The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Kimberly Reed Tattoos comes after years of plying her body art at other salons
It does something for your soul to be in your own comfort zone and be happy. I glow a lot more since I opened this studio,” said Kimberly Reed of Kimberly Reed Tattoos. A classically trained painter and longtime tattoo artist, Reed was curious about owning her own tattoo shop but wasn’t actively seeking it. Until the opportunity found her.
When a spot came available at Starland’s Sola Salons in late November, members quickly reached out to see if she wanted it. With such an opportunity, Reed knew she had to take it. By mid-December, Kimberly Reed Tattoos was officially open for business.
“I’m glad I’ve made it this long and far,” reflected Reed. “In March, I’ll be 64, and, yes, I’m excited for my birthday. It’s a mile marker of how much I’ve come through, how all of this is just a long time coming.”
A fortuitous set of events brought Reed to Savannah 16 years ago. She was representing her art at a tattoo convention in Boston when Ricky McGee of Anonymous Tattoo saw her work. He liked it and invited her to visit his shop on Bay Street. As luck would have it, she was already planning a trip to Savannah to see her nephew at SCAD.
Reed dropped by McGee’s place and a couple of months later moved to Savannah to begin working there.
Working at Anonymous Tattoo wasn’t her first rodeo. Or even her fourth, fifth or 10th. Reed came up in the tattoo industry in New York City during the early 1990s, when there were few training opportunities and even fewer women in the business.
“I taught myself, which is something you don’t ever want to do, but I did it out of necessity,” emphasized Reed. “I’d been working, trying to work, as a painter for several years by that point, and some friends encouraged me to learn tattooing so I could transform my paintings into body artwork and actually make money. I became a tattoo artist because I had to. I am an artist. And I had to eat.”
And so the painter with a fine arts degree from Ole Miss set her jaw and steeled herself to become a tattoo artist. One friend set her up with a homemade inking machine; another helped connect her with more tattoo artists. When she felt she was still lacking critical hands-on experience, she reached out to a shop where the owner seemed interested in offering her an apprenticeship. He wanted to meet her.
“I went to the Bronx one day to this place that had bulletproof glass on the storefront,” recalled Reed. “But then on the inside, it was rooms of floor to ceiling bulletproof glass. The guy’s office was behind bulletproof glass. He was nice but took one look at me, and we both agreed this was not the place for me.”
Nevertheless, Reed persisted. By 1995, she was steadily gaining work and building her portfolio. For more than 10 years she continued honing her techniques at shops in New Jersey, Atlanta and Boston before that star-crossed landing at Anonymous in Savannah.
Once in the Hostess City, Reed flourished. At different times she worked at Stranded Tattoo, Good Fortune and The Butcher, where she enjoyed the artists, clientele and the very busy lifestyle of being a successful, fulltime tattoo artist.
A Kimberly Reed tattoo is invariably one of deep color and often nature-inspired. Birds, trees, flowers and mandalas resplendent in shimmering blends of pastels are her hallmarks. Cohesive in style, they are wearable artworks, bold yet delicate and yearning to be touched. But it’s her attention to detail and perspective that make it clear her designs come from years of refinement as a fine arts painter.
In her new studio at Sola Salons in Starland, she’s amid a crew of some of the city’s most revered stylists, aestheticians, barbers and tattoo artists. Reed describes her space as “very light, airy and inviting, like a little nest that’s peaceful and comfortable.” There, she is available Tuesday through Saturday by appointment only.
“I’ve worked for years figuring it all, figuring out the process and business of tattoos, and I am incredibly grateful to be here working,” Reed said. “It is wonderful to be creating at a time where how I approach tattoo art resonates with people. I feel deeply honored when clients choose me to create art that will adorn their bodies for the rest of their lives. That is a very humbling and uplifting thought, a gift.”