Today we’d like to introduce you to Gabriella Mancini.
Gabriella, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
Hey there! My name is Gabriella Mancini and I’m a tattoo artist at Apocalypse Tattoo Company in Atlanta. I honestly don’t even know where to start, haha. Ever since I was a little kid, drawing has been my favorite past time and I’ve always found a lot of comfort in it. As I grew up, my passion turned into a desire to make somehow it my career. I spent some time at SCAD and GSU trying to find my way, but I felt so lost. That’s when I fell in love with tattooing.
Nobody in my family has tattoos, so I was going out on a limb when I started getting tattooed. I got my first tattoo at Apocalypse in 2015, and something in me clicked there. I fell in love and knew this industry was where I belonged. So I dropped out of art school, started my apprenticeship at Apocalypse in 2018, started taking clients in 2019, and have never once looked back. I feel forever grateful to have found my family and my home in tattooing. My mentors and coworkers quickly have become my closest friends, and tattooing has honestly saved me in a lot of ways. My job is my life, and I feel so blessed that this is what I get to do every day!
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?
Tattooing is not easy to learn. It takes a special kind of will power not to give up or feel discouraged during an apprenticeship, and I felt that struggle during mine. There is zero room for wishy-washy people in this industry. If you can’t keep up, you’re out. But that being said, I was spoiled with love and support during my apprenticeship, haha. I was already friends with the shop before starting my apprenticeship since I had been getting tattooed there for like three years. My mentors were tough on me when they needed to be for sure, but I always felt loved, encouraged, and respected, which is pretty hard to find in a tattoo apprenticeship.
Tell us more about the business.
I’m going on my second year as a tattoo artist at Apocalypse, so I’m still fairly new and have a lot to learn before I can declare a specialty. But I do very much enjoy traditional and illustrative tattooing! I also have this thing where everything I draw somehow turns out adorable, so I’m happy to add a lil girly flair to the Atlanta tattoo scene 🙂
You can probably tell from this interview already, but I love my shop! Apocalypse was started in 2013 by Ryan Willingham and Adam Kowzun, who have been best friends since they were 5 years old. Ryan’s wife, Nicole, is also a tattoo artist and works at Apocalypse as well, so we pride ourselves on having a welcoming mom-n-pop shop vibe. Our artists are all incredible and have their own unique styles, and we have the most amazing clientele too! I’m honestly super lucky to be a part of such a positive, lovely work environment– it feels like a dream come true.
Has luck played a meaningful role in your life and business?
Well, as I’m writing this, we’ve had to close the shop for the next two weeks (at least) due to COVID-19. So I’d say that’s pretty bad luck. This pandemic has hit our industry hard. Lots of tattoo shops have to close to protect artists and their clients from the virus, so a lot of people are struggling to make ends meet. Tattoo artists are independent contractors, so we don’t have paid time off or anything like that. We don’t even get healthcare through our jobs (or our government, unfortunately) since we’re independents, so if we got sick with COVID-19, we’re screwed. A lot of people who can work from home or get paid time off may not think about these things, so please look out for your artist friends during this time. ♡
Pricing:
- $60 minimum
- $100/hour
Contact Info:
- Address: Apocalypse Tattoo Company
3115 Piedmont Road NE, Suite 201A
Atlanta, GA 30326 - Website: apocalypsetattooco.com
- Phone: 404-842-0505
- Email: gabbutattoo@gmail.com
- Instagram: instagram.com/gabbutattoo
- Facebook: facebook.com/gabbutattoo
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