Today we’d like to introduce you to Jacob Danhi.
Thanks for sharing your story with us Jacob. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
I got my start in the tattoo industry about five years ago. I was always interested in the process of tattoos and tattoo art ever since I got my first tattoo at 18, Without the strive to learn to tattoo. Until my long time friend and tattooer Luc Suter got me a shop helper job at Black Diamond Tattoo in Venice, CA. Going into the job with no art experience or any idea how the industry worked, I was hooked within the first week. Seeing everyone’s different process of talking with their clients about the idea and transforming that into a beautiful work of art really lit a fire under me to want to do that and learn more. About six months into the job after heavily studying all of the artists at the shop and as many tattoo history books I could get my hands on, I started practicing drawing every day and night. Eventually, a little later after that I got asked if I wanted to learn the tattoo side and start an apprenticeship. I went through a two years apprenticeship and have fallen in love with this industry every day since.
Almost two years ago, I got an amazing opportunity to work at my current shop Third Street Tattoo in Hermosa Beach, CA. I couldn’t be more fortunate to be in the spot I’m at and work with my incredibly talented family I have gained here. Although I am still very new to the industry, I learn something new every day and couldn’t be more thankful to be able to do this because it was so unexpected and I’ve had two established tattoo families take me in and have given me so much love and knowledge. Still, everyday to be able to give someone a permanent piece of my art on them forever and see the happiness it gives them gives me such an incredible and warm feeling I can’t fully describe. There’s so much to learn in the future and I can’t wait to explore it.
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
It definitely has been a hard journey so far, but it’s all apart of the process. Especially in the beginning, it was so much to take in but every artist goes through it. The struggles will never end though, but thats how you grow and become a better person and artist. We are our own worse critics definitely. In a way, my career has just started being so new to it so I’m very interested and excited to see where it takes me from here. Luckily I have amazing co-workers and friends that inspire me everyday to get better and advance my tattooing and art.
Third Street Tattoo – what should we know? What do you guys do best? What sets you apart from the competition?
It’s very hard to put my tattooing in one category as I try to be as open as possible. But I would say I like to do mainly a lot of simplified realism and stippling tattooing. I would say if anything I am mainly known for my floral work, I love doing it so much because there are no limits with it. There’s so many incredible tattooers that do all these styles I love so I try to change up my designs as much as I can. I love doing anything I can mix up with thin and bold lines with smooth and stippling/dotwork shading. I mainly stick to black and grey but every now and then I like to do colorwork when I feel it would add to a piece well. Luckily at my shop, everyone has a unique style that I can different from and be influenced by.
What moment in your career do you look back most fondly on?
Definitely one of the proudest was when I got hired to work at Third Street Tattoo. I have known a couple of the artists for a long time and have always had an interest in working there. I was definitely intimidated when the opportunity came up because of their established family base and they are incredible tattooers but they took me in right away and adopted me into it. I’m so happy to be apart of the crew there and can’t wait for the future. I was born and raised in the south bay so to able to work here everyday makes me very grateful.
Pricing:
- I usually price per piece, not hourly but the shop does have a minimum price of $80
- I do require $100 deposits for large scale pieces that goes towards the price of the tattoo
Contact Info:
- Address: 331 Pacific Coast Highway, Hermosa Beach CA 90254
- Website: danhitattoo.com
- Phone: 310-519-7246
- Email: danhitattoo@gmail.com
- Instagram: @jdanhi
- Facebook: facebook.com/jacobdanhiart
Image Credit:
Julie Lodhy Photography
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