How a Mom Becomes a Successful Prague Tattoo Artist – Mamatattooprague

How to get out of a rut, cultivate what you enjoy, and make it into a successful business? Prague tattoo artist Kateřina Gromanová decided during her maternity leave to turn her career upside down and, after years in the corporate world, get into tattooing.

“I am mainly a tattoo artist, a mother, and a lover of good food and drink,” Katka introduces herself after we overcome technical difficulties in the video call between Prague and Italy. She is on a family holiday with her Italian partner and two daughters.

We meet to talk about how she succeeded in a whole new field and what obstacles she had to overcome. And of course, I couldn’t miss the opportunity to ask Katka to design my dream Prague tattoo and try her services firsthand.

From a Mom to a MamaTattoo Artist

Katka has been interested in art since she was a kid. “I’ve always had a talent for painting. But I didn’t develop it in childhood.” Instead, she went to college, had various part-time jobs, and eventually ended up working in an international corporation.

The big break came during her maternity leave. For her birthday, her partner arranged a one-day session with a tattoo artist. At the end of the session, Katka made her first tattoo on a real person. “If you don’t do it now, you never will,” her teacher told her.

That experience brought the right encouragement. Katka purchased everything she needed to develop her tattoo skills and dedicated all her free time while her children were asleep or with a sitter to learning and practicing. “I certainly wouldn’t start without maternity leave. Many women changed careers during early motherhood. There is more room for thinking about your next steps,” she admits.

“My family was very supportive too,” Katka reflects, “My grandmother, who actually dislikes tattoos, looked after my children so I could make designs. My boyfriend supported me mentally and financially and my brother-in-law offered his body,” she laughs. Katka practiced first on family, friends, and soon friends of friends.

Moving to a Tattoo Studio

The next big milestone came when Katka stopped tattooing at home and set up her first studio. “It was a big decision. But it wasn’t a hard decision because they didn’t want to hire me anywhere since I had so little experience. Now when I’m doing great, studios want to have me, but now I don’t want them,” she smirks. 

“I’m proud I managed everything myself, without outside help. Of course, it was also given by the low initial budget that I couldn’t hire a professional to help me with some stuff. But I’ve found that I can do many things on my own; all I need is time.” With her own diligence and determination, Katka built a thriving business. And then the pandemic came. 

“I had to close down for the time being and I was thinking what to do next.” And since she was dreaming about working closer to home and having a bigger space where she could organize events, she used the lockdown to look for a new tattoo home. Last summer, she opened a new studio in Karlín. “By changing the tattoo studio, I got a new type of clientele and also a new variety of motives,” Katka tells me and I already can’t wait to pay her a visit.

Prague Tattoo – “On My Own Skin”

Ring. Buzz. Squeak goes the door. I look down the wooden staircase winding to a Karlin cellar. As I step down, the warmth and smell of lemongrass remind me of going to a spa. Katka’s colorful paintings decorate the brick walls. In the corner hang t-shirts and tank tops with her designs, and shelves display painted shoes and hats. 

“Hi!” We shake hands. “You can take off your jacket and come sit down with me,” she points at her desk next to the reception. When seated, I quickly skim through a form and sign it while Katka prints in different sizes the design she prepared for me – David Černý’s babies. 

I stand in front of the mirror in the backroom, where the magic happens, and decide what size of the tattoos to choose. Katka, in the meantime, is preparing her workstation and installing a new gadget to try on me. It’s a lamp with a phone holder. “For making time-lapses for Instagram reels,” Katka explains. 

I climb on a black plastic-covered chair and offer my arm. “Are you ready? Let’s do it,” Katka looks at me, and I nod. She keeps me engaged in a conversation so that I don’t have time to analyze shades of pain. “Women generally handle the pain more gracefully,” she admits. “And we’re done,” she announces finally. I look at my arm, “Already! Oh, how cool!” 

Katka poses me in front of a white wall and takes some photos and a video of her work. “Have you ever tried a protective tattoo film?” She asks and then explains how to take care of my new tattoo. We finalize with contactless payment, and a beep on my phone announces I’ve received my personalized invoice. No wonder, with such a great business mindset and customer care, MamaTattoo enjoys recognition for her work.

“A friend says I’m like a pit bull. I bite and won’t let go.”

In November last year, Katka appeared in the Forbes 2021 special focusing on successful women in business. “I think they chose me because of my perseverance and determination. But it came as a bit of a surprise when they contacted me. Apparently, they’ve been looking for interesting stories, and they followed my work for a while.” Katka doesn’t rest in her comfort zone; her successes only spur her on.

Her plan for keeping her business thriving is continuous improvement. “I bought online courses by well-known tattoo artists who use interesting techniques in which I want to improve. On my premises, I exhibit paintings, I do workshops, someone can read poems, have an exhibition of their paintings…”. She lists some initiatives for this year.

The best way to reach Katka is to write her an email but a message on Instagram or Facebook works too. “I recently also joined TikTok. When I create tattoos, I record it in time-lapse videos and put it on social media so that people can imagine how it works. I’m also planning to do a miniseries of videos of what to do before tattooing, how to take care of a new tattoo, what to do when having complications, and simply show the whole tattooing process,” she adds. Follow her so that you don’t miss anything cool from the Prague tattoo world.

Follow & Contact

Email: mamatattooprague@gmail.com

Website: https://en.mamatattooprague.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mamatattooprague/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MamaTattooPrague

Don’t Miss Out

I hope you enjoyed another from my series of posts in which I want to introduce you to interesting Prague-based artists and tell you their inspiring stories. Go to Interviews to read the previous ones. And make sure you won’t miss the next story by subscribing to my newsletter. 

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