Meet Penny D.

We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Penny D.. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Penny below.

Penny , thank you so much for making time for us. We’ve always admired your ability to take risks and so maybe we can kick things off with a discussion around how you developed your ability to take and bear risk?

For most of my life I didn’t have a reason or a purpose. From a young age my life was full of drugs, risky behaviors and a general lack of desire to live. After some severe suicide attempts I can to realize that my life would end if I continued on the same path. I then decided to sober up. It took years of failures and dozens of destroyed relationships before I actually made it any length of time without any substances.
Getting sober was the hardest thing I’ve ever done. Quitting drugs was a determination to live. It was an admittance that I had some purpose even if that purpose hasn’t been decided yet. From that experience I learned that nothing I do is too important or too horrific. I can do anything I want. It makes taking risks easier. Nothing I do will ever be as difficult as getting sober so there’s no point in not doing the things.

Let’s take a small detour – maybe you can share a bit about yourself before we dive back into some of the other questions we had for you?

When people ask me what I do I tell them “I make things, and mostly I make things prettier”. This is seen in my sewing as I up-cycle discarded fabrics. It’s seen in my crafting where refurbish furniture or make mixed media art projects from what we know as trash. It’s also seen in my tattooing where I have the opportunity to decorate people’s bodies with designs that make them feel beautiful.
Our society is full of marketing and branding that tells us what is beautiful and what’s worthy. In tattooing we see some people say that every piece should have deep meaning. Sometimes we get tattoos just because we like them. They make us feel confident, tough, capable and pretty.
I offer quirky designs in a traditional style, a style meant to last and age well on the skin. Designs that people can feel proud to wear years down the road, long after they thought they would be dust.

There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?

The skills that helped me the most in my time as a tattooer have been my discipline, practice and willingness to learn. Sometimes we have to do the things we need to do and not the things we want to do. Sometimes we’re lucky enough the have the things we need to do be the things we want to do.

What has been your biggest area of growth or improvement in the past 12 months?

In the past year I have grown from listening to the critiques. When people make suggestions I actually follow them. This is beneficial in and out of tattooing.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: @radrattyripper

Image Credits

Seth Fitzpatrick