Today we’d like to introduce you to James Morris. Them and their team share their story with us below:
James Morris grew up as the oldest of 9 siblings from his mom’s side and the oldest of 3 other siblings from his father’s side. He grew up with his mother and did not know his father’s whereabouts until he was 16. Growing up James knew the struggle of growing up in poverty moving from home to home, motel to motel never staying at the same school for more than a year. At the age of 5, he picked up a scholastic catalog that his elementary school offered, and in that catalog a Sonic the Hedgehog tracing book caught his eye. He knew that he must have this tracing book at all costs so he begged his mom to get it for him. Knowing his single mom struggled to pay bills and put food on the table he knew getting his Sonic the Hedgehog tracing book was not going to be easy. He begged his mom day and night for weeks until she gave in and bought the Sonic the Hedgehog tracing book. When he got the tracing book, he traced all the characters in that book over and over until he memorized how to draw each character without tracing. His mom soon bought him tracing paper from the craft store and he started tracing all his other favorite characters from Dragon Ball then moved on to simple cartoon characters with simple lines. Not long after he moved on to cartoons with more details and learned how to shade. After a few years, he was drawing realistic animals then slowly moved on to humans. James loved art but never thought of using his talent as a job or a business.
At the age of 15, James met his now wife and business partner, Anna Giang. They have been together currently for 17 years and married for 11 years, going on 12 years. Anna had the passion to work hard wherever she worked. Together they had a goal of owning their own business one day but knew it wasn’t as easy as wanting it. Anna was tired of moving from one dead-end job to the next. In 2019 Anna decided to pick up a second job serving in the morning and bartending at night 6 days a week and even picked up a shift on the 7th day of the week. By 2020 before Covid-19 hit she saved over $80,000 before being unemployed by Covid-19. During the year of Covid-19 James and Anna were unemployed for 6 months living in California. They were tired of living in a state that kept shutting down and reopening. In August 2020 they moved to Florida to start their business with the money they had saved before Covid-19. At the start, they bartend on the weekends at Manikin’s Lounge, owned by James’s fathers while they looked for a location to open their business and planned all the logistics.
Anna did countless nights of research on the ins and outs of the tattoo industry rules and regulations. She bought James all the best equipment, supply, and online courses. James even droves to Hollywood, FL to get a tattoo by a well-known artist to watch and learn his technique. He practiced on fake skin and during this time they were looking for the perfect location to open a tattoo shop. In December 2021 they leased a location in Sanford, Fl, and went through a 5 monthly process with the city to open a tattoo shop. James hired Skilled tattoo artists who now mentor him as a tattoo apprentice at his own tattoo shop. Dez Santiago @Dezinkz specializes in fine lines and scripture tattoo work can pull amazing crisp thin lines better than most experienced Tattoo Artists. Zoe Santiago @Zebrauniturtletattoos Specializes in color, black and gray, anime, and fine lines. Zoe is the master in all areas. Dez Santiago and Zoe Santiago are sisters from Miami and put out quality work every time. Looking at their work you can automatedly tell how much love and detail they put out into each piece. Receiving a tattoo from them is a true honor. Brandyn Offley @inked_and_ Dangerous_ Specializes in the black and grey artists. Brandyn has been tattooing on and off for 8 years now. He enjoys being a tattoo artist and hopes to do it until he is 60 years old. We meet Brandyn at manikins’ lounge through one of our regulars. If you asked Brandyn, he would tell you we meet through good Karma.
Our vision for the Florida Garden of Ink Tattoos was born. Our mission is to provide a clean, creative, professional, and high-quality service while giving the opportunity for artists to show their talent and make a living with their art. Looking back to think how a tracing book was the start of a creative artistic adventure into a new up-and-coming tattoo shop with dreams of becoming the very best tattoo shop in the world.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
The process of opening a tattoo shop was not easy. We took the risk of starting the process even though we did not even know if we would get approved to open or not by the city. We started the renovation process of painting and flooring and décor before getting approved. Every month before getting approved we still had to pay the lease during the renovation process without making a penny. Going through the city was a lengthy process and I recommend having a minimum of 6 months’ of rent and bills ahead of time before opening. We had zero DIY experience, my wife and I renovated the retail place all by ourselves flooring, painting, and customizing some of the décors was definitely a challenge.
After moving to Florida, it took us over a year to find a location that we felt was right. The location actually was right under our noses. While working at Manikins Lounges for over a year on the Weekends James would buy Hookah Supplies at a nearby Smoke Shop every Weekend not realizing the vacant retail spot two doors down which is now known as Garden of Ink Tattoo.
After leasing the retail location, we went to the Sanford Planning and Zoning Department to see what is required to open a tattoo shop. Tattoo shops fall under exceptional use and shall not be located within a radius of 1,500 feet of another exceptional use nor shall such use be located within 300 feet of a school, church, park, or residentially zoned land. At first,, we were told no because when they pulled up our location on google maps, they can see that behind the retail location is a residential area, but when pulling up the Zoning map everything behind is zoned off as commercial.
Standing in front of the zoning commission board was really hard, not knowing how they felt about having another tattoo shop in the city of Sanford. That day when the commission board all voted Yes on us opening a tattoo shop was a glorious moment for us. We are now the 4th tattoo shop to open in the city of Sanford. Knowing how strict the regulations are about opening a tattoo shop in Sanford I see why there aren’t more tattoo shops in this city than there are in other cities.
The most difficult part about obtaining a tattoo artist license is you have to be signed under a tattoo establishment. For someone who has no experience getting an establishment to sponsor you as an apprentice is not easy, but we knew we did not want to apprentice under another shop. We hear horror stories about other shops using their apprentice for years and never giving them a license. We knew the end goal was to own a tattoo shop, so why not start there. In the process, we learned that in order to obtain a Tattoo Establishment License you are required to have a License Tattoo Artist to pass the health department inspection to obtain the establishment license. So, the hunt begins posting ads for hire for tattoo artists. Many people applied for the position, but we knew we wanted a quality artist who was skilled at mastering their craft. We woke up with a text from our key artist @Dezinkz who is the master of crisp lines. She drove all the way down from Miami to do the health inspection for us as a licensed tattoo artist. After obtaining the tattoo establishment license a week later, we can now sponsor James as a tattoo apprentice under his own shop. Not many people can say they went through this process to become a tattoo artist against all odds. Once we were cleared to open a month later, she relocated from Miami to the Sanford area to work for us and not long after her young sister Zoe @Zebraunitturtletattoos who specializes in color, fine line, anime, and black and gray moved down from Miami as well to be another member of our family.
Learning how to tattoo has been a continuous challenge in this process, but having a good crew to mentor James is the key to success. He is truly grateful and values each one of his staff members. not a lot of people can say they opened a tattoo shop and hired a skilled artist to teach them how to master the craft of tattooing
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
James @milc_e_way is talented in drawing and understanding shading, lighting, and creating dimensions. He wants to specialize in black and gray and realism tattoos. You can find some of his art on Instagram. What sets us apart from other people is we work hard and don’t quit and know we have to sacrifice things in life to succeed later in life. We know that no one will give you the opportunity to succeed in life. You have to create your own path. That is why I worked hard and saved all that money in one year. I know not to rely on others and if you want something done you have to figure it out on your own. If a door closes on you break a window do whatever it takes.
What matters most to you? Why?
What matters most to us is to create a positive work environment for our artists. We want all of our artists to feel like this is their second home. It is important to us to give back what they have given us. Every artist plays an important role in our family. Each one of them helped build the Garden of Ink into what it is now. The attention to detail and love they put into their clients is amazing and rare to find. Customer service is a very important factor in our home. Each one of our artists gives a great experience and makes all of our clients feel like extended family. We dream of expanding and opening multiple locations down the road. We always say you can’t build an emperor by yourself. It’s important to build relationships with people you can trust. I can truly say trust starts here with our family at Garden of Ink.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.vagaro.com/gardenofinktattoo
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/garden.of.ink.sanford/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/gardenofinktattoo
- Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/garden-of-ink-tattoo-sanford
