MEET THE OWNER OF DEPICTION
SAMANTHA FREDERICK
Get up close and personal with the lead artist and owner of Depiction... One of the country's premier tattoo artists, Sam has been featured in numerous magazines for her amazing work and all over television. She is also a growing as a business leader also has other inputs into the tattoo and art worlds.
THE TATTOO COLLECTORS EXPO
CO-OWNER
I am a California transplant who grew up in Arlington. I am a Lead Artist and owner of Depiction Tattoo Gallery. I became interested in tattoo artistry in 2007 after working in the permanent makeup field. Once I became interested in Tattooing vas an artform, I had a bit of a hard time finding a shop that would hire me, partly due to the fact that I am a woman. So, in 2010, Depiction Tattoo Gallery was born. To be honest, I have never looked back!
My big “Why” is my son Austin. My goal is to be a good role model for him and raise a contributing young man for our world. For this reason, I try to lead a healthy lifestyle by working out and eating well. He is so smart, funny and brave and being his mom is my favorite thing about life!
I am an avid tattoo collector, a quick glance at me says it all. I dabble with playing the keyboard. I love a good dive bar and enjoy going to shows and I love to have plans for my next travel adventure. I feel very lucky to have a profession that feels like a hobby. I value trying things for the first time and hope to continue engaging in new endeavors with other like-minded individuals.
I am growing as a business leader and concentrating on working on my business which is one of the reasons that I decided to put on this expo. I am looking forward to bringing people together and hosting events, plus I want to put Arlington, TX in the forefront. I have the experience necessary to make sure our attending artists and guests have a great time and leave feeling like they were appreciated, supported, and entertained.
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A Memorable Experience for All
The Tattoo Collectors Expo has the goal to deliver a fun productive environment that will keep artists and collectors alike coming back year after year. We want to provide a convention that allows the artists to enjoy their weekend in all aspects including financial gain, networking with other artists/vendors, and getting to see what our area has to offer the rest of the industry. The inspiration behind it all is to genuinely make it a pleasurable experience for anyone working or attending the event. There are many tattoo conventions around the world and we want to make this expo a memorable one for you.
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Bringing the Tattoo Industry Together
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The Tattoo Collectors Expo is an event by artists for artists. We know you've heard that before and have seen many times that isn't the case. We are committed to giving quality service before, during, and after the expo. We are taking our job of providing top attendance very seriously. Our main goal is to make sure there are attendees there for each artist to make a profit. We will have 200 booths and over 200 world class tattoo artists. This is your chance to book appointments with your favorite tattoo artists. This expo will bring the tattoo industry together as you've never seen before. We want to uplift and inspire growth to the industry as a whole.
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More Than Meets The Eye...
Samantha Frederick, is proof that hard work and desire are the building blocks of a successful and happy life. Though she wasn’t dealt the best hand throughout her life, she is now a business owner and artist at Depiction Tattoo Gallery in Texas.
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She attended Ogle School to obtain her aesthetics license in order to practice medical skin treatments, specifically laser hair removal. Frederick also worked as a shift manager at Ann Taylor Loft. Following her time at Ogle School she took a course in permanent cosmetics, which got the ball rolling for tattooing.
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Even with her license in hand and the knowledge of permanent cosmetics and tattooing under her belt, Frederick’s struggles weren’t over. “At this time female [tattoo artists] were not very prevalent and no one was at all willing to let me work with them,” she recalled.
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She had little business experience prior to this, but wanted to excel in everything she did. “If no one will help me, I will do it myself except it wasn’t completely solo,” she said. “When I attended Ogle I had thought if I was going to be working in a spa why wouldn’t I open my own? My mindset was the same when it came to tattooing.”
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Frederick had attended a tattoo school in New York and met a man in Albany who became somewhat of a mentor to her. He was a better tattoo artist and helped her better her skills as an artist.
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With the help and support from her father, friends and mentor, she made her way into the business industry, eventually obtaining her own studio. Though she had no prior business experience, she was able to get it up and running for approximately $75,000 within 12 months.
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“Of course at first no one took my studio or I seriously and we are now one of the most sought after studios in the metroplex,” she said. “I will say I probably tattoo more females than males but I think it is because my work is more feminine. I do have a high demand of males wanting tattoos from me also.”
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Her male artists agree that the barrier is mostly gone, especially in their studio. “I feel that Sam is an amazing tattoo artist and business owner, regardless of gender. Also, having her here as an artist has made a huge positive impact on the business because we are able to accommodate the clients that prefer a female approach,” John Clark praised, noting that the entire studio believes that as long as you can hold your own and tattoo well then there isn’t a problem.
