Today we’d like to introduce you to James Samaniego.
James, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
I have been tattooing now for over ten years, and have always been based in the Houston area. Starting out near Katy, but have worked downtown for the last six years and just opened up my own shop last June in the north side of Houston, near Willowbrook mall area. I like to tattoo anything that I know I can do a good job with, but most recently, have been doing more of the single needle fine line tattoo style.
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
Tattooing is always challenging, but it’s an industry that is very self-centered. I don’t mean that in a negative way at all, but more so, in the sense that you can be as good as you want to be, you can be as successful as you want to be, you can make as much money as you want to, etc; but it’s all dependent upon how hard you work and how much effort you apply. Personally, I always try and better myself, whether it’s improving upon my work, learning new techniques, using new equipment, etc., so for that reason, the road isn’t ever smooth, but it’s one worth traveling to get to where I would like to be.
Please tell us about Shelter Tattoo.
Shelter Tattoo is an appointment only tattoo shop that specializes in single needle/fine line tattooing. Working by appointment only might seem like a hassle or annoyance, but although there are a few weeks wait, I find this is the best way to approach things for many reasons. First, so that I can get to know everyone I’m working with, and we can go over all aspects of the design, details, specifics, etc., and come up with the best outcome for the tattoo. This way, there is no rush, no pressure, and no feeling of regret of ideas and design. I take great pride in everything that I do, so whether it is a small name or full sleeve, if it’s something I can do, I make sure to take every step to give my clients the best possible results.
If you had to go back in time and start over, would you have done anything differently?
The only difference I would do, tattoo-wise, would be to draw much more when I first started. As for opening a shop, I would’ve hired a helper to delegate emails and all correspondence, but that’s not a huge deal as I like getting to know and being able to communicate with everyone personally, so there are no misunderstandings.
Contact Info:
- Address: 10708 grant rd
Houston, TX 77070 - Website: www.sheltertattoo.com
- Phone: 832-732-1892
- Email: james.m.samaniego@gmail.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jamessamaniego/
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