Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Connor Shiffert. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Alright, so we’re so thrilled to have Connor with us today – welcome and maybe we can jump right into it with a question about one of your qualities that we most admire. How did you develop your work ethic? Where do you think you get it from?
I get my resilience from my daughters. Becoming a mother really became my motivation to push through and navigate any goal or conflict I’ve had. When I was just starting in my tattooing career I learned I was pregnant and I needed to be able to provide for my baby. It came with long hours, returning to work early after having her, and constantly in the pursuit of bettering myself so I could one day be able to be home with her more. In the time that I have been a mother and a tattooer, I have navigated opening a studio, a pandemic, the trial and errors of running a business with no experience and I always find strength in my girls.
Great, so let’s take a few minutes and cover your story. What should folks know about you and what you do?
My story began when I attended Kutztown University for Fine Arts. I concentrated in painting and its where I found my love for oil painting. I got my first tattoo the first weekend of my freshman year and it totally changed my view of what I envisioned for myself. It took three years before I was able to get an apprenticeship in tattooing and I dropped out of school to pursue my tattooing career. About a year into tattooing I found out I was pregnant with my first daughter Vera. Suddenly I found this intense desire to push my career and be the best artist I could be, in the hopes that I could provide my daughter with the life I dreamed of for her. This took me from tattooing in Kutztown, to a studio in West Chester, and then to opening my own studio here in Trexlertown, PA.
Iron Thorn Tattoo Co. was born from the hopes that I could create a studio that nurtured artists and fostered a creative environment. My husband and I had no business experience but we knew that we wanted to build something the tattoo industry hadn’t seen much of. Our love for our clients, the knowledge of how to guide and build an artist’s career and our pursuit of something that felt like a home away from home was how we began to shape our studio to what it is today.
Our shop has 6 artists and several guest artists that come through our space. We have anything from color realism, American traditional, black work, painterly styled illustrative and neotraditional. The studio itself looks almost like a log cabin with a large stone wall, lots of plants and little oddities. Iron Thorn has been in business now for 5 years and we have lots of big plans to expand in the future.
Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?
For me, I think that determination, the drive to learn and the love for connection were the main elements that contributed to my success. My best advice for anyone new in the industry would be to immerse yourself into the world of tattooing, find other artists and always keep your clients’ best interests at the forefront of your mind if you are looking to get ahead.
Alright so to wrap up, who deserves credit for helping you overcome challenges or build some of the essential skills you’ve needed?
Truthfully, there hasn’t been one given person who has helped me build the foundation I need but rather all the people along the way that I have either tattooed next to or done a tattoo on. I found that through failure that I have found the strength I need to move forward.
Contact Info:
- Website: [email protected]
- Instagram: Connor.tattoos
