January 20, 2017

Meet Bree Solomon of Black Diamond Tattoo in Venice

Local Stories

Today we’d like to introduce you to Bree Solomon.

Thanks for sharing your story with us Bree. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
We started Black Diamond Tattoo in 2008, it was myself and Charly Reynoso (my partner) with a team of a couple artists we knew in the area. We literally started the shop from the ground up, the space was empty, even the floor was unfinished. We had this vision of what a great shop should be, full of great talent and friendly people inside an inviting and open space.

A huge part of that vision was that we wanted people to walk in and feel welcomed like they were a part of our crew. It wasn’t enough to decorate the interior nicely or have a comfy couch for people to wait on, the staff was a huge hand in the vision. We needed a group of people who could work as a team and make their priority not only helping clients as they came in, but really identifying what they wanted and making them feel comfortable with us.

Once we got the right components together for a solid team, the rest is history. It really is amazing how one person can change the dynamic of a group, we had a few faces come and go over the years but for a while now we’ve had the same consistent faces putting out amazing work and it just keeps getting better. Every now and then we’ll add someone new to the team, but the turnover is really low, people tend to stick around here because it’s a good vibe. That’s the whole point, isn’t it? Creating something that works well, satisfies a need, and feels good to everyone.

Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
The biggest challenge we’ve had over the years is making sure we had the right people on the team. One person can rock the boat in such a huge way that it will literally affect the kind of people that walk in the door. We keep a no drama no attitude policy here, and it works. Everyone is happy all the time and we all put out good work because we’re motivated to do more and more.

Alright – so let’s talk business. Tell us about Black Diamond Tattoo – what should we know?
This business is our baby. None of us would be the same without it.

I run business affairs on a daily basis, I establish how the shop runs, who does what and how. The artists here have total control over their creative domains, but on a business level, I give them everything they need to do a great job and they take it from there.

I am really proud of everyone in this business, we each bring something different to the table and in such a unique way. To say the least, I cherish the people here and what we are capable of doing together. That’s one of the things that sets us apart from other shops, we don’t compete with one another we work together to rise up together.

Any shoutouts? Who else deserves credit in this story – who has played a meaningful role?
I am quite fortunate to have such a good support system. My business partner Charly is my biggest ally, we work together as a team in everything. We’ve developed a really solid business working relationship that has allowed us and our team to grow and build on a strong foundation.

Obviously, our clients also play a huge role in our success. Without the amazing people we are graced with as clients we wouldn’t be here quite the same. We have a fantastic following of awesome people and most of them end up becoming friends we see regularly. It’s pretty cool.

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