Today we’d like to introduce you to Sam Brown.
Thanks for sharing your story with us Sam. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
I started my art career as a forensic artist, in other words, a police artist that sketches the faces of suspects. I also did skull reconstructions to identify deceased persons. I attended the FBI academy’s forensic art school. I completed my bachelor’s degree in fine art from the University of Houston at Clear Lake in 2011.
Eventually, upon retiring from law enforcement, I was offered a tattoo artist apprenticeship in 2010 and started tattooing in 2011. I opened Hold Fast Tattoo Parlour in April 2013 and over time we have become fairly well known to the tattoo community in our area.
We consider everyone who works for us part of our family and we treat our clients fairly and with respect. We are a custom tattoo shop and all of our artists are talented, skilled and very professional. We are a veteran owned and veteran friendly business.
Has it been a smooth road?
It has been smooth most of the time, but there have been obstacles to overcome. To make a living in this industry, you have to stay busy, which translates to a lot of hours spent away from family. Add in the time needed to own and run your own small business which is a 24/7 job by itself, and you wind up with an extremely busy lifestyle. I’m not complaining, I wouldn’t do anything else for a living. It has definitely been worth the struggle.
Ultimately, I am very grateful that I get to tattoo every day. As tattoo artists, we have the privilege of placing our art on people to enjoy for the rest of their lives. As a bonus, many of our clients become good friends. Our art endures, and we are always aware of the responsibility inherent in what we do.
We’d love to hear more about your business.
We are a custom tattoo shop, we specialize is designing tattoos from scratch, as opposed to picking a design or flash off the wall. Each artist in our shop has strengths in certain areas of art and tattooing. I have yet to specialize in any particular area, but have a great interest and love for the old school or traditional Americana style tattoos. These traditional tattoos are the history of what we do today. These are the tattoos our grandfathers brought home from world war 2 and other conflicts. As a form of communication, they tell the person’s story. Today many of our veterans are telling their stories on their skin with tattoos. The word “Hold fast” is an old Navy term, it means to hold on or hold tight. We chose this word to show respect for our tattooing history.
I don’t believe you could go to another tattoo shop and get the combination of professionalism and reasonable prices that you get here. Our prices are fair and we go above and beyond to make sure each and every client leaves happy with the work and service they have received. We truly value our clients, I believe it is one of the things we do best. All artists at Hold Fast are journeyman tattoo artists and are at the top of their game.
Is our city a good place to do what you do?
I don’t think there are too many cities in America that have the opportunities that we see in the Houston area. I’m glad that I started a tattoo shop in this area. Our strength in this city, is in our diversity. Our clients come from all over the world and just about every culture that you can think of. Our shop is an awesome cross section of Houston and therefore a cross section of the world around us. Because of this our tattoo shop has become a cultural crossroads. Houston is truly an international city and it’s what makes our clientele so varied and interesting.
Contact Info:
- Address: Hold Fast Tattoo Parlour
803 East Nasa Parkway, Suite 156
Webster, TX 77598 - Website: www.holdfasttattooparlour.com
- Phone: 281-480-1900
- Email: holdfasttattooparlour1114@gmail.com
- Instagram: holdfasttattooparlour
- Facebook: Hold Fast Tattoos
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