Daily Inspiration: Meet Shaun Kelly

Today we’d like to introduce you to Shaun Kelly.

Hi shaun , please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
I grew up in New Haven, mi. I’ve always been a creative person. As a kid I would doodle and draw all over everything. doors, walls, books, desks, people. It wasn’t exactly accepted nor appropriate, but it was my way of escaping the world for a moment and creating something unique. tattooing technically started pretty early in life for me. I think it was around 15 that some friends and I were tattooing ourselves. I managed to get my hands on some india ink, needles and thread, created some horrible stick and pokes, those of which are now covered. Back then I had no intentions of being an artist. Honestly, it was never really put into a perspective for me to understand how art, rendering, or designing was integrated into so many aspects in life. Not just painters like Monet, Rembrandt or Picasso. it was never explained to me how my creativity could be used in other aspects of life. I knew I wasn’t very good at painting and drawing on desks will never be a career, so as a kid I never dreamed I would become an artist.

I began getting professionally tattooed when I was old enough to get tattooed without consent (18 yrs). I remember watching the process and thinking very naively “I can do this”. After my first couple of smaller tattoos, a few years later 2004ish I met a local artist named Gary “sarge” May who had owned a tattoo studio in a local trade center. I expressed my interests in tattooing, showed him my art and asked him “how do i get started?”
From there I spent many weekends at the trade center; purchased machines, and equipment needed to get started. Drawing flash, building machines, getting tattooed, and asking tons of questions. Back then things were a lot different, you built your machines, tuned them by ear, tore them down and re-set them up, over and over and over again. If you couldn’t build and tune your machine than you couldn’t tattoo.
looking for more experience than what I was getting on weekends, I went out on my own seeking a part time apprenticeship. At that time, I was working full time in Manufacturing, going to college for graphic design and I was raising my beautiful daughter Angelina. With my schedule it was hard to find any locals to take me in, understandably.
I took the path of least resistance and started tattooing friends and co-workers from home, I was a scratcher!! back then I didn’t see the negativity in it, didn’t know it was not an accepted thing in the industry. But I built up my reputation as my tattoos spoke for themselves, my clientele base got larger and came to a point where it would be much more beneficial to go “legit” find a shop and go Full time.
I started at a local shop named Inkslingers. They’ve been around since the early 90s, and they gave me a chance. ultimately, I stayed there only 6ish months, the vibe wasn’t the right fit for me, I was learning the trade quickly and this was not howe I envisioned my future in tattooing. coincidentally I was offered a spot at another local shop named “white buffalo” as their main artist. I worked there a few months and things were not going very smoothly. sometimes there was no heat in the freezing winter, I would bring a space heater and try to keep my hands warm to tattoo. Clients were freezing, i was freezing. It was time to move on, again…
At this point I’ve worked in a few shops, been to multiple others getting my own tattoos done. I couldn’t help to think of all the ways I would like to be treated while getting tattooed. How the environments all seemed the same with these heavy rockstar mentalities, big egos and a sense of intimidation. I wanted to do something different. I wanted to work at a place that you could walk into comfortably. whether black, white, Hispanic, male or female, young or old. where everyone could come and get a piece of art and be greeted with a smile and welcomed to the culture.
In 2014 I opened Studio Seven Tattoos, Clinton twp. mi. It’s been a great experience; I’ve made great lifelong friends with artist and clients past and present. Weve now been open 11 years and business is great. I’ve got an amazing group of artists working alongside me. we all vibe together really good and push each other’s limits creatively. We have a great reputation in our area. known for the friendly, clean, and inviting vibe that I’ve intimately thrived to bring to existence here in the studio. everyone is treated with respect, welcomed into our studio with open and creative minds. It hasn’t been an easy road at all, but it’s been worth it and ultimately, we are giving the clients the exact experience that I once hoped to be able to provide to anyone seeking a reputable, fun, clean and caring environment to be tattooed in.

Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
It definitely has not been a smooth road. Like any process, there’s been bumps along the way. initially it was a real struggle for approval from a township that did not wish to have a “blight” such as a tattoo shop opening up in their township. board meeting after board meeting, requesting variances, and walking door to door to residential and business owners collecting signature required for approval. with 51% approval needed form both residential and business. I set out with my daughter walking door to door gathering signatures morning, noon and nights to trying catch ppl at their homes or business. we received our 51% and that wasn’t going to be satisfactory enough for me, so we kept going until we had 66% of all business and residential signatures. after a long stressful process, we got a final approval form the board and it was time to build.
Permits after permits, change this, change that, it’s a game of power. Do what they want, when they want it or this will not be easy. so, we played by the rules, followed the steps. with all the fees, filing, variances etc., Things got pretty financially heavy. Buildout was costing more than anticipated, county, state, inspection fees etc. I initially cashed out my 401k, emptied my bank accounts, and had sell my mint 1991 mustang GT in order to continue financing this endeavor. I was flat broke!! the local Health department made some last-minute changes to what they wanted to see before allowing occupancy and I had no money left to make these final changes. I was ready to throw in the towel; I did everything I could, and I couldn’t afford anymore. That being said, a good friend of mine heard about the situation, came over and handed me the last couple thousand dollars needed to make the changes. Told me “I don’t want this money back; this isn’t a loan. I want you to open that shop, make it a success and never look back.” To this day I still owe him in my eyes, but the still refuses to accept any cash payments in return. I did agree to tattoo him and his family at no expense for the remainder of my existence and it’s a pleasure when any of them come in to get work done, it feels great to be able to “payback” and I’ll never accept payment from them even though they still try to pay me. I wouldn’t be where I am without them, Thanks Dan!

Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
aside from being the studio owner and the fun that comes with owning a small business. I specialize in larger Black and gray realism tattoos I try to primarily work in black and gray because that’s the technique I’m most comfortable with. It fits my vibe, I guess. I like dark art and its hard making dark art in vibrant colors. I like to have a tray full of black and gray inks which all appear black to the naked eye. yet, it’s a half dozen values of grays and you’re creating this realistic image with depth and contrast. it’s difficult, its stressful and I love it! I’m not real educated in color theory enough to feel comfortable working on color realistic pieces. Plus, I have some great color artists working next to me daily, they could give you a way better color piece than I could.
I’m proud that I had a vision and I was able make that vision come to existence. Studio Seven Tattoos is the studio I wished for 11 years ago.
I don’t know anything sets us apart much from others. We have a private studio with private rooms. it’s not an open floor concept. We do everything by appointment only, we don’t take walk ins. we prefer it like that, we all stay booked up and know exactly what we’re working on from day to day. The time we book with our clients is meant to be their time. We’re not stopping to do consultations or be interrupted throughout the tattoo sessions. When our clients book a 3-hour session, that 3 hours is dedicated to them and their tattoos, without distraction.

Can you talk to us a bit about the role of luck?
I’ve never been a lucky person, so that’s out of the question. but I can’t say it’s been bad either. I work hard and I’ll accept whatever life throws at me and keep moving forward

Pricing:

• 150/hourly

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.studioseventattoos.com
• Instagram: studio_seven_tattoos