Life & Work with Shannon LaBaw-O’Sullivan of ALTADENA

Today we’d like to introduce you to Shannon LaBaw-O’Sullivan.

Hi Shannon, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I am from Pasadena/Altadena, born and raised! My kids are 4 th generation locals here. This is our beloved home.I am a tattoo artist and have tattooed for 35 years, and have had my workspaces in Altadena for 28 of those years.
We watched our town burn down in the Eaton fire of 2025, taking our family tattoo shop and art gallery space of 15 years , but thankfully leaving our home on the far west edge of town. This tiny slice of intact properties and nature areas that remain feels surreal- like we are in the set of “The Truman Show”! 8 doors to the east is a Ghost Town.
But we are not leaving!
And I’m still tattooing here….

We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
I started drawing, happily for me with the support of my beatnik parents, when I was a small child. Marvelous teachers in the Pasadena school district during the culturally awakened 1970’s gave all of us Gen-x kids so much vibrant inspiration!
Rock music and the desire to become an album cover artist pushed me to attend Parsons school of design for illustration.
Being in New York City from 1978-1983 completely transformed my life!
Unfortunately-the CD digital revolution kinda pulled the plug on that dream…
I had a variety of day jobs through the 80’s, always drawing on the side, and when my Dad, a literal rocket scientist at JPL suggested the still underground profession of tattooing I thought he was crazy!!!
But the idea took hold.
Around that time my sweet craftsman bungalow rental in Pasadena burned down , and I moved to Sunland CA with my boyfriend Kevin.
Turns out there was a tattoo shop right around the corner!!!! ( At that time, shops were few and far between. )
I got my first tattoo there from Tattoo Mike, and was hooked! I hung around there every night on my way home from my job as a receptionist(!), and eventually was invited into an apprenticeship which lasted a year and a half.
Very few women were tattooing in the US back then, but I was always treated with dignity and respect from other tattooers and clientele, even though most were actual bikers!!! The road was smooth and it has always felt that this is what I was meant to do. After 4 years on Sunset Strip , I had my twins, Mars and Rose, and decided to work at home to be there with these 2 delightful children! So theyy basically have grown up in tattoo shops, and my daughter Rose became my final apprentice when she was 16. And she is an amazing artist! Better than me, even! We found our Sweet Ass shop on Boston street in Altadena at that time and had a wonderful bunch of years tattooing there and displaying the original artwork of many local artists. And we would be there to this day and on into the future if it hadn’t been for that terrible fire, that like some mythical dragon completely destroyed our lovely little town, and our shop, Shangri-La , along with it.

Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
I am really a psychedelic artist- inspired by 60’s poster art, art nouveau, art deco, Japanese art and mid century design. I don’t specialize as far as tattoos go, though, as I prefer to create for the client according to their whims! I do try to always provide the best customer service that I possibly can, and I care a lot about my clients needs , wants and overall experience. “The client is the Ultimate Buddha “ Shige,Yellow blaze Tattoo, Yokohama.

Do you have any memories from childhood that you can share with us?
JPL picnics at Soledad Sands, a fantastic outdoor recreation area here in SoCal. Giant slides! Swimming pools filled with friends, bbq hot dogs and baked beans! Also listening to my moms music-Sgt peppers and Jefferson airplane!

Contact Info:

• Website: Shangri-La Tattoo on Yelp
• Instagram: ShannonO’Sullivantattoo
• Facebook: Shannon O’Sullivan tsttoo