We recently had the opportunity to sit down with the City of St. Charles and discuss our mission behind Frenchtown Tattoo Company. Artist and co-owner, Benjamin Graham, led the interview, explaining how, in building Frenchtown Tattoo Company, we wanted to "create a space where artists can grow in the direction they're wanting to go."
One of the leading motivations behind opening Frenchtown Tattoo Company was to create a studio where artists could not only focus on the styles they're most inspired by, but also allow them to work independently, and take home more of their income. When time restrictions and financial burdens are lessened, there is more space in the artist's life for the creative process to flourish.
Although we set out on this path with the tattoo artist in mind, the client is also benefitted by this perspective, as the tattoo design process becomes more in tune with their ideas and desires. "The reason why I do tattooing," Ben explains, "is because it's also like a connection." When talking about clients and their tattoo ideas, Ben says, "It's a win, win when clients say 'this is what I want' or if they want something really important to them, because then I get to create it." For Ben, and many of the other artists at Frenchtown Tattoo Company, the gifts of tattooing are experiencing these moments when a tattoo exceeds the client's expectations, or when they're able to bring the client's ideas to life.
Another important motivator for the team at Frenchtown Tattoo Company is building a relationship with the community and supporting other local businesses. Now, more than ever, it is so important to support those smaller, independently owned businesses that make up our community, so we're always looking for ways we can contribute. As Ben explains in the interview, we serve Course Coffee in our reception area, and Public Art Co. both designs and provides our merchandise, both of which are located in St. Charles. We also support other local artists such as Linda Latina and her upcycled jewelry company Poppycock, which is for sale in our reception area.
The team here at Frenchtown Tattoo Company is grateful for the incredible amount of support we've received from the community in the four months since we've opened. We're so excited to see where we'll go from here.
To schedule a consultation with Ben Graham, please visit his profile on our website: www.frenchtowntattooco.com/benjamin-graham