Today we’d like to introduce you to Jhon Rodriguez.
Thanks for sharing your story with us Jhon. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
I’m originally from Bogota Colombia and started tattooing 23 years ago. I got my first tattoo with my girlfriend at the time, a Tasmanian devil, when I was 18. I had always been an artist but this was something I found that I became really passionate about, obsessed really.
I opened my first shop in Bogotá, The Zone Colors, in 1996 and had that shop for 17 years! It was crazy successful. I worked nonstop for years and years. Like 10am to midnight so many nights. But I loved it, it was all I knew how to do. I created my style there and people knew me for it. I went from a huge shop in a part of Bogota called Cedritos, to a smaller office shop in Chico and was there for probably 3 years. Still working like a madman. I didn’t know anything else.
I moved to the states in 2012 with my wife and we moved to Florida in 2014 and opened our first shop here. We sold that shop last year and are now working on opening 100 candles tattoo in Miami.
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
I wouldn’t say it’s been completely smooth, of course not. I’m an artist and part of being an artist is some form of “suffering” but I get to do my art all day, everyday. What better job is there?
Leaving Bogota, where I was very well known, and coming here where very few people knew me was difficult. I’m lucky that tons of people from Colombia are here and even some clients from 20 years ago live here. So I had clients from the beginning. But it’s been a slow and steady climb back up. It’s awesome though, we love Florida and everything it offers.
Opening a shop in Miami is tough but again we are very lucky to have a good following of clients over the years that support us. They tell their friends and their friends tell their friends. It’s awesome.
100 candles tattoo – what should we know? What do you guys do best? What sets you apart from the competition?
It’s my wife and I. She doesn’t tattoo but she does everything else. We are super proud to be a small, family business that works well together. We’re not flashy or over the top people. We’re real people with a family to support. I think that sets us apart from a lot of shops in Miami. Our aesthetic is completely different than anything I’ve seen in south Florida. We like to say our shop looks like if your grandma had a shop. It’s all antique and salvage find furniture that we’ve found in thrift shops.
I specialize in color tattoos and it fluctuates between a tons of styles. I’m known for Neo-traditional and large Japanese pieces. But I also do super traditional tattoo and black work. The only constant is defined lines and bright colors.
What is “success” or “successful” for you?
That’s easy: to be happy in what you do. When you’re happy you have success. It’s not money or fame. It’s happiness. I’m lucky to have always been happy with my career. So I consider myself very successful.
Pricing:
- $175 an hour
Contact Info:
- Phone: 503-560-2186
- Email: 100candlestattoo@gmail.com
- Instagram: @jhonrodriguez
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