Today we’d like to introduce you to Loveless Melvin.
Thanks for sharing your story with us Loveless. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
Where to start? Well, I’m from Alabama and been drawing my whole life. It’s taken me pretty far, to say the least. My first big break came when I got hired as a tattoo artist at the “Voodoo Needle” during my freshman year at Auburn University. I had never been to a tattoo shop at that point in my life, but they were looking for an apprentice and I had the right skills at the right time thankfully. Years later, I moved to Atlanta and got hired by the world renowned “City of Ink”.
Working there is an everyday adventure. All the artists kind of have their own “style”.
Mine came about after I started doing what I called “Loveless tattoos” during a confusing time in my love life, where I took a step back to learn and love who I was. The Loveless tattoos depict cherubs that represent who the collector is. In essence, it is the protector of their love. The growth in popularity of the tattoo led to the creation of the brand “Loveless Society”.
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?
Haha, not at all. Like most entrepreneurs, I just learn as I go. But each step has been rewarding. The biggest thing was learning to fail forward. You’ll come up with an idea for a product or a promotion and it won’t go well but you can’t take it as a loss, but a lesson. Everything that has gone “bad” was a blessing in disguise.
Here’s one, I remember we were about to get sued by a clothing brand because our name sounded similar. To counteract it, we changed the name of our apparel to “Loveless Lovebomb” and it did the trick. Weirdly, the company that tried to sue us is no more. I guess we could change the name back now, but it has a lot of meaning now which is important to me, so all is well.
Through it all, the tattoos have remained our biggest seller and affords my team to have fun creatively with other ventures. I love growth, and the only way to do that is to take chances by daring to be different.
We’d love to hear more about your business.
Loveless Society is an art brand using cherubs to represent what people love. While the brand started with tattoos, we have been able to penetrate many avenues with our lead cherub, Loveless Cupid. His adventures through love started with memorable images via social media and expanded to his blog on our website focusing on the state of love and heartbreak alike.
Now his face adorns the many products we release and has come full circle as his comic book was released a year ago to great response.
The future of Loveless stems from what we started. Showcasing the people with the tattoos and letting them tell their stories, and following Cupid with his comic. I’m also writing a television pilot right now to pitch this year so the sky is the limit. It’s a unicorn brand that allows for experimentation, so as long as the message of not being afraid to show the world who you are and what you love comes through we are down to explore it.
What were you like growing up?
I was pretty shy growing up. Art was always my escape. Mainly making comics and designing cartoons. I’ve just always really been into creating characters that displayed qualities I wish I had. People always believed I’d make something of it so I can’t lie, that helped a ton with my confidence. My parents kept me with tons of art supplies and my punishments would be that I couldn’t draw for some extended period, haha.
I’m actually still shy, but I can turn on the charm if needed. I thank having a public occupation like tattooing for that. I think 10-year-old me is pretty proud of the life I’ve built. I’ve brought back all the things I enjoy like, making art, characters, comics and cartoons. The best part is now people pay me to do it! Sounds like a recipe for happiness to me. Plus it’s nice to show my daughter that stuff. She is the best art I’ve ever made.
Contact Info:
- Website: lovelesssociety.com
- Email: cupid@lovelesssociety.com
- Instagram: @thelovelesssociety @lovelessmelvin
- Facebook: facebook.com/lovelesssociety
- Twitter: twitter.com/lovelessmelvin
- Other: jambalayamixtape.com
Image Credit:
Billy Heigl, Omega Ruth Jr, Rasa Don, Artemus Jenkins
Getting in touch: VoyageATL is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.
