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Meet Trailblazer Zoey Tailor

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Today we’d like to introduce you to Zoey Tailor.

So, before we jump into specific questions about what you do, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
I am an artist and always have been. Some of my earliest memories are of art I made. In high school, I began making music, whilst learning visual arts skills and building a portfolio. When I was 17, I entered school at the Maryland Institute College of Art, and four years later, graduated with a Bachelors of Fine Arts.

I started tattooing about a year and a half after graduating from art school. I had been doing it here and there, and mainly on myself, for the previous five years, but it took a lot of time, confidence, and enough boring jobs for me to push myself to call myself a tattoo artist. I had been teaching myself how to handpoke (a method of tattooing where the tattoo is made by hand and without the use of a machine). This put me in a niche area of tattooing, which luckily for me, was growing in popularity.

I started my Instagram, @zo_pokes and got to work. I was working out of my bedroom in a warehouse apartment in Baltimore. I soon quit my full-time job, and began tattooing full time, while acquiring small part-time gigs on the side.

I moved in with my best friend about six months later and had a room dedicated to my work. My business was growing faster than I had imagined possible and I often found myself working seven days a week.

In August of 2018, I traveled to Colorado to do a guest spot at a shop called Pushing Lines. I had visited Colorado a couple of times in the past, but this was my first time coming out to work, as well as my first time working in a shop. During my guest spot, an opportunity presented itself for me to move to Denver and work in that shop, so in October, thats what I did. I worked at Pushing Lines for two months before finding out that the shop was going to close.

I had become friends with Jordan Lempe at this point. He was also a self-taught handpoke artist. We connected through Instagram and met in person at a gallery opening of his. We quickly began getting coffee regularly and talking about tattooing and life in general.

When I found out that my time at Pushing Lines was coming to an end, I asked him if he wanted to open a shop with me. We had mentioned it in conversation before but as an idea for the future. Jordan had already been contacted by Peggy Des Jardines through instagram about potentially opening a space, and so we invited her to coffee. Within a couple of weeks, we had signed a lease on a space. Two and a half months after that, in March of 2019, we opened Friendship Tattoo.

Jordan, Peggy and I all co-own Friendship Tattoo, in Lakewood.

We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc. – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
I think I’ve been very lucky to not have had many struggles along the way. I was fortunate to go to a great art school and to receive that level of arts education, but that did not come without a financial burden placed on my family and for that, I am grateful and thankful for my parents and grandparents for helping with tuition, as well as my sister who housed me and cared for me.

As a handpoker, there are a certain set of barriers in place that I had to overcome. The traditional route into tattooing is to find an apprenticeship under a tattoo artist and spend time working for the shop and learning how to tattoo until you are allowed to do it on your own. From the apprentices, I’d met over the years, and from the energy, I felt in tattoo shops, I knew I would never want to do an apprenticeship. I was genuinely intimidated by artists (all of whom had been men at this point) and at times had been made to feel bad about myself by artists, and so I knew it wasn’t for me. Because of that, I believed I could never be a tattoo artist.

So, when I began to do tattoos from home and post them online, I knew there was going to be a certain amount of negativity that I’d encounter from artists who had gone the traditional route, and though I did face that occasionally, I also found a lot of support from other artists.

When I was hired in a shop for the first time, in a city I’d never lived in, it was truly a shock to me, but I didn’t hesitate to jump at the opportunity. And though that job didn’t last, I am beyond grateful to have met Jordan and Peggy and to create a space with people who accepted me as an equal and important part of the business.

Instagram has also been an incredible tool for meeting and connecting with artists around the world who have taken similar routes and who hold the same core values in their practice.

If I had to give advice to other women starting their journey in this field, this is what I’d say. Believe in yourself, but also know yourself. Believe that you can achieve your goal(s) but also know when you need to ask for help, advice, or when you simply need to spend time practicing and honing your skills. It took me five years of occasional tattooing before I started my Instagram, and though that is not a rule for anyone and was simply a part of my journey, do make sure you’re absolutely ready to forever alter peoples bodies. Take it as seriously as you can, even if you’re still learning, and continue to treat every client like a blessing because every person who trusts you to tattoo them is a real gift.

Also, get tattooed a lot and by a range of artists. That costs money, I know, but I treated it like I was investing in my education. I began getting tattooed by other handpokers I looked up to, female and/or queer artists, as well as other artists I trusted, and I would watch them like a hawk. I’d make mental notes of every part of their process, from how they set up the supplies, to the specific ways their hands moved as they pushed needles and ink into my skin. I would ask questions and then bring everything I’d learned back into my own process. And even now, I soak up as much information as I can every time I get tattooed, because I know there is always going to be something I can learn and improve on.

And lastly, keep going. If you’re passionate, or if you simply want to explore something new, don’t let others discourage you. I know how cheesy that sounds, but I mean it. There have been times that other artists made me feel bad about what I was doing and there have been times where my ex made me feel “less-than” for working from home as a creative (because of which, at times, I was ready to give up and go back to jobs I didnt like, just to satisfy him). But if this is something you are feeling good about, just keep going. Prioritize yourself and your worth as a creative, and do what makes you happy. It’ll be worth it in the end. And even if this specific journey doesn’t result in a career (or whatever you’re hoping it will be), you can at least know you tried your best and gave it your all, and that is just as valuable.

We’d love to hear more about Friendship Tattoo Shop.
I specialize in handpoke tattooing. That is, making tattoos without the use of machine. It allows for thin lines and tiny detail, as well as a meditative process as an artist. Creating work dot by dot is a slow process. Without the mechanisms, sounds, and speed of a machine, I am able to focus in on each and every moment of creation. This is often a more relaxing environment for the client too.

As a tattoo artist, I am most proud of the environment I have been able to provide. From bedroom tattooing to owning a shop, I have put relaxation, acceptance, the need for a safe space and collaboration between artist and client at the forefront of everything I do. I have had enough experience in getting tattooed in the traditional shop environment, to know that I wanted to work in and provide a space that rebels against the hyper-masculine and intimidating energy that a lot of shops bring.

I was lucky to not only find really great tattoo artists and business partners to open Friendship Tattoo with, but we also had the same vision of creating a comfortable space for our clients. As a collective, we’ve worked really hard to not only make our space inviting as far as interior design, but we have also worked on smaller details that allow everyone to feel comfortable in our space. On our consent form, we ask for consent to use photographs of our client’s tattoos on Instagram. We also ask their pronouns and include “non-binary” and “other” as options under the “gender” portion of the form. And very recently, we were able to work with building management to create an “all gender” restroom for all of our clients to use, instead of the traditional “men” and “women” bathrooms we had been provided with.

That is what I am most proud of. And that is what I think sets myself and Friendship Tattoo apart from others. I’ve had the privilege to choose my work and create the space I work in, and it is my duty to give others a place to feel safe to be themselves in.

We’re interested to hear your thoughts on female leadership – in particular, what do you feel are the biggest barriers or obstacles?
As far as being an artist, I think the barriers to female leadership are clear. The tattoo world is pretty dominated by men, and the art world, in general, has often been focused heavily on men. As a female artist, I think you have to “prove” yourself a lot more, and work a lot harder to be seen.

That said, the internet does help to break those barriers of sexism and can actually do a lot to promote marginalized artists (i.e. the hashtags #femaletattooartist, #qttr referring to queer tattooers or #qpocttt which refers to queer, person of color tattooer).

I also believe in the contemporary tattooing scene, led by women, people of color and people of the LGBTQIA+ community that is creating safe spaces for artists and clients alike.

There is absolutely a lot of work to be done to break the barriers to female leadership, but I am happy to say that I am aware of positive change and so proud that my generation is leading that.

Contact Info:

Image Credit:
Sean Oblizalo – IG: @vows_and_peaks – Photographs of shop and the crew, Molly Gray – @m.g.hair – Photographs of me in striped shirt and fruit suit

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