Today we’d like to introduce you to Carl Hallowell.
Carl, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
My first tattoo was homemade. I wasn’t old enough to get a tattoo, much less could I afford one! The year was 1989 and I had only seen one tattoo parlor in my life. My uncle Mike had a couple of tattoos. We watched The Germs and X give each other homemade tattoos on Decline of the Western Civilization. We watched very closely. And then rewound the tape, and watched again. Before long we would spend the weekend locked in my friend Gordon’s room, listening to The Descendants and Black Flag and giving each other little homemade tattoos.
That’s how it began. Over the next couple of years, some friends and I would continue to tattoo each other. One highlight of those early days was “The Paisley Revolution”- about 13 of us got that tattoo, first put on Jeff Hunt by Jeff Johnson, that soon became a symbol of our idealistic, romantic and lyrical youth movement that was as surreal as it was anarchistic, as hopeful as it was destructive. Our band, Sleeping Body, was our ticket out of our banal hometown of Fort Worth Texas. We couldn’t wait to get out. We had, however, built our own culture there, in a place that we saw as devoid of it. We were young, man! We needed energy, excitement, adventure!
We needed a different take on this thing called life. TCU wasn’t cutting it. The pinnacle of popularity and success was that which resembled everything else. That wasn’t where it was at for us- we thought there was room to be impulsive, emotional, wild. We thought that surely there must be somewhere out there where there were kids just like us. We craved experience and the unedited life. We found it, out on the open road, from the New Jersey Turnpike to Highway one. We found it in Lincoln Nebraska and Chicago Illinois.
Finally, we found it within ourselves. This led to a move to Arnold Maryland, where we moved into the very special “169” house owned by Tonie Joy. We had recorded a seven-inch record for his Vermin Scum record label the previous winter in Baltimore Maryland. On the porch of 169, I tattooed many of our friends – just little homemade tattoos that were I guess just these little symbols of personal power. They weren’t works of art and they didn’t aspire to be. They were tattoos! I often forget this prelude to what would later become my profession and provide my livelihood. I never forget, however, that Tonie had graduated from these little homemade things and was getting tattooed over in the city by Dan Higgs, who is arguably the most influential tattoo artist of the 1990’s.
An earlier band I was in, Wednesday’s Child, had opened up for Higgs’ Lungfish when I was seventeen- When I saw what I thought to be a hobo with a thick beard playing pinball in the sunny haze of the afternoon light in that downtown Denton bar- upon closer inspection of this character who drew me in so completely- I found that he was covered in the most beautiful, bright, black, interesting tattoos that I had ever seen. Turns out, a lot of this was work put on by none other than Don Ed Hardy. And this man was no hobo. This man was Dan Higgs, who instantly became my number one inspiration towards one day being tattooed with similar imagery- the imagery of the American Traditional Tattoo.
Has it been a smooth road?
Learning to tattoo professionally was one of the hardest things that I have ever chosen to do. I like to fondly recall the first five years as “one continuous nervous breakdown”. Of course, on the outside, you must remain cool… I started in 1995- not a real long time ago but it was just different then. I was tattooing winos who didn’t really care what they got, hookers who were all getting the same pimp’s name, cholos who sought to intimidate you to get a lower price, bikers who threatened to beat you senseless if they didn’t like the way the job turned out.
Luckily- I was still tattooing my friends, who gave me a freedom to practice without the risk of getting pummeled. And, of course- there were many great customers too- normal people with strong beliefs, powerful drives, and a yearning to wear their hearts on their sleeves.
We’d love to hear more about your business.
After 23 years, I am now proud to practice my tattooing by appointment only out of my private studio room at Heart in Hand Gallery, Elm Street Tattoo’s speakeasy tattoo studio. I tattoo almost exclusively in the American Traditional and Japanese Traditional Styles. The American Traditional style is typified by standardized imagery, bold lines, heavy black shading, and bright color. The Japanese style, or Irezumi, demands a historical knowledge of the images, an understanding of esoteric Buddhism, and a non-dual approach towards tattooing the body.
These are rich heritages and are not taken lightly, not here today gone tomorrow, not dependent on outside art forms. These are complete systems in and of themselves. These are almost a religion to those who revere them. You often hear these types talk of the “Tattoo Gods”. I am very happy with the work I have learned how to achieve. But my greatest accomplishment is satisfying my customers, making them happy and proud year after year, tattoo after tattoo. Some of these folks I have been tattooing for over twenty years. I am so proud that they choose to come back to me, again and again.
I provide a platform to converse with my customers- from them I learn about their desires- what drives them to be tattooed, how do they wish to appear- and then I share my understanding of the tattoo imagery, the meanings, the correct way to apply it and the appropriate sizes, placements, and layouts. In this way, I work with each and every customer to create a superlative tattoo. “The customer is always respected” is my motto, in lieu of “the customer is always right”. I take great pride in having a vision and being able to share it with my customers, who are the true stars of my work.
Is our city a good place to do what you do?
Dallas is an incredible place to tattoo. Deep Ellum has attained an iconic status as the home of Dallas Tattoo Shops. Texans are self-assured, confident, and bold. They are also gracious, loyal, and polite. The economy is strong and people have good jobs. Everything is bigger in Texas- you might say on the eighth day God created Texas!
Contact Info:
- Address: 2614 Elm Street Suite #120 Dallas, TX, 75226
- Website: www.carlhallowell.com
- Phone: 817-937-2518
- Email: carl@carlhallowell.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/carlhallowell/?hl=en
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/traditionaltattoodallas/?ref=bookmarks
- Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/carl-hallowell-dallas
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