Today we’d like to introduce you to Shim Mi Kadota.
Hi Shim Mi, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers?
I started handpoke tattooing the summer after my freshman year of college. I wanted more tattoos but didn’t have the best first experience at a street shop. I thought that if I couldn’t trust a stranger to tattoo me, who better to trust than myself.
At the time, I was a pre-nursing student taking classes like microbiology and anatomy. But really, it was just a career path I told my parents I would pursue. I’ve never been one to plan out the future. As cheesy as it is, I do my best to follow my passion, what makes me feel good at a given point in time. I didn’t realize the full potential of tattooing until my first appointment with Lauren (@dopetoast) in which she facilitated a space that allowed me to feel innately connected to myself.
The slow repetition of entering the needle into the skin often has me falling into a meditative state with a narrow focus of being intentional with each poke. Tattooing allows me to intertwine personal ideologies into my practice. Within my craft, I quietly strive for the client to feel reconnected to themselves by giving them the space to take charge of their body. For me, this looks like practicing continuous consent, being attentive to their body language & allowing them to ask questions along the way.
Implementing this into my home practice in College Station, I started to learn a lot more and became more serious about tattooing. I reached out to Lauren via email asking if I could shadow her. She gave me the opportunity to learn how to safely tattoo and taught me little techniques that go a long way.
When I saw that No Good Tattoo was hiring, I sent in my application without thinking anything would come of it. But here I am, working alongside Lauren and a bunch of talented artists. It’s a pleasure to work at No Good and to have co-workers challenge me in the best ways possible.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
‘Ohayo’ is Japanese for ‘good morning’. When I struggled with depression, my dad always told me to wake up early and go for a walk – that the morning light would make my sadness go away. In some ways, he was right. I think that there is a lot of natural healing that derives from the morning light & it’s wild to think about how we, as humans, are impacted by the Earth and her offerings.
I don’t think my depression has ever really left; I just have better tools to help cope with it. I hit a crossroad junior year when I was supposed to be studying for the nursing entrance exam. I was at a point where I knew that I wanted to tattoo full-time, but doing so would be disrespecting my parents’ wish of becoming a nurse. I felt a deep sense of emptiness, not knowing where I was going.
Thankfully, I’m in a really good place and both of my parents are supportive now. I graduated from Texas A&M in December 2021 and started working at No Good Tattoo in January of this year. It’s exciting to be in a field where there is always something new to learn, and I feel like I’ve already grown so much. It’s reassuring to see tangible growth. To know that what I’m doing isn’t futile. That I’m meeting my needs and forming meaningful relationships along the way.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
I’m proud to be a queer Asian American. Being a first-generation Asian American makes me very grateful for my parents and everything they’ve endured. My parents worked hard to get to where they are today and provided a good life for me growing up. It’s a privilege that I get to be doing what I love and also have it pay my rent. I’m proud of my parents and the person they raised me to be.
I think being open about my identities helps my clients understand my values – to be honest, tender and intentional with everything I put forth but to also have fun along the way. I hope that every client leaves feeling a little bit more like themself. That they felt secure and even nurtured during our time together. There’s a lot of complexity in our lives but getting tattooed can be a transformative experience.
The crisis has affected us all in different ways. How has it affected you and any important lessons or epiphanies you can share with us?
I think an important lesson I’ve learned is to accept everything as it comes. Nobody asked for a pandemic, but here we are – living through it. We adapt and persevere as we accept a new way of life. Accepting my emotions as they are, not twinking them in any way, is important for my well-being. It’s been a call for self-reflection and has helped me heal from hard times but also celebrate times that deserve to be celebrated. Acceptance is intuitively paired with releasing control, specifically of parts of our lives we don’t have control over but we try so hard to control. Relinquishing control has helped me be more open to opportunities and ideas I wouldn’t have thought of otherwise.
Contact Info:
- Email: ohayopokes@gmail.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ohayopokes/
