Today we’d like to introduce you to Jimmy Johnson.
Jimmy, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
In 1998 I walked into a tattoo shop in Dallas Tx and showed them my portfolio of drawings and tattoo designs and was lucky enough to walk out with an apprenticeship. During the apprenticeship, I learned the essentials, tuning machines, sterile techniques, working with skin and making needles, which is kind of an outdated practice these days considering its much more convenient to order pre-made needles.
In 2000 when tattooing was still illegal in Mass I moved to Boston and tattooed out of a studio in my house catering to the kids in the hardcore and punk scene. In 2001 when the laws were changing to make tattooing legal I was contacted by a business owner and helped establish the first tattoo shop in Cambridge and I became the first person to hold a license in Mass #001.
I spent a lot of time bouncing in and out of shops, moving from state to state while battling with my own personal demons but with the help of my family and friends. I was able to overcome the things that were holding me back and got thru a very dark period in my life and have since established myself as the craftsman I am today and do my own part to give back to the community offering my time and services to people who share the struggles of my past.
In 2015 , I had a conversation with 2 of my friends about the idea of creating a tattoo shop with the best artists and a great atmosphere that would cater to all tattoo styles and people which founded the idea for Seaport Tattoo and after a long semi-painful process of legal red tape and fighting for it, in May 2017 we opened Seaport Tattoo in South Boston, being the first and only shop in Southie.
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
A long permit process with many uncertainties and many challenging personalities.
Please tell us about seaport tattoo.
Seaport Tattoo is Bostons premier tattoo shop.
We offer a great tattoo experience by some of Boston’s best tattoo artists in a large, spacious, clean environment. We cater to every type of tattoo having an artist for every style so we can accommodate any idea.
We also have a large selection of designs for the person not sure what they want or we can take someone’s idea and make them a custom one of a kind design
Contact Info:
- Address: 380 Dorchester Ave
- Website: seaport.tattoo
- Phone: 6172977678
- Email: seaporttattoo@gmail.com
- Instagram: Seaport Tattoo
- Facebook: Seaport Tattoo
- Twitter: Seaport Tattoo
- Yelp: Seaport Tattoo
- Other: Seaport Tattoo
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