Today we’d like to introduce you to Kat McCulloch.
Kat, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
How I got my start? I didn’t seek or find tattooing, it found me. My daughter and I lived in South Lake Tahoe, CA. It was July of 2006 and I was 35, and laughingly, I just realized I’ve been telling people I started when I was 36. Funny!
So, I was 35 and working for myself as a headhunter for the transportation industry. Loved the work of getting people to a more satisfying place of employment, but I was indoors day in and day out, dialing and dialing and dialing the phone, and it just wasn’t fun anymore.
So, I thought I should go back to a headhunting company because I just wanted to be around other human beings. I found a place that was hiring, I was driving to the interview, and decided that I was certainly out of my tree thinking I could possibly go work for someone other than myself again after being on my own for a few years. Silly me. So I stopped in to visit my tattoo artist. I decided I was going to tattoo my face, in as tasteful a manner as I could, so that I would never get another job in the corporate world and force my hand to find a path of my own.
Long story short, my tattoo artist (later to become my teacher) wasn’t in that day, but my friend/his apprentice was, and he, very nervously, tattooed small pink perfect stars on my cheekbones. Still, at this point, I had absolutely no inclination toward tattooing. I have always been a creative person, but never with any intentions toward a career in the arts. I just wanted to be certain to never walk into an office for work ever again.
For the record, Sean Dawley, my tattoo artist at that time, was seriously NOT happy with what JoJo The Apprentice and I had done.
Sometime thereafter, I was cutting Sean’s hair I believe, and I was asking him about the cosmetic tattoo school his girlfriend, now wife, went to and whatnot. He said a few things I don’t remember and I told him I was interested in it as a business venture. Then he changed my life; “Why do you want to do that? Why don’t you just tattoo?”, he says like he was just telling me the sky was blue. I’m pretty sure I was stupefied and said something to the effect of, “What do you mean ‘why don’t I just tattoo? I don’t draw all the time or have any art background, and I’m 35! What, am I supposed to go out and get an apprenticeship?!” Just stupefied. Then he said he would teach me. I continued to look confused. And then a spark of realization; “Really??” He says “You either can, or you can’t.”
That was that. I apprenticed in South Lake Tahoe at The Electric Pencil for a couple years and then made the big move to Houston to be closer to family and further my career. One of the best things I ever did. An interesting coincidence to note; A few months into my tattoo apprenticeship, I was eating Chinese food and the fortune cookie I opened had a fortune that read “You either can or you can’t”, I still have it to this day, it’s taped to my laptop in fact.
I got my start here in Houston at Bombshell Tattoo when it was still around. It was a great way to jump into the tattoo industry here. I came out here with my portfolio clutched in my hand and my heart in my throat and went up Westheimer starting with Sacred Heart.
By the time I reached Bombshell, I felt pretty awesome about the street and some of the people I met, but I still didn’t have a shop to work at yet. I went into Bombshell and walked out with an invite to hang out with ‘the crew’ later. I ended up working at Bombshell Tattoo and then when a few fellow tattooers opened Gaslight Gallery Tattoo, I found a new home with them and happily worked there for a couple years until I started Workhorse Tattoo Company Tattoo Company.
It was a tough move for me, but at the beginning of 2012, I decided I wanted to open my own private tattoo studio off of Westheimer. The owners of Gaslight were understanding and supportive of my decision, which is highly unusual in the tattoo industry, and to this day I’m grateful for their graciousness. To this day I still work with Christopher Malice, one of the owners of Gaslight Gallery.
I’ve been tattooing since 2006 and every day I tattoo, I think, “Whoa! Is this really my job?? Neat!!” Tattooing has brought me countless and invaluable experiences and allowed me to cross paths with thousands of unforgettable people. It brought me from California to Texas, and I haven’t looked back since. While I never knew I wanted to be a tattoo artist, it fits me like a glove and I am forever grateful tattooing found me. I found myself, in it.
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
When I look back on the last several years since opening the shop, there aren’t any particular obstacles or challenges that stick out. It’s always a challenge to start a new business, but I didn’t really stop to think about it. I had a goal in mind and doing what I needed to do to make it happen just came naturally.
What I needed to do was work. Work, work, work, and more work. Intention and effort is the fuel for your dreams. I was tattooing for just about two years when I came here. The hardest part for me was the waiting…the time it took to build my clientele and reputation here. But doing the work, that was just part of the process. One of the owners of Gaslight Gallery Tattoo called me his “Workhorse”. It was the inspiration for the name of our studio.
We’d love to hear more about your business.
Workhorse Tattoo Company came to life April 2012. At first, it was just little ole me working a separate studio building behind my house in the Montrose. Within the year I had another artist join me. I was thrilled. a few more months passed and another artist came to work with us. I felt the need to have more space for our threesome, as well as expand, so we rented a separate house just a couple doors down. I was beside myself. It felt great to have people enjoy working with me at Workhorse. My goal was always to create a work environment more conducive to being a happy and content and tattoo artist.
An environment free of hassles, dramatic distractions, and all of the other troubles that can exist in tattoo shops. I just wanted people to be able to come to work, fresh and ready to tattoo without having to battle egos or suffer weird attitudes or deal with crabby or greedy shop owners that could care less about them. I wasn’t looking to get rich or build an empire, my desire was to tattoo with genuine, kind and talented people. I can say I’m pretty happy with the outcome so far.
We are coming up on our 6-year anniversary and going strong. There are seven total artists now in the Workhorse Tattoo Company family: Mark Anthony, Christopher Malice, Billy Ho, Nadia Munoz, Trista Wyrick and my husband, Garner McCulloch. I feel very lucky to work with each of them.
Our studio, as are many local businesses, in the residential area of Montrose. We are a licensed tattoo studio off the beaten path. I like to think of it as sort of a speakeasy, without the secret knock and password. People usually get here by word of mouth or referral as opposed to walking in off the street.
Operating this way allows us to provide a more personal and attentive service for small and large tattoo projects. We pride ourselves on the relationships we build with our clients and do so by being good listeners, tactful with our words, always helpful, and ultimately bringing their ideas, stories, and emotions to life to be forever held on their skin. Our team has deep respect for this art and we honor it by making satisfying our clients.
Our artists each have their own style, and collectively we can handle all styles of tattooing. Workhorse is a custom project style tattoo studio. We consult with new clients to hear their thoughts and ideas, and then we create a personally-drawn tattoo design for their specific requests, adding our own insight, intuition, and imagination.
In addition to custom imagery tattooing, we also have another side to our business: The Happy Nipple. We provide areola/nipple reconstructive tattoos for men and women who have had to have breast cancer reconstructive surgery. We eventually hope to open a separate location, but for now, we offer this wonderful service to those in need at low-cost and with a tender and personal touch.
What were you like growing up?
As a kid, I was a handful at times, but mostly just a kid being a kid trying to figure out the world. The first few years of my childhood weren’t the greatest, but after that, it was pretty normal and I was lucky to be with the family that loved me. It was the 70’s and 80’s when I was growing up—no technology for distraction, just good old fashioned playing outside with all the neighborhood kids and running home when the streetlights came on. My stepmom was an artist, and still is. I was always very independent and headstrong, traits which have carried me through to this day.
Contact Info:
- Address: 707 Peden Street
- Website: www.workhorsetattoo.com
- Phone: 346-308-5041
- Email: workhorsetattoo@gmail.com
- Instagram: Workhorsetattoocompany katmcculloch_Workhorse
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/workhorsetattoo/
- Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/workhorse-tattoo-company-houston
- Other: www.thehappynipple.net
Getting in touch: VoyageHouston is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.
