myself putting out some kind of fire. The job pretty much consisted of cleaning up messes and avoiding shut downs, whether that came from the federal government, the state government or the banking industry.
Finally, around the time covid hit, the banking industry froze the company’s assets and I found myself no longer employed. Here I was, in my early 40’s, with a degree in a field that no longer appealed to me and a work history in an industry that did not appeal to most employers, with no formal education to back it up. I felt lost, defeated, and above all, foolish for taking such a risk.
Enters my next mid-life risk…
I was chatting with a friend about my recent unemployment and my struggle deciding what comes next. This friend also happens to be an extremely talented areola restoration artist and she said to me, “You’re really creative and compassionate, have you thought about learning areola restoration? I can teach you.”.
I think I laughed when she described me as “creative”, I have never once thought of myself as creative! I went home and told my husband about this conversation, thinking he too would get a good laugh out of it and to my surprise he said “She’s right, you are really creative and you would be very good at this.” Those words of encouragement, that insight about a piece of myself I didn’t know existed, coming from the person who knows me better than anyone in this world, that’s what I needed to snap out of my self loathing and really look deep into myself and recognize the talents I guess I chose to ignore or at least was completely unaware of.
From there I dove deep down a paramedical tattooing rabbit hole, researching and researching, making sure that not only could I learn how to do this and be good at it but is there actually a market for this? I focused on not only learning aspects of traditional tattooing, but the unique nature of medical tattooing. I took my friend up on her offer of teaching me areola restoration and through my research, I found that at that time, there weren’t a whole lot of people offering scar camouflage. I went deep into scar anatomy and color theory and knew that scars would be my niche. I loved everything about scar camouflage, the art, the color theory, the biology, the science and the emotional healing. I was obsessed.
Eventually I joined a women in business group, whose goal was to support women owned businesses, in various ways, including how to write a business plan. Because if there’s a plan and it’s written down, then it’s not a risk! Right?! Wrong.
I went fast, too fast. I signed a lease, built a website, started marketing, pitched my story to local papers and was featured in both papers before I even had my first “real” client! I mean, I had a portfolio of friends and family and no pay models but I had not had a paying client yet. Eventually that changed, thanks to the aggressive marketing but I went so fast and so aggressively, I really didn’t have time to breathe. I was working so hard and doing everything, from website SEO, booking, laundry, supply ordering, every little thing it takes to simply run a business, in addition to actually tattooing my clients. After a year I was really second guessing the risk I had taken. I was tired and feeling burned out but I loved the actual tattooing. I loved everything about it. So I ultimately decided it was the business part that was taking the joy out of it, not so much running the business but just being alone. I guess I was kind of lonely! I wanted to work with other people. So I started looking for a room within an established studio to lease. This would allow me to still be my own business owner but share a space with other business owners. I felt like I needed community.
Little did I know that feeling of needing community would lead me to my next big risk.
I called my friend who taught me areola restoration, the one who first put that bit of encouragement in my ear and told me that I was, in fact, creative. Because she had been in the industry for so long, I knew she could help me find a place that would be a good fit. She immediately asked me what I was doing and why. I gave her a bit of the background, that I was feeling overworked and really just wanted some community.
And to my surprise, she offered me a position at her studio. My mentor, Lina Anderson, one of the owners of DAELA, what some may consider to be one of the best cosmetic tattoo studios in the nation, had offered me a position on her team. What’s the risk in that? It would mean giving up the beautiful brand I had built. No longer being an owner but a worker and putting all my faith in their marketing, their brand and their management. After much thought, I realized that what I viewed as a risk was actually just my ego. Sure I would be giving up some of what I built but I would be trading that for time. And at this stage in my life I’ve come to realize that time carries more value than just about anything.
That initial risk I took, led me to an incredibly fulfilling career! I am able to work part time, I work with some of the most talented artists in the industry and I help people heal through the art of tattoo! I help people move past cancer, trauma and hopefully give them back a piece of confidence. The connections I have made with my clients and the impact they have had on me, have been life changing and worth all the risk.

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 entered the Paramedical Tattooing field after seeing the impact paramedical tattooing can have on a person’s life, specifically post mastectomy areola restoration. However, at that time I saw a gap in services, when it came to scar camouflage and really honed in on that skill set . After extensive training, I opened my own studio: Omnis Ink, an advanced paramedical tattooing studio. When the opportunity to join the DAELA team presented itself, I didn’t hesitate, knowing the larger impact and reach working with a well known studio like DAELA would have. I am deeply passionate about the work I do and am a compassionate and meticulous artist. I not only work with nonprofits and the general public but I also work directly with oncology, cosmetic, dermatologic and reconstructive surgeons, providing their patients with the finishing touch after surgery. I use tattoo techniques, color theory and anatomy to create invisible tattoos, ones that mask scars, from accidents, injury, illnesses and surgeries. I also use the same techniques to create visible, hyper realistic, 3d tattoos. Tattoos that recreate areolas, nipples, nails or belly buttons, usually lost after cancer or gender affirming surgeries.
The work I do is deeply rewarding and life changing for my clients. I am extremely humbled to have found something that I am passionate and skilled at. I am beyond grateful for my clients and their trust and am always honored when a person chooses me to help them close a story or begin a new one.

If you could go back, would you choose the same profession, specialty, etc.?

Yes, I would. It has taken me years to discover and become this person. If someone would have told my 18 year old self, the one getting ready to take on student loan debt, passionate about the environment and taking environmental science classes, thinking I was going to help save the planet, that one day I would be considered very artistic and would be tattooing peoples injuries, I would have laughed and thought “they dont know me at all!”. I am just where I should be at just the right time and I would choose this over and over again.

Putting training and knowledge aside, what else do you think really matters in terms of succeeding in your field?

Marketing. This is a very unknown field. Most people and doctors dont even know this option is available. A person has to be skilled in marketing or at least have the funds to hire someone that is, in order to make it in this field.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.daelacosmetictattoo.com/portland/team/shonna-omnis-ink/
• Instagram: @thescartattooer
• Youtube: https://youtu.be/nRaoi5jv2EU?si=JGZW4aSrkwJLxQGS
• Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/daela-cosmetic-tattoo-portland
• Other: https://g.co/kgs/d8U13Bm