We had the good fortune of connecting with Milo Alfring and we’ve shared our conversation below.
Hi Milo, how has your work-life balance changed over time?
Finding a good balance is something that is often on my mind. 6 years ago when I had my first kid my free time changed pretty drastically. I love to spend time with my wife and kids and I understand how important that is, but on the other side of that is tattooing. Tattooing really is one of those things where you get what you put into it so it’s important to me that I keep the passion for tattooing going. These days I feel like I’ve been able to find a nice rhythm in balancing my life. I think a lot of it has come from being intentional and trying to make the best of my time. I’m sure there are still days where I fall short, but I’ve found how important it can be to not be hard on myself when I do take some down time.
Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
I was very fortunate that tattooing found me. I never really went out to seek an apprenticeship, but I happened to be in a small town where the local tattoo shop was looking for an artist. I had some friends who had mentioned my name to the shop and the owner became interested in meeting me. To be honest, I was skeptical about it in the beginning. Now I couldn’t imagine doing anything else with my life and I’m so grateful to be tattooing. I owe so much to the craft and it has offered me so many amazing experiences. In the beginning it was truly difficult. I remember losing a lot of sleep over tattoos that wouldn’t heal the way I wanted or I would struggle with translating certain ideas into the skin. Even to this day it has its challenges, but I think that’s part of what is so beautiful about it. That’s what keeps the fire burning so to speak. Being an artist has really been the only constant in my life. I have been drawing since I was a little kid and I knew around high school that it was what I wanted to pursue, but I just didn’t really know what avenue I would take. I feel like a lot of success has just come from keeping my head down and doing the work. It’s easy to think about all of these different ideas, but it’s a whole other thing to actually do the work. I’m not always great at this, of course, but I see a pattern in my personal growth if I can just start the process of creating piece after piece without overthinking things and having a type of paralysis by analysis. I think there’s something very important in this method. Just create and don’t be too upset if certain things don’t come out perfect, keep pushing forward.
Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
I guess it would depend on the season. When friends visit me in the winter, a lot of our time is spent out snowboarding. I like to get away from crowds and spend time splitboarding if possible. Last season I had a couple of friends visit and we went heliboarding in Silverton. That was a trip I’d love to do again. If the weather was warmer, however, I’d likely be camping, riding mountain bikes, hiking, or climbing. Either way, I prefer to spent time outside, moving my body. A lot of my friends have been made through these kinds of activities or experiences, so I think we’re pretty like-minded about adventuring.
Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
Where I am at in my career today has been influenced by so many things. Sometimes it can be as simple as venturing into nature to find some inspiration or sometimes it comes from the support of my peers, coworkers, friends and family. I know one thing for sure though, I wouldn’t be where I’m at today if it weren’t for my clients. I am so grateful for the people who support my work and keep me busy. Getting to know my clients and having them trust me enough to collect these permanent markings is everything.
Website: https://MiloAlfringDesigns.com
Instagram: @miloalfring