Today we’d like to introduce you to Drew Harris.
Hi Drew, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
Drew Harris puts his all into the ancient craft of tattooing. He started his tattooing career at Wizard & Co. Il in West Chester, Pennsylvania. In August 2004, Drew began apprenticing under his mentor, Bill “Wizard” Paterson. Drew worked under his mentor for nearly four years before deciding to pursue his own business. With help from his amazing family and friends, Drew opened Double Deez Tattoos in August 2008, located in West Chester, Pennsylvania.
To better reflect each artists’ reputation, Drew changed the name of his studio to Double Diamond Tattoos in 2019. Since beginning his career, Drew’s style has changed drastically. It evolved from a New School /Cartooning approach into a style similar to that of his mentor, Black and Grey Realism.
While he takes pride being well versed in all styles, Drew now spends the majority of his time focusing on the art of Black and Grey Realism. He is always learning and building based off of experience and new ideas. Drew enjoys traveling to tattoo conventions, and has won over 40 awards for various tattoos learning and building based off of experience and new ideas.Drew enjoys traveling to tattoo conventions, and has won over 40 awards for various tattoos and styles from tattoo competitions around the country. Drew molds his style into every completed tattoo to create a truly unique piece of art.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
It has been a wild ride. Starting the business He had next to nothing to his name but determination. He found the location they are in, in 2008 and said screw it lets look. Drew only had maybe $500 in his account and horrible credit. But he knew he could do it, so he borrowed first and last months rent for the location from a close friend, Borrowed second months rent from his brother in law, and his mother and grandmother gave him a few hundred for supplies. When they started he had furniture from his mothers basement in the studio, and old tv from her basement, posters on the wall, an old desk, and a dream. Make it work, Drew started out quick with only taking a week to prep the studio. Then after that he took every angle to advertise and didn’t turn one client away. If you wanted a tattoo that day you got a tattoo. He cant tell you how many times he wouldn’t finish until 4am and opened back up at 11am 7 days a week.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
Growing up art always fascinated me but I didn’t ever see it as a career. I wanted to be a mechanic and loved problem solving. In high school I was a mechanic and also spent a lot of time with my grandfather who was a photographer for his whole life. After graduating high school I was getting tattooed at a studio named Wizard and Co in west chester. It was a very well known higher end studio. Becoming friends with the owner Bill Paterson I accepted a job offer to run the front counter and sign in clients. That quickly led my curiosity to learn the art of tattooing. Now you need to remember back then in 2004 clients didn’t want or know about custom tattoos. You came in and picked art off the walls. So I learned at the perfect time for someone with very little art background because You just needed to be able to copy art background then to be good. After I did my first tattoo I was hooked! It was like problem solving and mechanics all in one career. I pushed myself every single tattoo and still do so today. As I got more comfortable with the art I started transitioning into learning 1 style. In 2016 I threw out all my color ink and said if im going to become the best black and grey realism artist i can I cant be distracted. So i forced me and my clients to inly do one style. That focused my energy to create what i do today
Before we go, is there anything else you can share with us?
Over the years I have learned tattooing is a craft you can not conquer. You can push yourself to become better everyday and rewarded along the way. However no one is a master at tattooing. And that is what is so brilliant about the craft. You try harder and harder just to be humbled that you can still be better.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.doublediamondtattoos.com
- Instagram: https://Instagram.com/dr.drewtat2
- Facebook: https://Facebook.com/doublediamondink
- Youtube: @doublediamondink
