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Conversations with the Inspiring Peggy Des Jardines

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Today we’d like to introduce you to Peggy Des Jardines.

Peggy, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
I started doing stick and poke tattoos in 2009 when I was 19. One of my best friends looked up how to do tattoos at home and asked me if I wanted to try it out with her, and we got together and gave each other a couple of shitty tattoos. Then, I just kept at it. Back then, stick and pokes were highly stigmatized, disrespected, and seen as dirty/unsafe (because they very often were), so I didn’t think much about doing them seriously at first. It was just a fun thing I would randomly do if a friend asked me to.

I was in school for art at the time and had started getting tattooed when I was 18, and my interest tattooing naturally grew. But I very quickly saw that stick and pokes were abhorred by all the tattoo artists I came in contact with. When I asked tattooers how to get started tattooing more seriously, they told me I would never get an apprenticeship or work in a shop because I had been doing stick and pokes.

So I just kept doing it on my own for about six more years. I found out how to get higher quality supplies, and the tattoos got better and better. I did a ton of research about how to do them more safely. Eventually, I started charging for them and being more open about what I was doing, and people started lining up to get them. But I still had a lot of fear around talking to other tattooers and a lot of internalized shame from my interactions with them, and that definitely slowed my growth.

After a couple of years of dedicating a lot of time and intention to tattooing, I still felt stuck. I knew of one or two shops that employed stick and poke artists, which was a huge shift and hugely encouraging, but I didn’t have the confidence to try and get a job in a shop. Even good friends were still telling me I would never work in a shop. That was when I decided I’d have to open my own.

At first, I looked for tiny office spaces I could work in by myself, but Denver proved too expensive for that. So I reached out to another Denver Handpoker, Jordan Lempe, and asked if he would be interested in getting a space together or at least getting together to talk tattoos. I knew zero other people who did what I was doing and recognized that my isolation was hindering my growth. He said he was interested and had already been talking to someone else, Zoey Tailor, about the same thing. So, we all met up, talked about our experiences and our goals, and decided to open a shop together. We found a space, signed the lease, did some renovation projects and gathered everything we would need to function and get licensed, and Friendship Tattoo opened about four months after our first meeting.

Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
In some ways, the road has been smooth, and in others, it has been anything but. I was fortunate to have a lot of friends who were willing to let me tattoo them and were confident in my abilities, and fortunate to be able to study art formally, so my art practice grew fairly smoothly. I also turned out to be pretty naturally inclined toward the work, because I am extremely detail-oriented, patient enough for tedious work, and obsessed with learning. After I started tattooing more in 2016, the momentum just didn’t stop. That road was smoother than any other in my life at the time; it felt a little like tattooing wanted me to do it, and less like a conscious decision on my part. And I trusted that.

A lot of my path has just involved waiting around for stick and pokes to become acceptable. That was challenging. Enduring the discouragement and building my confidence enough to go for it was challenging. And teaching myself this very difficult and complicated craft was and still is challenging; the tidbits of encouragement and advice I’ve received from other artists over the years have been much appreciated.

The only advice I have for young people who want any career in the arts is to become absolutely obsessed with drawing. Draw things that challenge you, that speak to you, that feel irrelevant to you, and do not get stuck just drawing things you’re good at or enjoy.

We’d love to learn more about your work. What do you do, what do you specialize in, what are you known for, etc. What are you most proud of as a brand, organization or service provider? What sets you apart from others?
Our shop is home to 3 artists who specialize in stick and pokes. Zoey and Jordan also work with a machine, but to be able to go to a shop looking for a stick and poke and have every artist there be able to give you a great one is rare. Aside from that, we are known for our welcoming, relaxing, friendly atmosphere. Almost everyone comments on how at home they feel in our space. We had all had bad experiences in more traditional shops, and heard horror stories from clients and friends, so it was our top priority to make our shop comfortable for everyone and for the general vibe to be one of respect for everyone.

As far as my own work, the imagery I’m probably best known for right now is my series of skeletons doing everyday activities. A lot of my work is whimsical/fanciful, cute, sometimes a little dark or humorous, but I’m interested in so many different styles and subject matters that it can be hard to narrow it down. Right now I’m really into color work, minimalism, folk art, and reflective objects.

I am really proud of my determination, and my drive to consistently push the boundaries of my abilities. I’m endlessly grateful for everyone who has ever allowed me to experiment on them. I am also increasingly proud of having the idea to name our shop Friendship Tattoo; it is one of the things that makes people feel welcome here. They feel welcome before even setting foot in the door! I have always felt that friendship is an incredibly powerful force and it has given me most of the things I love about my life. It gave me tattooing! And I can hardly begin to express my gratitude for the life that tattooing continues to give me.

Do you have any advice for finding a mentor or networking in general? What has worked well for you?
I don’t have any advice about finding a mentor, because I don’t think I’ve ever had one!

Contact Info:

Image Credit:
Sean Oblizalo – IG: @vows_and_peaks (Photo of Friendship Tattoo team)

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