Oddie’s Origin Story; the Journey into Tattooing

Generally speaking, the usual advice you hear when pursuing a career in tattooing is find an apprenticeship. While this is recommended, and absolutely one of the better ways of getting into the industry, it’s no secret that it’s incredibly hard to find an artist willing to take on the responsibility, regardless of your artistic talent. Personally, I was lucky enough to find an open door to the industry through a rather unexpected detour.

Let me tell you the tale of how I waddled my way into the Tattoo Industry.

My first step toward a creative career actually began with the beauty industry - 
(i know, sounds a lil cwazypants when i'm now evolved in my genderfluid goblin prime embracing my #trueform but bare with me) 
I first landed a job as a lash technician at a small beauty bar after years of working in customer service. Lash artistry wasn’t something I initially planned on pursuing either; it also came about rather unexpectedly. 

Let me set the scene, and take you back a few years; 

I was 21, working at my local Starbucks (surprising no one) when the beauty bar my mom frequented mentioned they were looking for new technicians. While I didn't have an art or trade school background, I had spent most of my free time drawing, painting, and experimenting with makeup, which lead me to have a pretty steady hand. The owner (and coincidentally, my mom's lash artist), offered me a complimentary spot in their training course. It was a chance for them to see if I had a natural talent for the craft, and if I did, they’d hire me. At the time, I was pretty eager to move on from my minimum wage barista job, so naturally I jumped at the opportunity.

Representing Shrimp Posture since 2016

After completing the training, they saw that I was quick to learn and had a strong work ethic, so I was hired on the spot.

Over the next couple years, I worked hard putting all my time learning the ins and outs of lash precision and application. I worked closely with the other technicians, adopting their tricks and techniques, while also gaining experience on how to build and maintain a loyal clientele. At first, I really enjoyed my new found career... But, as I continued to grow in the beauty industry, I began feeling a bit lost in it. After around 2 and a half years, life had moved me closer to the city, and I decided it was time for a change. After applying around but not feeling drawn to any salon locations, I eventually found an opportunity to join an artist collective that felt more true to my vibe. The space housed a mix of beauty professionals offering services like permanent makeup, lash and brow lifts, as well as ... tattoo artists.

Examples of hybrid lashes

Hard at work, circa 2018

My career as a lash technician came with some creative limitations that I didn't anticipate. It was fun to explore alternative career choices that still allowed me to work primarily with my hands and nurture my creative side, but it quickly became evident that this career for me stemmed less from a passion for beauty and more from a convenient opportunity. Surrounded by this new environment however, I did feel a familiar spark of inspiration again, and motivated myself to reconnect with my craft once more.

With my new found inspiration, I began aiming to specialize in rainbow lash extensions, creating vibrant, fun bold looks.

While being a part of the LGBTQ+ community myself, this became my way of ensuring my trade remained authentically my own, allowing myself more room for creativity to shine in my work. It also helped me feel more represented, inspired and better connected with the LGBTQ+ community. However, I quickly realized that specializing in rainbow lashes wasn't exactly sustainable. -just like most beauty services, lashes are a luxury. They can be expensive and financially hard to maintain long term. The clients I loved working with the most couldn't always justify the regular cost and upkeep of the service- 
As much as I loved creating these rainbow looks, the lack of demand for colourful lashes left me feeling restricted again in my creativity, and made me question if this was the path I was meant to be on. 

Examples of my work

Rainbow Pride lashes

Examples of my work

Watermelon Lashes

This was right around the time that the opportunity to learn tattooing came into my life, and I realized it could very well be an achievable option for me. 

Tattooing has always intrigued me since I was little. Aside from the obvious aesthetics, the individuality that comes with being tattooed, and reclaiming ones body as their own is so inspiring. 

I'm happy to share getting my very first tattoo was such a warm, welcoming experience, and my artist actually encouraged me to pursue tattooing. While it was a huge dream of mine, they weren’t explicitly offering me an apprenticeship - and if i'm being honest, at the fresh age of 18 getting my first ever tattoos, I didn’t exactly have the confidence or the financial support to jump into an industry i essentially knew nothing about. 

It is a pretty well known fact that getting into the tattoo industry isn't easy. Very few artists are able, or willing to take on an apprentice. Without landing an apprenticeship, there are barely any resources on how to start - not to mention the new trend of "Tattoo Schools" are generally considered a joke in the industry, and there are a LOT of controversial opinions towards self starters... (we'll get into this in a later post)

Over my first few years of getting tattooed, I found that it had become a deeply healing experience for me, helping me navigate self-image struggles, and mental health challenges. This amplified my passion and appreciation for tattoos, and by the time my journey led me to the artist collective, I had already become fairly tattooed.

The collective is also where I was first introduced to Hand Poke Tattooing. I knew of traditional bamboo techniques used primarily in Thailand, but that's about the extent of what I knew about machineless tattooing. The term Hand poke was entirely new to me.

Of course, I had heard the term "Stick and Poke" before but, (regrettably), until this point I had associated it with DIY basement projects—to my understanding, that meant generally an untrained, unsanitary / risky activity to do with friends. (would love to expand more on this topic, maybe new tattoo stigma blogs comin' soon)  I had no idea it could be a professional alternative method of tattooing, let alone one that would jumpstart my own tattoo career. Once I became more educated about hand poking, I was hooked. I got a few tattoos from both the machine and handpoke artists I was sharing space with and immediately began feeling like this was something i needed to try. 

Granted, while my beautician background gave me a solid grasp of sanitation, skin, and skills with precision, the complexities of machine tattooing still felt wildly intimidating. As I didn't have an actual "apprenticeship" or "mentor" I personally didn't feel comfortable jumping into machine work without more guidance.

However, (luckily for me), handpoking felt different. The precision, movement and focus required felt so similar to the skills I’d developed in lash artistry that I was instantly drawn to it. The artist I shared a station with was kind enough to let me use their setup, and after watching them tattoo for a few weeks, I handpoked my very first tattoo on myself. I felt immediately comfortable with the tool, and after a few more self tattoos, and various practice fruits, my friends became eager to let me practice on them too.

one of my first tattoos on an old pal

The collective was incredibly supportive as I transitioned from Lash Artist to Tattoo Artist. It felt like my dream to pursue tattooing was finally a reality, and as 2019 came to a close, I was beyond excited for the year ahead. I truly believed 2020 would be the greatest year yet, the one where I’d grow the most as an artist, and I felt like I was exactly where I was meant to be. But, of course, you know what happens next, right?
-(queue sweatpants, zoom birthday parties and movie marathons for months to come)-

2020 was here - along the start of the COVID-19 Pandemic. (rip social life, shoutout Animal Crossing New Horizons with the craziest launch timing single handedly aiding in the adjustment of lockdown across the world). Unfortunately for myself and my fellow artists, Lockdown kept us out of the studio, unable to operate. During those difficult months, I poured my energy into improving my drawing, staying connected to my creative roots.

Then, when we were finally able to reopen, the new challenge of social distancing in our open concept shared studio became increasingly complicated. I didn't want this to stunt my growth, so I made a crazy decision: I began searching for a small private studio of my own. It was a huge risk, but, after realizing my career had finally reached a point I’d always dreamed of, and additionally after months of lockdown reflection, I felt ready to fully invest in my tattoo career and take the leap into this new chapter of my creative life.

The following year was challenging, filled with uncertainty due to the ongoing effects of the pandemic, but, it also sparked a period of intense self-reflection. I moved private studios a few times, and grew stronger in my dedication to tattooing - slowly building a solid portfolio and sharing in some pretty special client connections. During this time, because of my precision based experience with lash artistry, I found that I was able to achieve crisp, clean line work with handpoking style. This caused me to become immersed with mimicking the appearance of machine tattoos.

1 session - Handpoked 2021

1.5 Years healed, Handpoked

Lines and colour - Handpoked 2022

Over the next couple of years, I invested in a tattoo machine and watched several fellow handpoke artists evolve, and adapt their skills with learning machine tattooing. One of my closest friends, whom I met at the collective just before the lockdown, played a huge role in helping me gain confidence with the machine. With their light guidance and support, I continued improving my art and style with machine tattooing.

Looking back on my journey, i'm grateful and proud to see how far I’ve come—from a young, hungry (albiet closeted, but we'll get to that another time) Lash Technician navigating their own individuality and artistry to a blooming queer Tattoo Artist specializing in both handpoke and machine techniques. While I didn't have a traditional apprenticeship start in the industry, I did have some pretty incredible support from the community. 

Today, I’m proud to have built a style that incorporates the precision, softness and care of handpoking with the versatility, contrast and boldness of machine tattooing. Each design I have the honour of tattooing is a reflection of everything I’ve learned along the way, from the small beauty bar to to the multiple private studios (Thanky @yaptats for the last beautifully shared 2 years in our cozy private studio) and the invaluable guidance I’ve received from mentors and fellow artists.

Handpoking in the private studio, 2022

Tattooing this year, 2024 at the East Side Tattoo Convention

Moving into 2025, I’m keen to return to a collective environment that first sparked my tattooing career. I’m very excited to share in what's around the corner, knowing this industry will continue to challenge me in ways I can’t even imagine. One of the things I love most about the tattoo industry is that it is constantly evolving. There is ALWAYS more to learn, and ALWAYS room to grow.

I’m ready for new opportunities to collaborate, learn, and continue evolving alongside another diverse group of talented artists. Cheers to every one of you that’s supported and helped me get me this far, thank you for continuing to be here.

Much love, and thanks for reading!! (Very cool beans of u) I hope you learned more about me! Stay tuned for more of my musings on tattooing, info dumps and more blogs comin’ soon!
~ Oddie

You can now find me at Slowside Tattoo Studio