Sands Bethlehem Event Center was home to the Skindustry Tattoo Expo which was held March 9th to the 11th, 2018. I noticed one stand that stood out from every other stand at The Skindustry Tattoo Expo. It had such positive energy and good vibes. Amaryllis had a beautiful table set-up. Karin and her husband Chris Vangeli, as well as several other people, surrounded the table as Chris was tattooing. Their table had giveaway items including pens, stress balls, and balloons. Karin had beautiful plants that adorned the table, and her welcoming smile greeted everyone that walked up, as I waited to ask for an interview. Karin Vangeli who amongst the chatter, noise, the sound of tattoo machines buzzing throughout the venue took time to speak with me for The Valley Ledger.
How did you guys get started?
Karin- My husband actually started tattooing about fifteen years ago now. He always drew, and he was always drawing album covers and things as a kid. He was working at a factory, and the guy that was tattooing him said hey, we need a phone person. Could you come and answer phones and stuff. Well, one thing led to another and he just kind of fell into tattooing there while working in the factory. I was a banking VP before this for twenty-two years. He got tired of where he was. We were getting clients, and we wanted to bring them to an environment that we created. So I left banking, he left that shop, and we took what he did and what I did, and we put it together and thank God we never had to look back. We keep busy working; we’re very blessed.
How long have you been attending Skindustry?
Karin- Since it started and I can’t recall how many years that’s been to be honest with you because we use to come with his other shop. We’ve been here as our own studio for six-years now. So we’ve been here from the very beginning when it was on Route 100 in the Holiday Inn.
Do you have a favorite moment out of all the years?
Karin- I think that one of the most important things that we’ve gained through the years is the friendships with our peers, other artists and our clients. It’s the most important thing to us. We never forget that people who come to our shop put food on our table, so we treat people like family. I think that we have been really lucky to meet a lot of amazing people through here like other artists that want to come and work at our shop. That is what we look forward to every year. We are always booked up when we come here, so we’re not really trying to get business as much as we are just trying to connect with our peers and our clients. I cannot even say enough about how blessed we are. Our clients are amazing.
Where did the Zen/Spa aspect come from? The stand set-up is so beautifully; it is relaxing. Almost as if you are entering a spa or a really Zen environment.
Karin- Thank you! Like, I said we have a certain environment at the shop. It is more of an upscale environment. People, a lot of times don’t even realize it is a tattoo shop. They walk in, and the first thing they say is I can’t believe it is a tattoo shop. It’s just relaxing, we try to make people comfortable, and we try and make people relax when they walk in. Because people are nervous you know whether you’ve done it a thousand times or not people get anxious and the adrenaline comes up. So we have a very relaxed atmosphere. We have salt rock lamps and things that calm people down. We wanted to try and bring a little of that here. It was very hard to do because you have six foot of table space.
It does look gorgeous!
Karin- Thank you, thank you! We worked hard, and I had it laid out in the back of the shop. We had to improvise because we ordered books for the artist and they didn’t arrive on time because of the snow storm, so we have this running in our lobby usually as well. I had to improvise a little bit and regroup but thank you I appreciate that compliment.
Thank you so much, Karin, for talking to me for The Valley Ledger.
Karin- Oh, thank you so much. That was awesome.
Check out the site: http://www.amaryllistattoo.com/
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Interviews & Articles By: Janel Spiegel
“May your nightmares inspire you.” JMS
