Today we’d like to introduce you to Mariah Brum.
So, before we jump into specific questions about the business, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
I can remember being fascinated and drawn to the tattoo industry since I was about 13 I had met an older girl who had piercings at school and remember thinking they were some kind of magic I had to learn more about. They made her cool and mysterious, this is pre-2000 folks, times were different. Body piercings and tattoos were nowhere in mainstream media or even walking around the streets for the most part.
If nobody in your family had tattoos you probably never if rarely ever saw them. Once I was old enough (and by that I mean just barely) I dove into the culture as far and as much as I could trying to soak up as much of this mysterious culture as I possibly could. By the time I was 18-19 I was pursuing an apprenticeship as hard as I could and eventually landed a temporary/short-term job during a slow season I was in heaven.
Although my path did slightly change by 21 I was tattooing full time I had shifted from body piercing to tattooing had undergone a second apprenticeship (this one for tattooing) by my good friend Dominick McIntosh of Esoteric Tattoo in Portland Oregon. I was at the beginning of an even crazier journey! Wrangling the awe-inspiring insanity of the tattoo industry.
Has it been a smooth road?
Being taken seriously was always difficult, I think every young person struggles with. I was also a young woman in a male-dominated industry at the time and heard about it frequently. I was however fortunate enough to, for the most part, find myself surrounded by supportive people who never let me do anything too stupid.
Finding yourself artistically in your 20s was hard for me, I over thought positively of every element and aspect of tattooing and art on a daily basis. And struggled to find my style in a sea of aesthetic.
We’d love to hear more about your business.
I’m not really sure what sets me apart from the ocean of talent in the industry today. I hope that it is my genuine care for each of my clients, I tend to think of my clients as friends and some even family.
Although I like a variety of styles including, yes color. I specialize mainly in floral pieces, pattern work, fine line and all things organic (insects animals birds etc) in an illustrative style that does air to the darker side but can also feel very light and airy. My passion is for bold dark contrast even in the realm of fine line and delicate detail.
As a company everyone at the shop is genuine and caring, we have all dedicated our entire adult lives to making this craft our world and doing right by the industry every day by helping our clients as best we can and giving back whenever possible through charity events etc.
We all have very different styles that I think complement our clientele well, you can’t lose walking in our doors and that is what a lot of people are looking for in a studio.
Is our city a good place to do what you do?
Bridgewater is a super cute town, definitely a college town that has shown a lot of solid growth over the last 4 years I’ve been working on it. We are not a big city but that does have its perks, easy parking and space to move and breathe. Green spaces and the familiarity of a smaller population is comforting.
We are easily reachable from Providence and Boston and are on the commuter line for our Boston clients. Local restaurants are very solid, lots to check out if you’re in the mood to eat. The town doesn’t, unfortunately, offer much for tourism attraction but we do have a haunted swamp!
I don’t think there is a “good” place for anyone to start in this industry, it’s a hard industry to break into everywhere although Bridgewater certainly wouldn’t be a bad choice per say. 😉
Contact Info:
- Address: 16 Broad Street Bridgewater Ma 02324
- Phone: 508 279-2828
- Email: info@broadstreettattoo.com
- Instagram: Instagram.com/isaidgoddam
- Other: Broadstreettattoo.com
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