Life & Work with Dominick and Emily Bowers

Today we’d like to introduce you to Dominick and Emily Bowers.

Hi Dominick and Emily, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
My husband Dominick and I both were born and raised in Pennsylvania. Shortly into our relationship my husband faced a serious illness where his intestines ruptured and he almost lost his life. We spent countless days in the hospital and I remember sleeping on a chair next to his hospital bed, just watching him make sure he was still breathing.

He faced major surgeries, and intensive healing, and thank God he survived. It was a long road of recovery and he actually had about 13 inches of his intestines removed. We became a solid team after experiencing such a traumatic experience so soon into our relationship.

After many discussions about future plans and goals, we realized we would never be able to fulfill the dream of owning a Tattoo Shop by the beach if we stayed in Pennsylvania. We literally packed a bag each and left the state to chase a dream. We faced MANY hardships, lessons learned, shut doors, and disappointment, but we never ever gave up on our dream. We went from Pennsylvania to California, where we ended up almost homeless living out of a person’s garage with a mattress on the floor. Once we realized that California was not going to be where we wanted to plant our roots we again packed the few items we had, hopped on a plane, and headed to Florida.

Florida had a different vibe to us, and we felt this was our start. We stayed with a loving family member for a short while, and then we slowly saved our money, worked hard, and eventually moved from Orlando to Jacksonville, and then to Atlantic Beach. We got our first apartment here which was a small 1 bedroom and that was our start. We saved, stayed determined, and when a door closed it was up to us to find an open one. My husband has been tattooing professionally for over 17 years. He has poured every ounce of himself into developing, building clientele, perfecting his craft, as well as continuing to be eager to learn new techniques to evolve his skill further. We had the opportunity to invest in a location that we loved.

After the years of saving every penny, we took the chance and invested every dime we had into creating our dream Tattoo Shop, and I’m so glad we took that chance. We now have a unique and beautiful Tattoo Shop close to the beach, a team of artists who have truly become family, and a deep-rooted appreciation for dedication on never ever stopping to chase your dreams. We often sit back and reflect on everything we went through, and the challenges we faced, and how everything in one way or another led us here.

We are extremely grateful and blessed, and we live every single day grateful for the life that we not only built together but for making our dream a reality despite the challenges we faced. The Ink Chamber Tattoo Parlor was created with nothing but love, hardwork, dedication, and determination.

We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
I think anytime you’re chasing a dream, you’re going to experience challenges along the way. We faced MANY. As I mentioned before, shortly into our relationship my husband got seriously ill. He obviously was unable to work since he was admitted into the hospital, and at the time I was working as a telemarketer (I hated that job), but I eventually quit because I would catch myself almost balling my eyes out trying to make sales calls because I was so afraid he was going to die while I was at work and because my main focus wasn’t on my job, my sales dropped and I really wasn’t making any money.

Once he was released, and we started the journey of healing at home we couldn’t afford where we were living and ended up moving to a new home with a roommate so we could try to get on our feet. All he wanted to do was a tattoo. It was all he talked about. So he started right back up tattooing with staples going down his stomach from surgery. He wasn’t fully healed, but he was determined to get right back into what he loved. I always deeply admired his work ethic and passion for tattooing.

Even though we bounced around from Pennsylvania to California, then California to Florida, he never ever stopped pursuing his passion.
I think there’s something to be said about a man who has faced defeat in so many ways, and yet I would watch him pick himself up, dust himself off, and continue forward. Through the challenges there were times I wanted to give up, I’ll be honest about that, but I never did. I never did because Dominick would motivate me. I would watch everything he did, and everything he went through and he taught me a very valuable lesson.

I’ll never forget him saying to me that “In life, you have to live your dash” when I asked him what he meant he said, “on a headstone, there’s the year you were born, and the year you die. Then there’s that dash in the middle that separates them. You gotta live that dash, those are the days that matter the most.” He truly taught me to never give up no matter what hardships we face, and we did just that. We never gave up.

As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
The Ink Chamber Tattoo Parlor is a Tattoo Shop, and we have a solid team of artists who each truly do their own unique style. Dominick specializes in Black and Gray as well as Portrait Realism. Our Artist David also specializes in beautiful Black and Gray Realism work. Our Artist Tiffany does stunning fine line detail work as well as stunning floral tattoos. Our Artist Mike is insanely talented when it comes to Lettering Style tattoos and Graffiti art.

So everyone really has a style that they thrive in, but they will all also bounce ideas off each other and share different techniques with one another. It really is beautiful to watch them all work so closely with one another. Our shop really caters to not only providing our clients with beautiful works of art that they can proudly wear forever, but we also really try our best to provide our clients with an overall wonderful experience from the moment they enter our doors, till they leave.

We treat our clients like family, because we deeply appreciate their business, and we love getting the opportunity to hear their stories and connect with them on a deeper level. I always am interested in hearing people’s life stories and how the experiences people go through really shape them into the person they are today. I love that we get the opportunity to hear some really amazing stories, all while giving our clients beautiful pieces of artwork.

What does success mean to you?
I love this question! I believe success is defined by growth. I believe success is every baby step you make while moving forward. As long as you are taking steps to better your life, chase your dreams, and strive to be a good person, that is a success.

I don’t believe success is defined by how much money you have or what car you drive or what items you own. Success, to me, is really defined by how truly happy you are in life and taking the steps forward to really being a good person at your core.

Contact Info:

• Email: [email protected]
• Instagram: Www.instagram.com/theinkchambertattoo