Today we’d like to introduce you to Joanna (Ebi Ink) Nowak.
Hi Joanna (Ebi Ink), can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
The idea was born a few years ago, when I went to get my first tattoo. Back then, I never would have imagined that I’d leave the studio with something more than just a tattoo.
I was working as a pharmacist at the time, but it wasn’t giving me the sense of fulfillment I felt it should. The tattoo artist I was talking to suggested that, if I enjoyed drawing, I could try getting into tattooing… so I did. 🙂
I decided to take a chance and dedicate some of my free time to it, and that’s how I ended up where I am today.
For almost a year, I was working full-time while doing my apprenticeship at the same time, so it definitely wasn’t easy. But I haven’t regretted that decision for a single day.
Now I’m doing what I love, and I appreciate every client who trusts me.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
One of the biggest challenges in the beginning was finding the time to balance my full-time job with developing my skills as a tattoo artist. It wasn’t an easy journey, but with every tattoo I created, I felt closer to the point where I could truly say that this was something that gave me a real sense of fulfillment.
Along the way, the COVID pandemic happened, and I also became a mother. The tattoo industry isn’t an easy one, so building my own client base and gaining people’s trust also took a lot of time and patience.
Looking back, though, I wouldn’t change a single thing. Even if I had the chance to go through the whole journey all over again, I would choose the same path.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
I think one of the greatest values in what I do is that I get to create tattoos in a style that is truly close to my heart. I specialize in anime tattoos, and anime has been a part of my life for much longer than the idea of becoming a tattoo artist ever existed.
I’ve always loved watching anime and being part of that culture. Long before I decided to pursue tattooing, I was already drawing anime characters, so choosing this direction felt like a very natural progression for me.
It allows me to combine two things I genuinely love — art and anime — and turn them into something I can share with other people through my work.
How do you define success?
For me, success isn’t something spectacular that suddenly sets one artist apart from another. I believe it’s something that is built gradually, step by step, and that the real sense of satisfaction comes much later — when you begin to appreciate not only the final result, but the entire journey and all the work that brought you to that point.
For me, success means that I’m still doing what I love, that people continue to come back, trusting my skills, and that even after years, they still choose me to create their next tattoo. Knowing that someone trusts me enough to return to me again and again is probably one of the greatest achievements I could ask for.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: @inkbyebi
