Name:  Mandy "Sarge" Davis

Date of Birth: September 20, 1964

Place of Birth: Harrisburg, PA

Interests:  Reading, Music, Beaches, Sunsets, Drinking, James Dean, Cards, Dice, 13's...

Future Plans in the Industry:  Although I appreciate my ties to South Central Pennsylvania, i'd love to own a few more shops in a few more states enabling me to travel more frequently.  

influences: Deano Cook, Brian Everett, Guy Atchison, Norman "Sailor Jerry" Collins, Tom Renshaw

Reflections...

I can remember being in awe of tattoos and tattooed people ever since I was a child.  There was just something about "it" and "Them" that fascinated me.  

I have always excelled at art and in school, it was my one any only passion.  I had won various awards and have had several of my works on display throughout the country and in Japan.

In my mid 20's, I had thought very seriously of learning how to tattoo.  I remember sending away for catalogs, brochures, books, and everything having to do with tattooing. 

I didn't pursue it at that time though--I had a family and children I had to provide for.  Certainly I couldn't make a living at tattooing.  Where would the steady pay and benefits come from?  At that juncture in my life, tattooing didn't seem to be the road to travel.  Funny how life is...

In 1998 I started hanging around this guy who was a tattooist/piercer.  We were at my mother's house and he saw a picture I had drawn.  He looked at it, looked at me, and asked why I wasn't a Tattooist?  I shrugged my shoulders and told him my children were a huge part of that decision.  I explained that I needed to be in corporate America.  He let it go at that.  Or so I thought...

A few weeks later, we were driving by the shop he worked at.  It was a Sunday evening and the shop was closed.  He pulled his vehicle in the parking lot and cut the engine.  I asked "What are we doing?"  He stated "You are going to tattoo me."  I must confess that hearing him say that made me flinch .

When I picked that machine up and laid my first line of ink, I was home.  The comfort that I felt is just indescribable.  I knew at that moment I had found exactly what I was put on this earth to do.

The guy that owns the shop we were is ironically enough, my brother-in-law, Tattoo Jim at the Illustrated Man.  When he saw what I did, it didn't take him very long to get me apprenticing with him.  I don't believe it's because those 3 pieces I did that night were that great, I think it's because of the desire I displayed for the art.  I can't be certain, you'd have to ask him.

At any rate, I was still working full-time in Corporate America and tattooing part-time in the evenings and on weekends.  On April 27, 1999, I told corporate America to kiss my lily-white ass and never did look back.  

Jim taught me well.  He willingly and selflessly taught me everything he could about tattooing.  For this I will always be grateful.  

The guy I referred to earlier taught me how to pierce.  He ended up being an asshole, but even assholes are put in our paths for a reason, I suppose.  I'll always be very thankful to him too.  He's a great piercer.

I had a long and glorious run at the Illustrated man.  For personal reasons, I had to leave, and Jim wished me well as I went on my way.

For the next two years, I had various gigs at some other local shops.  I learned many valuable skills and lessons about tattooing as a whole.  I watched people to see what should and shouldn't be done.  I had people do me right, and do me wrong.  Even though I got royally fucked a time or two, I considered the sources and even learned from those experiences.  The ones who fucked me simply made me stronger, so in a weird twist of fate, I thank you.

In December 2001, an even weirder twist of fate came my way.  

I had a pretty good thing going on at a shop in Colonial Park.  I was happy and had no idealations or intentions of rocking my boat.  I worked with 2 really groovy people and was satisfied with my career.  

My ex-husband, Tim, still being a very close friend of mine, approached me one Sunday afternoon and asked me the question most tattooists dream about.  "Do you want your own shop?"  I looked at him and said that of course I did--and someday that would inevitably happen.  He explained that he meant NOW--did I want to pursue it now?  He knew I had my eye on a little store front in Mechanicsburg and for the first time, I thought about it as a reality.  He had the means to make it happen and I had the ways.

I signed the lease January 6. Tim and I , my kids Dylan and Dane, along with several other friends, started revamping the Studio.  We threw butcher paper up on the windows and for the next 3 months, went to town.  The people of Mechanicsburg were certainly wondering what was going on behind the scene, I'm sure.  We had a lot of fun doing it and looking back, tensions really never got too high.  It was a lot of fun and we talk to  this day about opening up the second shop....(wink)

I opened on March 13, 2002.  I've received so many warm welcomes and had people totally in awe of the transformation we had made to the shop.  I must admit, we were and still are very proud.  

Two weeks after opening, I received notice from the Borough of Mechanicsburg.  Through all the revamping, I had forgot to apply for and obtain a variance!  UGH!! Inevitably, I had to close for a few weeks while waiting for approval.  On April 27, that approval came and I've been off to the races ever since!

So, in a nutshell, that's my story to-date.  It's been a wild ride.  One that I have enjoyed.  I think in wonderment what the next decade or so of my life will bring.  This I know--as long as I'm throwing ink, I'll have a smile on my face and a song in my heart, this is what I was born to do.