Tiffany Perez — more commonly known as Tiffany Tattooz — has been wowing folks with her tattoo artwork for some time now. Not only an artist but a business woman, with her own tattoo shop, Ink Gallery in Woodland Park, NJ, being just one of many ventures. However, before the rainbow came the rain, as the ink slinger’s journey was one filled with tragedy, tribulations and ultimately triumph.
‘LLERO linked up with Tiffany to chat about her world before ink, the life changing moment that pushed her to pursue her dreams and the new goals that she’s set for herself. She also gave us the scoop on the kind of ‘LLERO it takes to court a beautiful, intelligent and talented Latina like herself.
‘LL: What were you doing before tattooing, and what sparked the interest in you to pursue it as a career?
Tiffany: I was going to Montclair State University to become an art teacher. I believe it was my junior year in college that my father bought me a tattoo machine for my birthday as a gift. For a little while, I was trying to figure it out, how to learn to tattoo, but it wasn’t really working. I knew nothing about tattoo; I had never even stepped foot into a tattoo shop. I decided to do an apprenticeship, but one wasn’t available until I went into a shop and they looked at my portfolio, and they took me in. After that, I stuck with it. I fell in love with it. I finished college, but as soon as I was done with college, I made tattooing full time.
‘LL: Where did you apprentice?
Tiffany: I apprenticed at a shop called Riders Ink in Newark, NJ.
‘LL: What was the next step after you graduated and took on tattooing full time?
Tiffany: After that I was just tattooing in Newark, but I kind of knew that I wanted to get out of Jersey to see what else was out there. So, I ended up moving to Miami for about a year, and before I even moved, I already had a job in Miami. I started working their full time in the same week.
‘LL: What shop in Miami were you working in?
Tiffany: It’s called Chico’s Marked 4 Life. Have you heard of them?
‘LL: Yeah. Almost every artist that I’ve ever interviewed from Miami tells me that they started at Chico’s Marked 4 Life.
Tiffany: [Laughs] that’s so crazy. Tatu Baby started there, too, and we worked together. Chico’s the type of person that just senses the good in people, like good artists and hustlers. He always gets these good artists that end up getting on TV or do crazy stuff.
‘LL: Your journey, however, has been a turbulent one. Can you talk a bit about the hardship you went through when you were on the come up?
Tiffany: When I was in Miami, I was living with the only relative I had out there, which was my aunt. Her name is Ruth. I ended coming back to Jersey for a little bit, and when I came to Jersey to visit my family, we got the phone call that her boyfriend who was also living with us murdered my aunt. It was crazy because when she was murdered it was actually on my day off from work. So, had I been there, something could’ve possibly happened to me. That’s when I realized that everything happens for a reason. The reason for me coming to Jersey was to sort of begin to transition my life, and me not being [in Miami] kind of saved me. So after that whole situation, I took all of my stuff and ended up leaving Miami, and I stayed in Jersey. While I was in Jersey a lot of good things began happening. I don’t know what it was, but that’s when the whole TV show thing happened. I was featured in Urban Ink magazine, which was cool. I got to tattoo Omarion. Good things just started happening back to back to back.
[My aunt] used to always tell me, “You gotta reach for your dream, and just stay strong.” So, I don’t know, I guess I just woke up and was like, I need to really push hard, and pursue what I want to do, and be very ambitious. Do what my aunt would want me to do. So, I did, and everything good started to happen. My career started to flourish.
‘LL: Talk a little about your experience on Oxygen’s Best Ink. How did that all come about?
Tiffany: I actually got a message from one of my sorority sisters who was working for a TV company. She sent me this link and was like, “There’s this new TV show coming out. Give it a try.” So, I filled out the application, and the next thing you know, I was going to the next round and the next round—and, I ended up making the cast. When I was actually on TV, it was very, very nerve-wracking. I was still kind of a beginner. I think I was tattooing like two years in, and I was already on a TV show. When I went there, I saw artists like Roman [Abrego] and London [Reese], and I’m like, “I’m going up against these people?” [Laughs] I felt like I was about to lose from the beginning. I feel that it was a really good experience because I got to meet amazing artists, and then, at the same time, it gave me the opportunity to see how TV really is. I feel like it’s mostly for ratings. Like the more drama you bring, I feel like the longer you’ll be on TV. I got eliminated pretty early, so it didn’t work out, but overall, the experience is something that no one can take away. It was such a great experience.
‘LL: Now, you own your own tattoo shop. What was the transition like going from an employee to owner?
Tiffany: It was really, really hard. I didn’t expect it to be this hard, actually. I was used to working for someone, and then I wake up and open up my shop, and have people working for me, which is now my responsibility. Then, there are a lot of things you have to deal with. You have to deal with the artists, clients, running the business, promoting, answering emails, and your artists’ emails, dealing with the money, the paperwork… There’s a lot involved that I didn’t really expect. It was a very stressful transition. I even wondered if this was the right decision to do. But, once I got through that beginning phase, things started to get easier. So now, the foundation of my shop is stable. I’m getting used to it.
‘LL: What do you find most gratifying about owning your own shop?
Tiffany: I’m my own boss. I can do whatever I want. I get more freedom. You definitely make more money, too. And, I don’t know… I feel like a boss. I feel more powerful.
‘LL: How are you able to balance the role of a tattoo artist and a shop owner? Does being a boss sometimes hinder your role as an artist?
Tiffany: Oh! That’s a good question! When I’m a tattoo artist, I’m an artist. I’m in my zone. I’m focused on my client. When it comes to being the boss, you just have to be more responsible and take over situations. You have to learn to separate being the boss from being the artist. If you let the boss’ responsibilities get in your head, it can affect your artwork. Sometimes, if something happens at the shop—like a boss-related situation—it can stress you out. I had to learn how to clear my mind and just focus on the client, and me and try to separate my role as a boss so that I can create good artwork. That was my biggest thing, trying to separate that.
‘LL: What is the strangest tattoo request a client has ever presented to you?
Tiffany: This girl said that she wanted a tattoo of a fish inside her lip, but the fish had to look like a little kid drew it—a circle for the body, a triangle for the tail [laughs]. She wanted like three little bubbles coming out of it. I just thought it was very odd, and I’ve never done anything like that afterwards.
‘LL: Who are some celebrities that you’ve tattooed so far?
Tiffany: I’ve tattooed the rapper Maino; Cappie Pondexter who is a WNBA player. I tattooed Shwayze who was a music artist from a couple of years back. Then, there was James Ihedigbo, who was playing for the New York Jets back when I tattooed him, and Ray Lucas from the Jets.
‘LL: What celebrity would you like to tattoo that you haven’t worked on yet, and why?
Tiffany: I would like to tattoo Wiz Khalifa because he has a lot of tattoos already, and I would like to be part of that canvas.
‘LL: What is it about tattoos on a man that you believe women find appealing?
Tiffany: I think that tattoos give a guy almost like a bad boy look at times depending on how many they have, and I think women can be attracted to that. I know I’m attracted to that. I think that when guys have a lot of tattoos it makes them look like manly men—just cool and strong.
‘LL: What’s your favorite thing about Latino men, tattooed or otherwise?
Tiffany: My favorite thing about Latino men is the fact that they seem family-oriented, which I really like. I’ve dated different races, but Latinos seem to be the more family-oriented type, which I really like because family is important to me.
‘LL: What’s your least favorite thing about Latino men?
Tiffany: My least favorite is that sometimes they can be a little smothering [laughs], and that kind of bothers me a little.
‘LL: That’s fair. What’s some advice you’d offer the Latino men out there who are looking to land a lady like you?
Tiffany: I would say to not be so controlling over my ambitions and goals. Just let me be. You know, hop on the ride along with me. Be the same way. Be encouraging and positive, and set some goals. That would be a turn on for me, a guy who’s almost the same as me, and is very ambitious and wants to do well in life.
‘LL: What would be a turn off?
Tiffany: Well, I don’t like a boring guy. I’m an Aries, and I get bored really quick—so, I need a guy who’s entertaining and adventurous, and keeps me on my toes.
‘LL: What’s a ‘LLERO to you?
Tiffany: Someone who is very sweet and respectful—who knows how to treat women. Someone who’s goal-oriented as well.
‘LL: If a man is to do well with you what’s the first date like?
Tiffany: An ideal first date to me is a dinner. A nice spot where I can actually dress up a little bit. I love food, so it’s a great time to eat, and it’s a good time to sit down and actually talk to the person and get to know whom they are. I think any other setting would be a little bit of a distraction. When it’s a nice place where you can sit and talk, I think that’s an ideal date to me.
‘LL: What was the worst date you’ve ever had?
Tiffany: I went on a date with this one guy. He actually asked me out to go to the movies, and, when we got to the movies, he had no money, so I had to pay for him and me. He [then] had the nerve to ask for food from the popcorn stand. Me being a nice person, I ended up buying it, too, and I didn’t even get a thank you after that. That was probably like the worst date I’ve ever been on [laughs].
‘LL: How do you balance your roles as artist/business owner with your romantic life?
Tiffany: When I go to work, I try my best to focus and try to finish the tattoo early enough, so that at night I have time for that romantic setting going on.
‘LL: I know you stay busy, but when you do have down time, do you have any favorite movies or TV shows or books?
Tiffany: I just finished watching all of the seasons of “Breaking Bad.” I, also, like the Lifetime channel and HGTV. I watch that usually every day. If I’m at home, and not going out, I usually just watch TV, or clean, or read a book or something. I’m kind of relaxed when I’m home. I try to clear my mind from everything.
‘LL: What kind of books do you tend to read?
Tiffany: I like self-motivational books. They kind of help me to keep my mind sane, and to just be inspired and think a little differently. Right now, I’m doing a lot of research because I’m trying to create a tattoo aftercare line and also a hair conditioner line.
‘LL: To wrap up, what are you currently working on that our readers should look out for?
Tiffany: In the future, I’m thinking of possibly opening up another shop, and like I said before, just look out for the tattoo aftercare line. It’ll be created with all-natural ingredients. I think it’ll be great during the tattoo [healing process], and even after.
Want to see Tiffany’s work? Just learn more about the ink slinger. Visit her web site at instagram.com/tiffanytattooz
