Do you want to know my favorite tattoo studio?

It’s called Black Serum in San Francisco, California.

I haven’t been there for more than 3 years so I’m not very aware of how things are there now.

But my whole career took a huuuuuge leap forward when I first landed in San Francisco in 2018 and decided to stay for three months. 

I wasn’t even going to stay in San Francisco. I was on my way to a hippie tantra community on Hawaii

But I was kinda running out of money so I decided to give San Francisco a try.

I sent a few emails to tattoo shops that looked interesting.

At first I got in touch with a different tattoo studio that welcomed me to come as a guest artist. 



Since not many people knew me in the USA, at first I was taking walk-ins in this lovely studio on Guerrero Street.

A few days after I began working, a very close friend of the owner of this tattoo shop reached out to me.

His name was Brucius and apparently he had just opened a new tattoo shop a few blocks away, that was more in line with my style.

BLACK SERUM

He said it would be a really good fit for me and that I could come work there whenever I wanted or if the other shop was too full. 

I worked in both places for a while, sometimes running from one shop to another whenever a customer came in looking for a spontaneous tattoo.



But eventually I fully transitioned to Black Serum.



And I loved it.


The tattoo studio was so beautiful and spacious.

Because I was there right at the period of it opening for the first time, I got to witness how it slowly came together, how the decorations were put into place, when the last black tiles were placed on the bathroom walls, when the logos were put on the glass windows and I also welcomed in the first guest artists.

We were a group of about 5 resident artists and one apprentice. 

That year, my style really solidified, I stopped doing anything else besides LINEWORK.



My Instagram went from 16k followers to 60k in a period of 3 months

And I found a new level of inspiration and creativity that I didn’t even know was possible for me. 

And to think that earlier that year I was actually considering quitting tattooing altogether and focusing more on personal development and coaching

In the following years, I returned to San Francisco every time I had the chance and continued growing as an artist.


It kinda became by second home, alongside Berlin.

So what was so great about this tattoo studio?

What made it so significant for my artistic journey?

Here are 4 things:

NUMBER 1:

There was a spirit of community and collaboration.


Having worked mostly in Germany until then, I was used to everybody keeping to themselves, the tattoo shop owners mostly taking care of their own business in private and also I honestly didn’t understand what people were saying (I barely spoke any German ).

But here I got to be part of everything!

Brucius would introduce me to his interior designers, to his contractors, to his clients, there were new guest artists coming every week from all over the world and I loved welcoming them by showing them where things were and how to use the printer

And then.. you know how Americans are, they often speak their mind (loudly) and love giving enthusiastic compliments, so my clients were giving me so much positive and exciting feedback on my work, I was having really fun conversations with them during tattoo sessions, I got to interact a lot with the other tattoo artists and exchange ideas and my more extroverted side came out. Thank you US!


It was a really vibrant and alive atmosphere. 


NUMBER 2:

For the first time ever, I had a real mentor. 


Even though we never explicitly agreed on it, looking back, I see how Brucius became my mentor.

He took me under his wing, he shared my work with his audience and always spoke highly of me to other artists and people he worked with. He motivated me to increase my rates. He would always be there in case I needed something or had a question about a specific tattoo technique.

And then I also watched him teaching his apprentices and really learned a lot from that as well.

I had never really had a mentor before that. I learned from tattoo artists who were good teachers but whose art I didn’t really admired. It’s a totally different experience to be learning from someone who is not just a solid teacher but also a great artist.


NUMBER 3:

There were apprentices all over the place


I think at a certain point there were like 5 or 6 apprentices in the shop.

Oooooh the energy of someone who is at the beginning of their journey, humble and attentive, so eager to learn everything they can, asking really great and sometimes funny questions

I never realized how important it is to have beginner energy in the room.

As someone who had already mastered my craft to a pretty high level, I would often forget how long it took me to get to where I was, how much work, energy and time I had to put into it, how challenging it sometimes was and how rewarding.

Until that moment when a newbie comes and says: “Woooow, how do you do that? That’s crazy!”.

I also realized how much I love sharing and teaching what I know and I knew that one day I would like to mentor others as well

NUMBER 4:

The tattoo studio was high-end and the space was absolutely beautiful


It was the most beautiful tattoo studio I had seen until then.

Imagine black and gold - that was the theme for most of the deco.

The ceilings were high, it was full of beautiful antiques, big dried tree branches, vintage lamps, bird skulls and old tools, yet the studio was modern, spacious, bright.

There was so much attention put into details and I truly felt excited and proud to welcome my clients there

Everything was top-notch and well thought through.

All of this pushed and inspired me to show up differently, to also step into my greatness and take my work to a higher level.

Being surrounded by all this beauty and elegance inspired me to perfect my craft

So, 

Community, collaboration, transparency, openness, mentorship, different levels of skills - from complete beginner to advanced, beauty, sophistication. 

Maybe these are the ingredients for success, the perfect environment for an artist to blossom into their full potential.

Maybe it was that way for me and the ingredients will be different for others.

But I want to leave you with this to reflect on.

What inspires you? 

What activates your creative juices?


When in your life have you had big leaps and transformations?

And where were you, what were you doing and who was around you?

Maybe it's time to seek or create a more nurturing and inspiring environment so that your Soul can become more alive.

If you are on the waitlist, stay tuned for the next emails.

I’m going to be soon revealing the project that I’ve been working on with all of my heart and invite you to join me.

Maybe it will support you in creating or serve as this ideal environment for your creative self to blossom ️

If you aren’t on the waitlist, don't worry, I will also update you, but a little bit later.

If you’re reading this Brucius (and I know you are) a big thank you for everything.

Love,
Jio