Doodling on Receipts.

I’ve been drawing since I was five—stealing pens from my mom’s purse to doodle on anything I could find. After moving from Hawaiʻi to North Florida, I stayed creative through Art Club and designing my high school yearbook cover. I knew I wanted to make art, but traditional careers didn’t feel right, and art school wasn’t in the cards.

Half-Luck, Half-Lesson.

A year after high school, my parents suggested tattooing. We found a tattoo school near my grandma’s house, and I moved to the Tampa Bay area to try it.

Tattoo school wasn’t the best path—that’s a story for a different day— and I left feeling unprepared. But it showed me that tattooing could be the right long-term path—I just needed a different way in.

The Eden’s Edge Part.

I started messaging shops and eventually reached out to Eden’s Edge Tattoo in Dunedin. I had barely anything to show—but they took a chance. I started apprenticing under Ryan, one of the best artists I’d ever seen, and moved with nothing but hope.

How It’s Going.

Now two years in and over a year tattooing, I’ve grown more than I imagined. I’m constantly learning and pushing myself thanks to Ryan and the team here at Eden’s Edge.

Tattooing gave me direction, purpose, and a creative home in the Tampa Bay area. I truly feel like I’ve found my purpose. Tattooing allows me to connect with others, be a part of people’s journey in healing and happiness, and I get to do what I love at the same time!