Meet Kellee Klinock | Cosmetic Tattoo Artist

We had the good fortune of connecting with Kellee Klinock and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Kellee, what led you to pursuing a creative path professionally?
This is an interesting question to me because it was a fairly complicated journey for me accepting that being an artist was where I need to be.

Growing up I was a creative. I naturally have spacial reasoning. So I liked craft, and fine arts and I played music. But I also grew up in a community that did not, as a group, value creative or technical careers as valid. Art and craft was considered a decent hobby and it was valued to be well rounded—but it was not a serious pursuit to dedicate your life to. The group valued MBAs, Drs, lawyers, engineers… you get the picture. At the very least every person should have a college degree. Minimum standard.

I didn’t actually know this about the community until I was 18 and moved to Boston. I went to a trade school there called the North Bennet Street School for Piano Technology. It was an incredible experience! But Basically, my community there was entirely Harvard, MIT, BU (etc). And when it was my turn to share what brought me to Boston I was *literally* laughed at. Ok fine.

I later move to AZ, working at ASU school of music. Socializing and dating in the community… I did decide to go to college eventually. So I worked my full time job and went full time to MCC. About 18 months into that I get married.

Things get complicated when you get married. At least they did for me—and glazing over the details, the thing my then husband said to me was that he would not stay married to a women without a college degree so I’d better finish.

Whoa. I intended to finish, of course, but what an informative moment. I was not good enough until I had a certain resume. Without going into too much detail, I felt a lot of pressure to pursue white collar career paths. I thought I would do something in writing or graphic design. I was heavily involved in my exhusband’s political fundraising career and invested a lot of my time in that.

Towards the end of my involvement in that, in October 2016, I attended one of our client’s professional conferences. It was a Radiology Conference that the Buttes. I’m like 36 weeks pregnant and miserable. So I sit down and make small talk with a harmless looking teenager. Except he was a genius teenager working on AI to detect prostate cancer at UCLA. And he spends an hour describing in full detail AI and how our world is going to change. This is the first time I am hearing of it at al—And it is clear that the only thing we’re going to have left as humans to compete! Is creativity. He who is the most creative is the one who will compete/survive/thrive. Creativity will be the door to happiness and freedom.

I wasn’t immediately thinking about myself when I was full worried about AI and the future of being human. I had a 4 year old and one more on the way. I was wondering how I would ensure they had the creativity to survive the future.

What I concluded was my boys needed a WALDORF EDUCATION. Because creativity is its entire purpose.

A year later my oldest son was in a Waldorf Preschool.

The cool thing about joining a waldorf school is you are joining a community, not just sending your kid to a school. And because Waldorf is about the creative human spirit—it was a community full of artists and people who VALUE creativity.

I hit the ground running with this community. I fit in so well and we spent a lot of time doing handwork together. It was so healing to me to be noticed and valued for my natural abilities—I felted some mean-ass fairies. Lol

It was also a huge shift to believe that making the world a beautiful place was a perfectly worthy life purpose—among the most worthy I would now argue.

Being loved for your natural abilities is such a healing experience. Because of this I started valuing myself and all the ways I show up in the world.

Around the same time I had some cosmetic tattoo work done and LOVED it. I realized I had this unique education in craftsmanship and 7 year career doing something painfully detailed… I now valued myself and believed pursuing an artistic career was worthy.

In an a-hah moment I realized I had the trifecta: cosmetic tattooing was something I believed in and could sell, I had the skills to be good at and something I would LOVE doing.

So I jumped in. I have poured my whole soul into my work and am absolutely obsessed with everything I do.

**this is me acknowledging plenty of people in my former community may very well value blue collar and creative careers. It just wasn’t my experience .

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
I was among the first two Artist’s in Arizona to offer Machine Nano Hair Strokes Brows. Aka “nano brows”.

This technique is very different from the popular technique called Microblading. Microblading is when a technician uses a small blade to create incisions in the skin and fill with pigment where MACHINE nano brows uses a tattoo machine and tattoo needle to implant pigment without opening the skin. I started as a microblader. But after a few months I recognized its limitations. MACHINE nano Brows is the answer to the problems inherent to Microblading—Nano Brows has superior long term results, it serves all skin types and it preserves the integrity of the skin.

It is also easy to remove later on if someone decides they don’t want it.

When I started there were few to no trainers in the US. I worked remotely when an artist in London and taught myself a lot with research and creating an incredible network of artists around the country who share info, support and inspire either other instead of gatekeeping and gossiping. And I try to pay that forward to other artists who have the courage to ask me a question—I will always answer to the best of my ability if someone has the courage to reach out.

The biggest challenge I had was living through a fairly traumatic divorce and that I was a full time mother with 80% custody of my children—no help and schools were shut down.

I was starting from the absolute bottom professionally during the most painful time of my life. And I had no one to help me with my children—who needed me. I was all they had. —it also gave me no option but you go all in and make it work.

Our custody arrangement left me with 8 days a month to develop as an artist in one of the most difficult tattooing technique and build a business in a highly competitive and market saturated field. .

So I did. I had no choice. any time I wasn’t with my children I was 12 and 16 hrs straight with clients. I had to.

When I wasn’t with clients I was a singular single mom of two small boys.

I worked like this-at a level 10 with no days off, for two years solid. Not a single day off. Yes, I did burn out. It took a toll on my relationships, my mental and physical health.

I lost a lot—actually all of my preexisting relationships. Working like that was exhausting and the friends I had at the time could not relate. They were mostly kept women with only their children to care for. So when I show up to every gathering and fall asleep on the sofa, or am not extroverted and helpful enough, instead of seeing me and all I was carrying, they were offended. I cut a lot of people loose. I had no choice.

But anyway, some how I did it! I stood out enough to become a very skilled cosmetic tattoo artist with a book of business.

And It got me noticed by a group of successful artists opening a luxury Cosmetic Tattoo Studio in Keirland Commons called DAELA.

When Haley and Chloe, the owners of DAELA Scottsdale, called me a made me an offer to join them, it was a no brainer. These women were moving into my area which a force—they had an entire organization behind them and as dollars I could only dream of.

And in my unique situation, I needed to not have the weight of being a business owner any more. I’m grateful for the work I did—it was worth it. Because of it I was offered an exclusive opportunity to relax and enjoy being an ARTIST without the weight of also being a customer service rep, a web developer, a marketer, a book keeper, an accountant… I’m so happy to not being doing it alone. I needed support and I feel supported being at DAELA. It’s a unique situation to be ina. Work culture where everyone brings value and we appreciate each other. Any time I need support I know I can turn to Haley and Chloe and they’ll back me up. I have already become a better artist in a the three months I have been with them and I truly believe I am going to achieved 10x as much with the team as I would be able to by myself. The future looks brighter than it ever has.

So I don’t have a brand message but as a human I would want to tell aspiring artists one thing—no one is coming to save you. You have to save yourself.

So don’t wait for permission. Go all in and do what it takes. No holding back, no imposter syndrome, no waiting for things to align. Put yourself out there one step at a time and allow the path to unfold before you.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
First of all— if we’re BFF’s we’re gonna be into some type 2 fun first.

I would front load the week with my favorite hiking and paddleboarding spots.

We’ll drive north. We’ll start by cliff jumping at the Crack, then stay the night in Sedona to hike in the morning—like Bear Mtn and then spend the evening getting weird around town. Have a nice dinner and wine. Stay a second night.

Wake early to drive north to catch a fairy up horse shoe bend to paddle board, stopping to camp on the shore.
The next day we’ll finish our paddle boarding. And drive back to Phx.

That night we recover. Staying at the princess and pampering at the spa.

Day 5 we’ll wake up and spend time at the pool.

Then we’ll go shopping at Keirland for something fresh to wear out. Stop by and make our own lip color at lip lab… get pretty and go out for a night dinner and drinks. Start at Second Story- for dinner then see what happens next. I’m kind of a person who lets the night unfold versus planning.
We might feel like chatting until late, or end up somewhere like Walter Wherehosie to dance. Who knows.

The next morning we’ll wake up and recover with a relaxing brunch at Signh meadow. That’s one of my favorite places in town.

We’ll spend the next day being good—no working out, no drink alcohol or coffee. No sun bathing— Just hydrating and getting ready because if you’re my home girl enough to do all of this together, I am tattooing your brows and eyeliner before you leave. And you HAVE to prepare for 24-48 hrs minimum before getting a cosmetic tattoo. Well nourish and hydrate, meditate and do yoga. Go to bed early and tattoo you before you leave.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
My Parents—without my dad paying for my first training, and my mom inspiring him to offer me that support, I would never have come this far. ❤️❤️❤️

Instagram: @kellee_ink