Conversations with Kathy Owens

Today we’d like to introduce you to Kathy Owens.

Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us how you got started?
The Ink Gallery is one of the first tattoo shops in the area I had gone to about a year after it opened in 1995. I was in school still, and very interested in the piercing and tattoo scene. I came to the shop every weekend trying to hang out and begging to learn. After a while, I found some guys who agreed to apprentice me. In 2003, I became a pro wrestler and ended up traveling around piercing at various shops and wrestling all over the country. Around 7 years ago I was even lucky enough to open my own pro-wrestling company. When COVID first hit, the sports commission shut down all events and I was left with no business and no job much like many small business owners at the time. After a while, I landed a cruddy pizza place job that I was very unhappy at. I got home late one night, very discouraged, and happened to check my messages and saw that my friend and owner of the Ink Gallery, Jason Stampfly, had reached out to me. This was a real turning point for me as he wanted me to come back to manage the tattoo shop for him. It was a bit of a full circle moment for me to end up back at the place I had first found my love for piercings and tattoos, not only as a manager but as a hopeful future owner. All of the businesses that come and go in the world and it’s like tattoo shops are always still hanging on and surviving. We have served Madison, TN for 27 years now and have remained a consistent mainstay in the community, building relationships with return customers that have been here from the start. Having this shop will give my family a future, as my oldest daughter Sasha is apprenticing to pierce and her best friend since the age of 12 DeLores is apprenticing to tattoo. My youngest child, 14, also hopes to work here when they are older. We have Nathan Dukes, Jason Hargrove, and Toot here as artists and they have over 60 years combined in the craft. We hope to keep making great things here for many years to come.

Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall, and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
It has been rocky here and there, what with my wrestling business shutting down and my health issues. The shop has definitely given me the opportunity to rebuild some things that were lost in my life.

Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
I specialize in body piercing and body mods. While we don’t have as many customers as we used to look for the latter, it still holds a special place in my heart. I’ve been working in this profession for many years now and I still learn more about it every day. I am inspired by piercers like Elayne Angel, author of The Piercing Bible, and the colleagues I have met during my time learning this craft. I am most proud of the fact that I get to continue this legacy with my daughter Sasha, and it has been lovely watching her grow into her own with this as well.

I think what sets me apart from other piercers is my willingness to work with individuals’ financial situations and to provide top-tier aftercare solutions. I keep in touch with anyone I work on and make sure they’re healing properly and everything is going okay with their piercing. I also offer piercing removals to my customers as well as work with those who have embedded jewelry or any other piercing trauma. Lots of times hospitals aren’t properly trained on handling piercings so it’s nice to be able to offer that to my customers. I enjoy giving people a place they can feel good coming to. I always hated when I walk into a tattoo shop and everyone in the place makes you feel unwelcome or as if they are better than you in some way. We strive to be all-inclusive here so that no matter what race, gender, or sexual orientation you are you have a safe, nice place to come get piercings and tattoos.

Is there anyone you’d like to thank or give credit to?
I specialize in body piercing and body mods. While we don’t have as many customers as we used to look for the latter, it still holds a special place in my heart. I’ve been working in this profession for many years now and I still learn more about it every day. I am inspired by piercers like Elayne Angel, author of The Piercing Bible, and the colleagues I have met during my time learning this craft. I am most proud of the fact that I get to continue this legacy with my daughter Sasha, and it has been lovely watching her grow into her own with this as well.

I think what sets me apart from other piercers is my willingness to work with individuals’ financial situations and to provide top-tier aftercare solutions. I keep in touch with anyone I work on and make sure they’re healing properly and everything is going okay with their piercing. I also offer piercing removals to my customers as well as work with those who have embedded jewelry or any other piercing trauma. Lots of times hospitals aren’t properly trained on handling piercings so it’s nice to be able to offer that to my customers. I enjoy giving people a place they can feel good coming to. I always hated when I walk into a tattoo shop and everyone in the place makes you feel unwelcome or as if they are better than you in some way. We strive to be all-inclusive here so that no matter what race, gender, or sexual orientation you are you have a safe, nice place to come get piercings and tattoos.

Pricing:

• Tattoo minimum: $60
• Piercings vary, but many are $35
• Portraits start at $300

Contact Info:

• Website: linktr.ee/inkgallerynash
• Instagram: instagram.com/inkgallerynash
• Facebook: facebook.com/inkgallerynashville