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MEETING WITH @NOTHINGWILDTATTOO, A FAMOUS TATTOO ARTIST
Hello and welcome on Art & You for a new article !
You know, for this article we wanted to give you something special. And here is the interview of the tattoo artist Laura Martinez. We bet you all know her work and art because she’s well known on Instagram, and she has 78,4 k followers, nothing less ! So we want to thank her again for agreeing to answer our questions. So first of all we asked her to introduce herself for you.
Interview: Texte

“My name is Laura Martinez, I am a tattoo artist under the name @NothingWildTattoo. I co-own the shops Fleur Noire tattoo Parlour in New York that we opened in 2016 with my husband Sam and our partner Burak Moreno.
I am originally from Paris, France and I have been living in Brooklyn New York for 7 years. I am now expecting a child for the end of May and decided to move back to France to the city of Tours to start this new chapter of my life as a mother!”
Interview: Image
Something from her Instagram account caught our attention, it was about her work that stood from the rest. And from it we decided to ask her about her own tattoos. Have tattoos on yourself when you are a tattoo artist is rather something almost normal, don’t you think ? So naturally, that’s what she did as early as when she turned 17:
« I have always been fascinated by the art of ornament and tattooing...
I was 26 when I did my first tattoo as a tattooer myself. It was in 2015 while I was doing an apprenticeship in a tattoo shop in Brooklyn. I wanted to try tattooing on a different support than grapefruits or bananas so I just did it on my own leg! I felt very empowered by it. It made me very motivated to try to be the best as I could at this skill. », she explained to us.
It feels like it was the starting push for her, her first commitment to her own art. And so come our next question. « How did you get well known in the industry of tattooing ? »
« I never thought about becoming a tattoo artist even though I started to get tattoos when I was 17. I got my Master Degree in Product Design, from the ENSAD in Paris when I was 19. Right after, I got hired in Paris to work on the retail and design of Dior stores. I enjoyed it, but that was not truly for me. A summer, my best friend went to New York. I decided to quit my job and go travel with him. After that, I started working as a waitress in a Belgium bar. But I didn’t stop making art. I started to draw, at home, during my times off from the bar, a lot… I would do some exhibitions around Brooklyn, my friends would get them tattoos, and…that’s when I decided to start a part time apprenticeship on the side of the bar.»
All those experiences weren’t premeditated by her, which is really inspiring. She followed her instincts and went where the wind was taking her, succeeding in making the best of each experiences with a lot of love and humility.
« I stayed there for a year, until my mentor suddenly disappeared, and closed the shop. So I started to tattoo out of my apartment with what I had learned at the shop for one year. I was tattooing friends, friends of friends… I actually started to get a lot of clients ! 6 months later, one of the artists from my apprenticeship’s shop had opened his own shop in the city and hired me. After 3 months, I could see my clientele starting to get crazy. I think because of my product design and graphic background I had facilities at promoting my work on social medias. People seemed to view my style as different and unique at that time. At this shop I met an other tattoo artist who was working there with me, Burak Moreno (ig @burakmoreno). Exactly 7 months later, my husband Sam Perry (ig @onepunchperry), Burak and I opened Fleur Noire Tattoo Parlour in the beautiful area of Williamsburg, Brooklyn. 3 years later, we have 2 locations and about 25 people working here, coming from everywhere in the world."
Interview: Texte
Interview: Galerie
A lot of people could have feel discouraged by the challenges involved in opening a business in a foreign country, but she didn’t. She always stayed motivated by putting all the efforts she could in it. And today, she seems to be, just at the right place, in the right time, doing her perfect job. Our next question naturally came « What are your main inspirations for your tattoos ? »
« Traveling is definitely one of my biggest source of inspiration. I need to be inspired by different cultures and arts. Now with tattooing, I have the chance to be able to travel and work wherever I want: to me my main life goal is achieved ! Overtime it brings me new inspirations, new influences: the people, nature, colors… every country brings so much more new ideas! Recently my husband and I spent a month in Japan. It was magical and made me want to draw more flowers in a Japanese delicate style, as well as Sailor Moon designs.”
Interview: Texte
A particular style, fueled by her need to travel and discovering so many sides of different countries. And so, when we asked her how she would describe her style, she replied :
« My style is mostly ‘fine line’, which is more of a technique but it explains the aesthetic, too. I love working on tiny details, lines, geometry as well. I do a lot of delicate tattoos and thin lines with flowers, scripts, and organic designs. But my inspirations evolve all the time.”






Interview: Galerie
We asked her next what was one of her best memory so far in her carrier as a tattooer.
She talked to us about her story with a famous luxury brand, that started on social media...
« A crazy memory that marked me a lot in my tattooing journey, was when the famous jewelry brand Tiffany & Co asked me to pose as a model for their new jewelry campaign. It just blew my mind that as a tattooer from the suburbs of Paris who had started her Instagram account a few years ago for fun... I was getting paid to share a photo of me wearing such a big name brand ! »

Interview: À propos
You must asking yourself « What do I do to be like that ?” Here are some tips just for you.
« Be really motivated. Draw a lot. Understand the consequences of tattooing someone. Now with social medias and the evolution of the industry, I see so many young artists wanting to become a tattooer. For sure it’s a beautiful profession, but it is important to understand that is not only fun and glitters, we are putting ink on someone’s skin for the rest of their lives. It’s a risky practice and you need to be extremely careful. You only become a good tattooer when you put your fears and ego on the side. Learn from your mistakes and practice harder to never ever letting it happen again. Get back on the horse ! »
Interview: Texte
For the last question, we asked her how she was seeing social medias and what was she using them for. She told us that, her social media, particularly her instagram account, was as much a way for her to be known, as a way to show her work to the rest of the world, just like a portfolio. She also told us that this tool can be your best ally, like your worst enemy.

Interview: Image
« Social medias take a big place in my work! I would say 80% of my clients come from Instagram and social medias. It’s so far the best platform for tattoo artists to be known. It changed my life and started my career as a tattooer!
Instagram totally changed the tattoo community. It’s an online portfolio for every artist, and it made me able to get my work known internationally. Instagram started my career because people could easily see my work, discover my style, and ask me questions about my process, prices and bookings. It just made my life so easy, and got me so many clients very quickly!
It is an amazing tool, but also tricky. Some amazing artists might be losing clients over some less talented ones who just know how to use this tool better. When looking for a new artist for your next tattoos, pay more attention to the quality of the work than to the number of likes and followers. Unfortunately, some great artists who choose not to use Instagram don’t get seen enough because of it. »
We have seen how social media can impact the career of a tattoo artist today. We thank Laura for sharing her experience and her love of tattoos with us, and with you! Do not hesitate to go look at her Instagram account and see all of her superb work! (@nothingwildtattoo)
We really took pleasure in doing this, so we hope you enjoyed reading it just as much. If you want to react, please leave a comment below.
Best of day,
Art & You.
Interview: Texte
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