Art vs. Ego: When Pushing Harder Isn't Always Better with Missi Blue | Ep. 45
Bound By Art: A Tattoo Artist's Survival Guide
Release Date: 08/27/2025
The Truth About Growing as an Artist with Vicky Stoner
Bound By Art: A Tattoo Artist's Survival Guide
When Vicki first started working at Blue Bird Tattoo Studio as our shop manager, I honestly never planned on taking an apprentice. But watching her work ethic, her hunger to learn, and her genuine connection with our clients made me reconsider everything I thought I knew about teaching someone to tattoo. Fast forward three years, and she's one of the most consistently booked artists in our shop, with over 100,000 followers on TikTok and a waitlist of clients who trust her vision completely. What makes Vicki's story so valuable isn't just that she found success quickly, it's how she did it. She...
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Why Success Is the Best Time to Work Harder
Bound By Art: A Tattoo Artist's Survival Guide
Thanks for sponsoring this episode A conversation with a friend who just opened her own space got me thinking about something I wish someone had told me years ago. She's booked out, things are moving fast, and her instinct is to exhale. And I get it. We work so hard to get to those moments of ease that it feels like we've earned the right to coast. But that mindset has cost me, and I don't want it to cost you. The artists and shop owners I've seen struggle hardest during slow seasons aren't struggling because they didn't work hard enough when it was tough. They're...
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How To Find Your First 100 Clients
Bound By Art: A Tattoo Artist's Survival Guide
If you're a new tattoo artist trying to figure out how to build a client base, you've probably heard the advice to "just post on social media" and call it a day. But that's only one piece of the puzzle. I've been tattooing for 21 years and I'll be honest, I don't always think about what it was like at the very beginning, when you're literally starting from zero. But that's exactly what I want to talk about today, because the advice I'd give someone in year one is completely different from what I'd tell someone in the middle of their career. I'm breaking down the moves that...
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Booking 101 for Tattoo Artists
Bound By Art: A Tattoo Artist's Survival Guide
Last week reminded me why I built systems in the first place – and what happens when you think you're too experienced to follow them. My booking day at Blue Bird Tattoo Studio turned into a complete scramble because I decided to wing it instead of sticking to my proven process. From ignored checklists to computer crashes at the worst possible moment, everything that could go wrong did. But here's the thing: this disaster became my biggest learning opportunity yet. I'm sharing exactly what went sideways, why it happened, and most importantly, how I'm using this experience to build even...
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Dealing With Toxic People In Tattooing
Bound By Art: A Tattoo Artist's Survival Guide
Every tattoo artist has worked with someone who left them drained, second-guessing themselves, or flat-out dreading going into the shop. Toxic people are everywhere, and the tattoo industry is no exception. But calling someone toxic and actually doing something about it are two very different things. In this episode, Missi gets into the real mechanics of toxic behavior: what it looks like, why it's so hard to catch in the moment, and the practical strategies she uses to shut it down before it takes over. From chronic criticism and gaslighting to emotional blackmail and credit-stealing, she...
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What You Need And Don't Need As A New Tattooer
Bound By Art: A Tattoo Artist's Survival Guide
Starting out in this industry, it's easy to fall into the trap of thinking you need everything before you can get started. The fancy chair, the iPad, the full ink spectrum, the private studio, the 50k following. I've been tattooing for 20 years and I'm here to tell you that most of that noise is just that. Noise. In this episode, I go through exactly what you actually need as a new tattoo artist and, just as importantly, what you can confidently skip. This isn't about cutting corners. It's about being strategic with your time and your money so you're building something...
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Guerrilla Marketing For Tattoo Artists
Bound By Art: A Tattoo Artist's Survival Guide
Social media isn't the whole game, and honestly, a lot of tattoo artists are finding out the hard way that chasing likes and fighting algorithms isn't a sustainable marketing strategy. Missi cuts through the noise in this episode and digs into guerrilla marketing, a creative, low-cost approach that used to be standard practice before everyone moved their entire business online. Drawing from her own early career when social media simply wasn't an option, Missi walks through five distinct types of guerrilla marketing with real-world examples from brands like Oreo, Coca-Cola, and Deadpool, then...
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Manage your energy, not your time
Bound By Art: A Tattoo Artist's Survival Guide
If you've ever caught yourself thinking "I just need to manage my time better," this episode is going to reframe that whole idea. I've been there too, ending every day exhausted and frustrated, even when the morning started out fine. After one too many tough days, I started asking a different question: what if time isn't actually the problem? What if we've been managing the wrong thing altogether? In this episode I dig into the real reason so many tattoo artists and shop owners feel perpetually behind, the science behind your body's natural energy cycles, and how building your day around those...
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How To Build A Healthy Shop Environment With Gabe Burgos
Bound By Art: A Tattoo Artist's Survival Guide
I'm beyond excited to bring you this conversation with my tattoo shop bestie and incredible black and gray artist, Gabe Burgos. What started as a guest spot at Blue Bird Tattoo turned into an amazing friendship built on our shared sobriety, brutal honesty about shop ownership, and drive to constantly push ourselves outside our comfort zones. Gabe went from working in factories to running his own successful shop, Burgos Inc., in just seven years. But this episode isn't just about his journey - it's about having the courage to bet on yourself, even when it feels terrifying. We dive deep into...
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Tattooing with ADHD: Systems over Motivation with Missi Blue
Bound By Art: A Tattoo Artist's Survival Guide
As someone who spent most of my life undiagnosed with ADHD, I'm passionate about sharing how what many see as limitations can actually be superpowers when you learn to work with them, not against them. In this deeply personal episode, I open up about my own journey of late diagnosis, sobriety, and building Bluebird Tattoo - and how my ADHD traits actually helped me succeed. Whether you have ADHD or face other challenges, this episode is about finding your own path and turning your perceived weaknesses into strengths. Manascheduler: What you will learn in this episode: The five gifts of ADHD...
info_outline"Am I challenging myself or am I torturing myself? Am I trying to be something I'm not, and that's why it's so hard? Should I be leaning into what already works?"
You know that feeling when you finish a tattoo and you're completely drained—not just physically, but emotionally and mentally too? I had this eye-opening conversation with my friend Milo after she guest spotted at Bluebird Tattoo Studio, and it completely shifted how I think about artistic growth. We dove deep into why we feel guilty for creating art that comes naturally to us, and why we think we need to torture ourselves to be "real" artists. Here's the thing: there's a huge difference between challenging yourself and burning yourself out. Sometimes the most radical thing you can do is lean into what already works for you and refine it instead of constantly trying to reinvent the wheel. This episode is for every artist who's ever felt like they're not doing enough, even when they're creating beautiful work.
Here's what I need you to understand: growth doesn't always have to hurt. Sometimes the biggest breakthroughs happen when you stop fighting against your natural artistic instincts and start working with them. Your art is an extension of your soul—treat it (and yourself) with the respect you deserve. Take what resonates, leave what doesn't, and remember that you get to make the rules for your own artistic journey.
What You'll Learn in This Episode:
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Why doing smaller, simpler tattoos doesn't make you less of an artist
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How to identify the difference between healthy artistic challenge and self-torture
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The mental and physical toll of constantly pushing beyond your natural flow
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Why embracing what comes naturally can actually accelerate your growth
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How repetition and small refinements lead to mastery faster than constant reinvention
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Why comparing your artistic journey to other artists is sabotaging your success
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Practical strategies for finding the right balance between growth and sustainability
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How to reframe "easy" work as smart business and self-care
Links:
instagram.com/tattoosbymissiblue
instagram.com/boundbyartproject
instagram.com/bluebirdtattoostudio
Music: Unknown Road - The Harp Project