Today we’d like to introduce you to Kelly Hagen.
Kelly, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
I’ve been an artist my whole life and always dreamt of turning art into a career but when heading to college I decided to go for the more “practical” route and I got a sport management degree from Florida State University. I absolutely loved my time there and the sport management department and even spent some time working for the Community Outreach Department of the Miami Marlins. I planned on making a career out of working in professional sports but life happens are I wound up waitressing in my hometown for about a year and a half until I had the opportunity to become a flight attendant. Excited for the possibility to travel, I was supposed to report to training on March 17, 2020 but on March 13th I received a call that all training classes were to be postponed due to coronavirus.
Left unemployed, I spent all of my time in my art Studio in Jensen Beach attempting to make art into a way to make a living for the first time. I was overwhelmed by the number of commissions I had received in a short period of time and was quickly working full time hours creating and selling my art. In May 2020, I was introduced to the owner of the studio I now work at, Remi Aliseo. She took me under her wing and taught me how to tattoo. I’ll be forever grateful to be able to do something I love as a career that leaves me creatively fulfilled. Thirdeye Studio truly feels like home and working with an all female staff adds an extra layer of comfort for our clients as not all traditional tattoo studios are the most welcoming environments. I specialize in fine line tattooing and love creating super funky designs for my clients. If you’re unsure of what you want to get you can also check out my flash designs and snag one of those. Outside of tattooing at Thirdeye I also specialize in natural microblading, which is a semi-permanent makeup tattoo for your eyebrows. We manually create stokes that match the color of your natural brow to help achieve a natural, fuller brow. All of Thirdeye’s services, along with booking any of those services can be found at the Thirdeye website: www.third-eyestudio.com
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Life always comes with its set of challenges in overcoming those you’ll only become a stronger person. As a college student I was not only taking classes but working full time to be able to afford being there and my freshman year I have three friends pass away within a year. Handling the grief and classes and work became pretty overwhelming and left me feeling really lost for a long time. Thankfully I had a solid support system in my family, friends, and therapists and I was able to keep on track and manage my grief. Graduating college seemed like crossing the finish line of a marathon but once I found myself back home waitressing at 23/24 I was struggling to find fulfillment in my career and decided to take to traveling and become a flight attendant. It was a seven month hiring process and when I finally got my training assignment I was over the moon. I was four days away from moving when coronavirus hit and left me unemployed. Little did I know that not moving to become a flight attendant would shortly become one of the best things for my career in the long term. If I hadn’t been stripped of that opportunity I would have never had the opportunity to learn how to tattoo – a career I had always wanted to get into and never knew how to.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
I am a tattoo artist based in Jupiter, Florida specializing in fine line tattooing. I started off working with really dainty/delicate designs and have recently been getting into bigger/bolder pieces that still have a lot of delicate detail work and I have been really proud of some of the larger projects I’ve done like a recent floral half sleeve I created for a client! There’s not many tattoo artists in South Florida that work with fine line designs and I pride myself on being able to work on clients of any skin tone. Outside of tattooing I’m also part of the Board Broads (@board_broads on Instagram). Me and two friends take old trash surfboards and turn them into works of art to give them a second life and to keep them out of landfills. Whether we’re repurposing your oldest surfboard that’s collecting dust in the garage because you can’t bring yourself to get rid of it despite the dings and cracks or if we’re providing you with a board, we want to bring new life into old boards so that they can live on as beautiful works of art.
We all have a different way of looking at and defining success. How do you define success?
I think success is finding joy and fulfillment in what you’re doing whether it’s your career or personal life. If you can go to work and love what you’re doing and feel energized instead of drained at the end of the day, you’re doing it right. In terms of personal life, fill your social circle with people who support you. Your friends and family, biological or chosen, should leave you feeling loved and supported. Go deeper to build those connections with them and yourself, you don’t have to have everything figured out to be successful but enjoy the journey you’re on and keep pushing to further yourself even if you feel like you’ve arrived at success.
Contact Info:
- Email: kelly@third-eyestudio.com
- Website: https://www.third-eyestudio.com
- Instagram: @spacecadetkell
- Other: @thirdeyestudio_ on instagram for the studio
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