Melina Mansing, The Tattoo Artist Behind Handpushed
What is something unexpected you encountered as you grew your business?
I never expected to be where I am today. At the same time, I am nowhere where I'd like to be (virgo problems) but I adore and appreciate the support that I have received. I never thought I'd be in the educational route of tattooing, this was definitely unexpected but I figured people are going to try to tattoo anyways, might as well teach them how to do it a bit more safely right?!
What are some misconceptions about tattoos and the tattoo creation process?
There are many. Many. Many. The ease of social media these days and the quick jump to comments, puts me in a constant world of trying to alter those misconceptions. Tattooing has such a different structure than most careers. Everyone is taught differently - taught with different rules and with different mentalities and unfortunately that leads to a lot of incorrect information as well as, not enough! Ultimately you just gotta keep doing you and hope for the best. I would like to say that tattooing is more than just art. Unfortunately, it's viewed as something that can just be done for fun but a lot of people miss the understanding of health and safety and the human body. This is more important than the design itself, you must know the skin, you must know the health risks, you must know how to keep you and your client safe and clean. □