Local Business Spotlight: Electric Wizard Tattoo (New Braunfels, TX)
Today’s local business spotlight is especially dear to me! Electric Wizard Tattoo is owned by my husband, Joel Valkner, who not only is an amazing human being, but also a solid tattooer who’s been at his craft for over two decades.
This ongoing project of highlighting local small businesses has been so meaningful, and I’ve loved being able to get to know and photograph so many incredible people doing incredible things in our community.
I’d love for you to check out all the businesses featured HERE:
Make sure to check back often as more features will be added regularly.
Meet the Owner of Electric Wizard Tattoo
Allow me to introduce you to Joel Valkner, owner of Electric Wizard Tattoo, a genuine and unique tattoo shop with tons of character located in New Braunfels, Texas.
Not only is Joel an incredible tattoo artist, he also has a wealth of knowledge on the history of tattooing and has curated quite the collection of tattoo history within the shop.
While I might be biased, ask any of his clients and they’ll agree, this shop is the real deal.
All the artists there are incredibly talented and put time and attention into every piece of work.
You’ll not only have a tattoo that gets complemented, but you’ll feel taken care of. This shop makes it a point to be friendly, clean, professional and welcoming to all.
About the Business
Tell us about your business and what you offer.
I want people to know we make good tattoos down here at Electric Wizard Tattoo and we love working with our clientele and really care about what we do.
I’ve been tattooing for over two decades now. I’ve been very, very fortunate to be in a time and place in history where I can tattoo full time and dedicate myself to a trade. I hope that the time I have given and dedicated to this craft comes through in my tattoos and work ethic. I think it’s human nature that we all want to be recognized and validated for what we do, tattooing is no different.
How It All Began
What inspired you to start this business, and how did it come to life here in New Braunfels?
To be fair this is the second tattoo shop I have owned, I sold my first shop when we moved back to Texas. It is still in operation after 14 years, so I guess I built a good foundation for it.
The inspiration remained the same. I wanted to build an environment to create and live in, being a tattooer as well as a shop owner I am in the building a lot, either staying late tattooing or coming in early to work on drawing for clients, or my own artwork, or stopping by on a day off. I wanted to build a space that inspired me and I could control who is in that space. Working for other shops you are at the mercy of the shop owner. Some owners care about their place and the reputation, some run the shop loose with little or no rules. There could be drug or alcohol abuse in the shop. I don’t have to put up with any of that crap, it’s my ship.
We landed back in the area in 2017, we have family up and down the I 35 corridor and a young child that we wanted growing up around family and cousins. New Braunfels was exploding with growth and it felt like a good time to come back to the area get a head of the influx of new people and business.
Serving the New Braunfels Community
What do you love most about serving this community?
I love tattooing the people in this town and the relationships it cultivates. Tattooing is this thing, it’s physical and painful, it’s psychological because it’s just you vs your own head space and physical threshold, and the element of trust between client and artist comes into play as well. You bond with your clients, even on the smallest tattoos. Some people come back and some don’t. The ones that do, those are the people you bond with. Those are your regulars and they keep coming back or stop by on their day off and say hello, just because they were in the neighborhood. If you’re lucky you make a friend for life. I have clients that I haven’t seen or tattooed in twenty years but we still chat from time to time and I know what’s going on in their life.
For me that’s community, that’s what I really live for. That includes New Braunfels, but it’s also every shop that I have worked at, or everyone that I have tattooed over the years. It’s that bond, or that little nod or handshake, these are my people and community. It’s honestly what attracted me to tattooing, the subculture that bond of, hey, I have a tattoo too, you’re one of my people
That’s one of the reasons we teamed up with the Humane Society and started doing our Tats for Tails event. It brings the tattoo community into the mainstream and shows that we are out here and we’re good people. It helps to break this close minded conservative older generational stereo type that all people with tattoos are drug addicts and criminals. We’re just regular people who love our neighbors and pets and we support each other and our local non profits that are doing good things.
Behind the Scenes of a Small Business
What’s something most people don’t see or know about running your business day-to-day?
I think one of the things most people don’t know or see about running a business is the inconsistency of not getting a paycheck every week. Most tattooers are contract workers, so you are kind of your own boss and it’s run like a salon. You pay a percentage or booth rent to work and a lot of the times you’re paying for your own supplies, doing your own advertising and booking.
That’s all stressful enough but as the owner your ass is in a sling for rent and insurance, health license, wifi, alarm, property taxes, advertising and some other stuff I’m sure I’m forgetting. Then double all that because you still need to pay all of your own personal house bills and rent or mortgage groceries etc. People need a day off, or someone calls out sick, or has an emergency? You’re on call, that is if you want to keep the doors open that day (for those of us that don’t have a bunch of employees). So, try not to complain when you walk into a small business and people don’t jump to it, there’s stuff going on behind the scene and people may just be trying to get through the day, show people a little grace.
For myself there’s always the guilt associated with taking time off. I’m not doing enough for the crew, I should be in the shop that day “just in case” someone walks in to get a tattoo. It’s extremely hard to do the things I want to do because I already feel like I’m not doing enough for everyone else. I’m working on allowing myself some grace and taking time off when I want to and it is extremely uncomfortable.
Values & Vision
What values guide the way you show up for your clients or customers?
My work ethic. I feel like that probably shows up for my clients the most and comes out in my work. I actually want to tone it down, no that’s not right…I’m trying to shift my work ethic right now, and focus on being more creative. I feel that my tattoo style, or way I design my tattoos is pretty recognizable at this point in my career. That comes from years of doing things a certain way, a formula. Currently I feel that I need to change my formula up and try to make art without the rigidity of my own perceived guard rails for a while. I’ll still keep my work ethic, that’s my driving force. I just need to change it up, try to get more creative.
I’ll always show up for my client, there is no option not to when I’m marking them permanently. I think I would be doing them a great injustice if I didn’t continue to grow as an artist. Playing with some different mediums and techniques in my art, off of skin and allowing myself to experiment will be good for me. I want to see how that plays into my tattoo design and layouts and changes my application techniques
How to Support This Business
How can the community best support your business right now?
If you want to get out and support Electric Wizard tattoo or any other small business right now, tell everyone you know about us. Grab some cards or stickers and hand them out. Show off that new tattoo that you love, tell your friends and family to go get work done here, or shop at your favorite business. Share our work on Facebook or Instagram and TAG US!!! We love it when you share our work, for the love of all that is holy, tag your favorite artist or photographer, so your friends know who did that shit!
Like our social media posts, save them and share it with friends. Leave us a google review! Come in and get a tattoo, buy a painting or commission us to make some art for you!
Why Supporting Local Businesses Matters
Be sure to stop by for a visit, follow them on social media (links below), and share this post to help spread the love for local!
This place we call home is so special because of the people who make it up.
Without these local small business owners doing their thing, New Braunfels wouldn’t be as vibrant and dynamic as it is.
It’s these small businesses that help give life to this community.
If you’re a local business or community member in New Braunfels and would like to be featured in a future post, feel free to reach out. I’d love to connect!
Electric Wizard Tattoo
880 S. Business 35, #100
New Braunfels, TX 78130
Phone: 830-627-4640
Website: www.electricwizardtattoo.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/ElectricWizardTX
Instagram: www.instagram.com/electricwizard_tx