Meet Chance Webb, Artist and Enterpreneur in Fort Worth

Today we’d like to introduce you to Chance Webb.

So, before we jump into specific questions about the business, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
When I got the opportunity to learn the tattoo craft, I had no idea what I was about to embark on. My dream, as most artists probably is, had always been, to be able to support myself with my art. My grandmother was a painter and art teacher. She taught me to paint and illustrate. Art has always been a big part of my life. When you’re a child dreaming of the world you wish to live in you don’t think of all the small things that have to happen to make your dream a reality. The first time I saw a tattoo I was 12 years old, it was 1983. It was on a friend of my dad, who had been in Vietnam, he had a panther crawling down his forearm, tattooed while he was there. I asked him how it just stayed there, he told me they did it with needles and that it was permanent. I was eager to find out more but my dad shewed me off. When I was about 16 my cousin moved to Texas from California with her boyfriend who had a lot of tattoos, I was intrigued again, where do I get one?! I knew of a tattoo shop close the house and got up the nerve to walk in the place. I looked around at all the art on the walls and pics of half-naked girls with tattoos all over them. And then out comes this biker dude asked me if he could help me, I said, I wanted a tattoo, he just looked down from his glassed and said, “how old are you?” Apparently not old enough I said. He laughed and said “nope”, he let me peak in for a little while then asked, “don’t you have somewhere to be?” I took that as you need to go. I went back a few more times just looking at all the flash trying to get tattooed.

Finally at 18, he let me get my first tattoo, a panther crawling down my shoulder blade, it hurt so bad I thought I’m not ever doing this again. But I did. I also told him I would be doing this someday. After experiencing getting tattooed, the tattoo bug had a hold of my dreams of being the artist I wanted to be. I would watch the tattooers at the shop by my house they didn’t seem to have any worries they were just living life creating art. The dream was there but the tools to get there were not. Everywhere I went everyone I asked had no answers. That was 1990. Fast forward through dead end warehouse jobs and junior college to 1995. I happened to have some extra cash and went into the same tattoo shop in my neighborhood and there were new faces. They seemed more interested in me than in my money. I talked with Steve the artist and his wife Deloris for hours about how he got into the business and if he could point me in the right direction. He told me to come back in two weeks and the owner would be in I could talk to him. I was ecstatic, I went home and realized I hadn’t drawn anything in years so I got out a sketch book and started drawing everything in sight. I got the apprenticeship and was running the shop 3 months later. I spent 3 years there before moving on to work at 13 different shops located across the US over the next 11 years. I worked with countless tattooers from all walks of life. I tried to learn everything I could from each one of them. Some of it was what not to do, but all very useful. I opened my first walking shop, Empire Tattoo Parlor, in 2009.

Has it been a smooth road?
I opened Empire in May of 2009, my first business, I staffed the shop with 4 talented, experienced artist and all was going okay. Not what I had projected, but I was surviving. In 2012 I decided that I had made some mistakes in my approach to opening the shop and decided to take only one artist Jeremy Wagoner and move into a small private appointment only studio, where I worked for about 4 years. I had a lot of free time working by apt, this gave me the opportunity to learn about my client’s needs, myself and really understand where I wanted to go with my future. I had always seemed to have customers, I didn’t struggle much even when other tattooers and shops did, I seemed to have an edge. I wasn’t sure what it was until I moved into that small little appointment only studio that I realized what I had that so many other tattoo artist didn’t. I started spending more time with my clients trying to understand their point of view so that I might relate and somehow realize what was different about my approach. I found myself reading a book, “How to win friends and influence people”, by Dale Carnegie, after reading the book I saw in myself, some of the characteristics described in the book, like appreciation of others. I realized that if I amplified my appreciation for others and stopped judging them for being them that I would be paid back in ways I would never have guessed. I was mostly nice to people in the shop, but outside the shop I was completely opposite. If someone approached me outside the shop I pushed them away like I was too good for them. I was a tattooer, you don’t speak to me unless I speak to you first, kinda attitude. Which a lot of tattooers have, unfortunately for the business it’s a trait passed down from tattooer to its apprentices. I think this attitude towards the public has been the demise of a lot of tattooers and will continue to be so until they realize that the public are the ones paying their bills. I soon realized that by me giving people the appreciation they wanted they would support and promote me as a person in return supporting and promoting my art which will inevitably turn into revenue for me to live the lifestyle I always dreamed of having. It seems too good to be true and there is a tremendous amount of work that goes on behind the scene like dedication to learning your craft, but appreciation is the key to being successful in the tattoo industry and being a self-employed artist.

So, as you know, we’re impressed with Fade To Black Tattoo Company – tell our readers more, for example what you’re most proud of as a company and what sets you apart from others.
“I want to provide an environment where people are free to discover and create themselves without judgement. A place where all are welcome and where your vision can be a reality. My goal as a tattooer is to create a beautiful piece of art that connects with the client so they can wear it with confidence. Fade To Black Tattoo Company is Near South sides first tattoo studio located just two blocks south of I30 at 209 S. Jennings Ave. We are more than just your average tattoo studio, we are dedicated to our craft, our clients and stand behind the work we produce. We provide a comfortable, creative environment for our clients to express their ideas and expectations, so that we may give the best tattoo experience possible. We are composed a group of artist and idealist with an enormous amount of talent, experience, and vision here to provide our clients with a variety of different perspectives. We want to connect with the client so we can understand their ideas, provide a positive tattoo experience and give the client the tattoo they have envisioned.

Let’s touch on your thoughts about our city – what do you like the most and least?
The metroplex is my home. I have traveled and lived all over the US, I always end up back here. I feel comfortable here, like hanging out at your grandma’s house kinda comfortable. I like the big Texas sky on a moon lit night, and the enormously long summer we have here is awesome, I’m definitely not a fan of the cold. The community here is amazing and to me seems to be one of the most understanding places I’ve lived.

Contact Info:

• Address: 209 South Jennings Ave.
• Website: fadetoblacktattoocompany.com
• Phone: 817-262-3009
• Email: fadetoblacktattoocompany@gmail.com
• Instagram: chance_webb
• Facebook: chance webb

Getting in touch: VoyageDallas is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.