Meet Milo Alfring of Milo Alfring Designs in Evergreen

Today we’d like to introduce you to Milo Alfring.

So, before we jump into specific questions about the business, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
Art has always been a huge part of my life. I’m not exactly sure where it stemmed from, but I remember reading and drawing from comics with some kids in my neighborhood when I was very young. As I got older I learned to snowboard and snowboarding quickly became my biggest obsession next to creating artwork. Eventually I was heading up to the mountains every chance I got. I always saw myself working in the snowboard industry in one way or another… I thought that graphic design might be a good route. Eventually I was living up in Steamboat Springs and had heard that the local tattoo shop was looking for an apprentice. Not exactly the path that I had imagined, but the idea sounded intriguing to me and I liked that it had a focus on art. Steamboat Springs is a small mountain town and back then Truth Tattoo was the only tattoo shop there. I have to admit that I had never really had much interest in tattooing, but it was one of the best decisions I’ve ever made to walk in there and talk with those guys because a week later I began my apprenticeship into the world of tattooing. Truth Tattoo closed its doors after only a couple years of me working there and my relationship with tattooing was on and off until I finished art school at Rocky Mountain College of Art + Design in 2012. I then returned back to Steamboat to open up a shop of my own. That shop lasted for a few great years until I decided to move back to my hometown of Evergreen, CO. It was in Evergreen that I began working at Black Sage Studio where I still work today. Tattooing, for me has only seemed to get better over the years and I honestly couldn’t be happier with where it has brought me today. My clientele, the shop that I work in and the coworkers that I work with, I am very grateful for all of it.

Has it been a smooth road?
It has been far from a smooth road. Somebody once told me that tattooing is the type of career where you get what you put into it and I couldn’t agree more. It can be very consuming if you let it. Late nights drawing, perfecting designs with color studies, long days at the studio, hours spent critiquing your own work and the list goes on and on. It is all of course worth it though. I never really consider it a “job” because it is what I love to do and feel so grateful to get to do it five days a week. I have a huge admiration and respect for tattooing and it’s really an obsession for me these days.

We’d love to hear more about your business.
Our particular studio goes by appointment only, meaning that our clientele will book with us beforehand typically through email. We aren’t like a traditional shop in the sense of getting “walk-in” traffic. Also, our shop isn’t what you might envision when you think of a tattoo shop… We are up in the foothills west of Denver and within the shop we each have our own private rooms with views of hills and trees. This is all quite important to me and I like to think that it plays a role in the clients experience as well because it makes for a calm and peaceful environment. Since growing up and exploring this area, I have always drawn inspiration from the outdoors. I feel that this can be seen clearly in most of my work. I enjoy tattooing animals, flowers, figure, nature, birds, foliage and anything that falls within that realm. I think most people would consider my style to be neotraditional with a focus on nature.

Is our city a good place to do what you do?
The tattoo community can be a tough one to break into for anybody no matter where you live, but Denver and the surrounding areas would be as good a spot as any major city to try and begin a career in tattooing. There are a decent amount of shops here and also a lot of very talented artists. In the last few years Denver seems to have put itself on the map for many avenues of art, which is refreshing to see.

Contact Info:

• Address: 3072 Evergreen Pkwy, Suite 200
• Website: miloalfringdesigns.com
• Phone: 7203612628
• Email: miloalfring@gmail.com
• Instagram: @miloalfring

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