Meet Bobbi Stark: Shop Owner and Tattoo Artist

We had the good fortune of connecting with Bobbi Stark and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Bobbi, can you walk us through the thought-process of starting your business?
I started Keepsake, because I wanted a studio that helped artists live better lives, which in turn, would give clients a better experience. A healthy work and personal life balance in a tattoo studio is fairly uncommon, most shop owners expect forty five to fifty hour work weeks with little wiggle room for schedule changes, no freedom to choose what projects they are expected to tackle and no benefits on top of a weekly booth rental fee. With those kinds of expectations, it’s easy for artists to get burned out and as a result, the energy of the studio and end product can suffer dramatically. I wanted to create a space that honors the ups and downs of creative individuals, giving all the artists the freedom and flexibility to cultivate a balanced life and a career.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
I had just ended a three year, emotionally abusive relationship and was living in a new Denver that I didn’t recognize. I was barely paying my bills, driving for Lyft on the weekends and using food stamps to survive. Still, I was working fifty hours a week at a studio where I was overworked and totally exhausted of the traditional tattoo shop attitudes and expectations. It just didn’t make sense. On one of the worst days, I had visited my parents and found myself telling them about my daily stomach aches and inflamed anxiety I was experiencing before work everyday, I told them I was day-dreaming of car wrecks, just so I could just have an extra day off. In that point of total, transparent despair, my Dad looked at me and said, “Just quit.” With those two words, it all came into perspective again. I didn’t hate my job, I hated my environment. I was capable of so much more, I knew I was good at my job, but being so run into the ground – I didn’t have the faintest Idea of how to start over. But once I knew It was an option, I couldn’t back track. I had to take the risk to do better for myself, for my life and my career. With each terrifying step toward opening Keepsake, I became a little more strangely confident that I was doing the right thing. The next thing I knew, I had three incredible artists backing me – and although it was more work than I had ever imagined, everything just fell into place. Eight years of traditional tattoo studio energy, taught me that I never want to spend another day wrapped up in it. I think having that understanding has allowed me to communicate effectively, patiently and compassionately with my clients. I don’t ever want anyone to feel smothered with that Machismo energy I tolerated for way too long. I believe it’s that, that sets me apart from a lot of the tattoo community. The world of tattooing can be intimidating enough to people who don’t have much experience with it, so I really do my best to give as much information as I can before, during and after the design and booking process, while also delivering a high quality end product.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
If I had some out of state friends coming to visit Denver for the first time, I would pepper them with a bit of variety. First, the obligatory trip to the mountains is a must. I prefer less touristy spots and as a Denver native, I’m not at liberty to divulge those specifics. After, I’d love to go to lunch at City o City for some Seitan wings and vegan cupcakes – then hit up Wax Trax for a vinyl treasure haul. Personally, I enjoy rooting around for treasures of yore, so I would probably take them to south broadway and do some antiquing, thrifting and oddities hunting. Then, an afternoon cocktail at Bowmans and back downtown for some incredible Mexican food at La Loma.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
Truthfully speaking, I think the only person who doubted myself was me. Taking a risk like starting your own business is terrifying, but everyone in my personal life was so blindly confident in me that it forced me to feel the same way. I wasn’t capable of letting them down, so I didn’t, it just wasn’t an option. Specifically speaking, in the darkest hour of remodeling the new studio on an insane deadline, my entire family and closest friends were all there, helping me with physical labor none of us were qualified to be doing. My fiance’ Philip was there, helping me rip up floors and tear down walls during the day, while talking me off the emotional ledges at night – his ability to refocus me on what mattered was imperative. My team of co-workers, just, never doubted me. Even when I was still installing drywall twelve hours before our opening. If they believed in me, why wouldn’t I believe in me?

Website: www.bobbistark.com
Instagram: LadyStarkArt
Facebook: Facebook.com/bobbi.stark
Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/keepsake-studio-denver?utm_campaign=www_business_share_popup&utm_medium=copy_link&utm_source=(direct)
Other: www.keepsakestudiocolorado.com

Image Credits
Alisha Light Photography – AlightP on IG