Life & Work with Flakiss of Fayetteville nc

Today we’d like to introduce you to Flakiss.

Hi Flakiss, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
Growing up I was always pretty creative. I enjoyed art and creating something unique, from customizing clothes, shoes, basically whatever I could get my hands on. That continued on until high school, which is where I started to take art more serious and spend as much as much time in art class. It was also when I started tattooing. At first it was just friends, then word started to spread. Tattooing was simply an art form that challenged me that I wanted to progress at. Once I graduated high school, I decided to work at a tattoo shop until I could go to college. Once I was immersed in the community and being surrounded by other artists,I knew this was it. I tattooed as much as possible, I mean even to this day I still do and that’s how am I where I am at today. By putting in the hours and being driven by the desire to be a better artist.

I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
Being a female artist in a male dominated industry is the opposite of a smooth road. When I first started my career there was hardly any female tattooers. Nor did clients take me serious. Often times clients would walk in and I would begin to chat with them about their tattoo ideas; even give pricing etc. At the end they would often ask “ so who’s the artist I will be working with?” They would be in complete and utter shock when I would say “ I’m the artist”
It was so tiring but helped push me to continue to progress in my tattooing.
Fast forward to today and our industry has grown so much through the years. Younger me would be so thrilled to know we worked alongside so many talented, kind and truly amazing female tattooers, who continue to inspire me.

Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
Im a tattoo artist I specialize in realism and floral work. I love combining and mixing different elements together, like doing black and grey with a splash of color.
Putting together different pieces of nature to make it one cohesive piece.
I would say I am most know for my floral work, all my clients tell me they “love how feminine my flowers are”
When tattooing flowers I am able to truly fit it to the part of the body I’m working on, allowing it to flow and compliment the body.

Risk taking is a topic that people have widely differing views on – we’d love to hear your thoughts.
I think the biggest risk I took beside moving to North Carolina, would be opening up my own tattoo studio. I was previously at a shop that helped me grow and develop my career, however I was unhappy in that environment. As we all know if you’re unhappy about something a change has to be made. So I set my mind to it, made a plan and started saving. It is a bit unnerving to see all the money you have worked hard to save decline so quickly, from construction expenses, furniture and any extra materials that were needed.
When the time finally came to share the news of the studio, I was more concerned that maybe my clientele wouldn’t follow me. With my finances at a new low all I could do is hope for the best.
In the end, my clients did follow me and I received love and support from clients, followers and other artist’s in the industry. It was truly an amazing feeling.
Taking a risk is scary, but man is it a beautiful thing when it works out.

Contact Info:

• Website: Www.restinrosestattoostudio.com
• Instagram: Instagram @msflakiss
• Facebook: Facebook @msflakiss