New Orleans transplant's tattoo business has taken off in Columbus

BY ANDREA V. HERNANDEZ - ahernandez@ledger-enquirer.com --

Three years ago, Perrin Davis couldn't get a break.

Davis had moved to Columbus after Hurricane Katrina destroyed his family's New Orleans home and tattoo shop.

Local tattoo shops would not hire him without a portfolio -- which perished during the storm.

So the married father of one decided to take a chance.

He used part of the funds his family received from the Federal Emergency Management Agency to start his own tattoo business in Columbus.

Apparently the risk was worth taking.

Today, the 29-year-old owns and operates Skintastic Art on Buena Vista Road, named after the shop he lost in New Orleans. Davis tapped into a local market that associates say was not being served: young tattoo aficionados who relate more to Lil Wayne than to Harley Davidson.

It's clear there was a need: thanks in part to a television commercial jingle about "baby daddies," the shop was able to gross about $80,000 in sales in its first year.

Davis, the sole artist at the shop, says his following now affords him the luxury of not advertising as much. He tattoos between 15 to 20 people a day, and is looking to hire another artist to handle his growing customer base.

"Every year, there's growth," Davis said. "Artistically, I know there's greater (tattoo) artists in the city of Columbus than myself. I tip my hat to them. But hustle-wise -- growth and development -- there's not a shop in the city that doesn't know I'm here. There's not a shop in this city that doesn't understand on Buena Vista Road, those people are doing numbers."

The storm

Raised in New Orleans' downtown area, Davis admitted he wasn't artistically inclined since his youth. Tattoo art first caught his attention as a 20-something entrepreneur selling urban clothing and jewelry in New Orleans. Davis, also known as Cash P, realized tattooing was very much a part of the street culture -- and something he could capitalize on.

Raymond Torregano, a New Orleans transplant and Davis' cousin, said once Davis saw the opportunity for cross promotion, he jumped on it.

"He just got fanatical about (tattoo art) -- books, classes, conventions," Torregano said. "Next thing you know, he's taking art classes."

Davis tried body piercing first and then started working as a tattoo artist in 2005 at New Orleans shop Skintastic Art, in which he was also an investor.

Davis recalled he had been on the job about six months when he got word of a nearing hurricane. That day, Friday, Aug. 26, 2005, his family was enjoying a fish fry at his home.

New Orleans had never been hit by a big hurricane in my lifetime," Davis said. "It had been so long since one hit, we truly didn't believe it was coming. We'd been told so many times, 'A hurricane's coming, y'all are going to have to evacuate.' Then the hurricane would turn east, turn west, and never come to New Orleans. So we continued to party, eat fish and have a merry old time."

The next day, Davis headed to the tattoo shop. He shut down early -- not because of the hurricane, but to attend his grandparents' 50th wedding anniversary.

 

Next >>