We were lucky to catch up with Morgan Reynolds recently and have shared our conversation below.
Morgan, sincerely appreciate your selflessness in agreeing to discuss your mental health journey and how you overcame and persisted despite the challenges. Please share with our readers how you overcame. For readers, please note this is not medical advice, we are not doctors, you should always consult professionals for advice and that this is merely one person sharing their story and experience.
I think mental health is a long journey you don’t really “overcome,” but learn how to work along with instead. My biggest enemy has always been my own mind. I used to be really down on myself wondering why my body felt such a disconnect from my brain. Turns out, I was running through a large portion of my life with unmedicated bipolar disorder. I needed to welcome myself and learn how to take up space.
They don’t give you much room in tattooing to have mental health issues. It’s not something easy to balance. How do you find the time for your appointments, your social media, your therapist, your doctor, your homework, and all the other million things that tattooers have to do these days? Who steps in when we get sick?
For me, it’s the group of people around me. I may not have the most family, but I have the best friends. I’m a business compiled of all my friends who believed in me and wanted to build this just as much as I did. From your friends who bring you supplies when you accidentally shipped yours to another state (Oops, thanks Cori) to those who manage your life and step in to handle things when they get rough, (always a million thanks to Whitney) and even those you educate, which makes everyone’s life better. Surrounding myself with a circle of people who are there for me was one of the best things I could do for my mental health. (And medication, but that may not be for everyone!)
I still have bad days, but I have good days too. I have an amazing group of people around me who help make what I do everyday possible. I get to work alongside my best friends everyday, and even when bad days come along, I’m still grateful.
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?
Tattooing is so special to me, it’s more than just a financial exchange or a service. You’re spending time with another person for hours on end, getting to know them and permanently altering their bodies. That’s not something to take for granted! It’s humbling to have someone look over your work and decide they want it forever. My eyes opened to tattooing even more when I started traveling. You realize how small you are and how much you have to learn, and it’s terrifying.
It’s easy to stay in one place forever, but the glory of tattooing is that you don’t have to. It’s taken me everywhere, all over this country and to the other side of the world. What a crazy experience is that? Each place and person teaches me something new. So I travel a lot! This will be the first year I work international, which again is terrifying, but I’m so excited to see how much I’ll learn. You can keep up with our travels on our website, BlackGardenVT.com.
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 best recommendations I could make for someone early on in tattooing are to ask questions, learn how to say no, and work on your customer service skills. You don’t know everything, and if you think you do, you’re wrong. Ask questions. Someone always knows something helpful that you don’t, whether that be a business tip or a technique! Learn how to say no and don’t bite off more than you can chew. I get what it’s like to be a people pleaser, but if you’re trying to please everyone and taking more than you can do/or are interested in, that’ll reflect in the long run.
Any advice for folks feeling overwhelmed?
Occasionally I still get overwhelmed! We can’t always be 100%, When I get this way I ask for help, from my husband or my friends. Take the day, pet your animals. Anxiety and depression make you think people don’t want to be bothered with you when that’s the furthest from the truth. Check on your friends!
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.blackgardenvt.com/
- Instagram: @morganchenoa
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/p/Black-Garden-Tattoo-100067439269682/
