Meet Maria Fetterhoff | Painter and Professional Tattooer/business owner

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

Hi Maria, what do you attribute your success to?
Authenticity. I really try and connect with clients the best I can, so I can better understand where they are coming from. The tattoo session begins like an interview. I really want to know you so I can choose the best direction for the design. I genuinely have a great time getting to know people and I have developed great friendships through my work. This approach has helped my shop keep a great reputation in town because I really value taking an otherwise intimidating process and making it fun and ultimately cathartic. I really feel inspired by hearing people tell their story. This is our 18th year in business and I’m so proud to have tattooed this long in Colorado Springs. Our brand has really been built on long lasting relationships and what I call “Frients” which is a blend of the words “friend” and “clients”.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
My art reflects my heritage (Mexican American) and my hometown of North Hollywood Ca. I paint very colorful vibrant pieces and have been told that my work has a Frida vibe. I have a very urban point of view being that I grew up in Los Angeles and am grateful for the super diverse influences on my work. I really love figure drawing and am probably the most proud of how proficient I’ve become with my figurative work. I got to where I am today by simply not taking no for an answer and curbing my feelings of being intimidated or scared to run a business. I just took a leap! It was not easy – I had to work long hours and scrape by before I got enough clients to earn a good living but I wouldn’t trade that experience for the world. Faith in my work ethic pulled me through the hard times – I was very young (23) when I opened the tattoo shop and was able to work really hard. I have learned to always bank on my instincts, it feels like less of a gamble when you bet on yourself. I have learned so much along the way: be good to people and make it easy for folks to help you, be helpful as much as you canvas well, be real with people and say no to projects that don’t excite you. I would like the world to know that a young hispanic girl born and raised in a poor neighborhood wouldn’t be satisfied being a statistic and I speak to the world through the art I create and tell my story in my paintings.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
I love taking people from out of town to Sugas – they have yummy food and awesome cocktails. Tacos and Margs at Jose’s downtown is casual and always fun. We would definitely visit the FAC downtown and probably the MCA in Denver. We would have to earn all the food and drinks by hiking Stratton open space near the Broadmoor hotel. I love the atmosphere at Oskar Blues Sunday nights for comedy shows and good beers.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
I would love to acknowledge my fourth grade teacher, Mrs Silverman for signing me up for art classes! My parents, who never told me to have a “back up plan” and never steered me away from a career in art. I wouldn’t be anything without my super-supportive clients! Of course my team has changed many times but I owe them a lot of gratitude as well.

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Image Credits
photo of me by Brian Tryon