Tattoo shop in Millvale provides outlet for creativity

Jenny Mendak

The exterior of Hometown Tattoo shop on Grant Ave in Millvale.

What makes tattoo shops so unique, whether Hometown Tattoo or one of the many others located nearby, is that there is a different aspect in every shop. What does not work for some can work for others and that’s the beauty of having a unique craft and job. It’s more about how strong of a relationship is built between artist and customer. Body art shops have so much potential to make anyone’s body image dreams come true, making competition not as scary as it may seem in different fields. 

“There’s enough “food” for everyone to go around. There’s enough artists for different people. If you build it, they will come. I think competition can be scary, but it’s what drives people, so it can be really healthy,” Jenny continues. 

Jenny explained that one unique feature in her shop is being able to have the sense of community support and love. Being located at the heart of the town, community support can truly make or break the business. Hometown Tattoo is dedicated to being actively involved in that community support. . For example, the pair hosts a “friendsgiving” every year for Thanksgiving.

“We host a ‘friendsgiving’ every year and leave it open for whoever wants to come. Whether it’s down the street or wherever, you can come have some dinner and hang out with us. I think there’s not a lot of places that do that, not a lot of tattoo shops that cook for a whole community for Thanksgiving,” she said. 

Unfortunately, Millvale is prone to having significant small business turnover or shut downs. Over the course of the years, different small businesses often come and go within the community. So it’s easy for small businesses to worry about that happening to them,, but this is not the case  for Hometown Tattoo. 

“I don’t get afraid of the shop closing or anything happening. It’s because we have Millvale, a great community and great community support. We love being here. Our name is ‘hometown’ for a reason, because we want to be a hometown for people. So we don’t worry about too much turnover for this industry, but I also understand turnover as far as being in a low income area for other businesses.”

It’s especially unique because of the specific characteristics of Millvale. When the shop was introduced, Jenny and Mark had few struggles with growing it to what it is now. Their biggest struggle, however, was the buildout. This is a plan of construction for the building in mind. Unfortunately for the pair, this resulted in a setback.

“We had a timeline of the buildout that we wanted to do and we did not meet our requirements. It was a lot more than we expected so our buildout lasted a couple more months than we wanted. That was our biggest setback. So we ended up having to open up business on one half of the building while we were still finishing up the walls and stuff on the other side,” she said. 

What started as a childhood dream, became an adult reality for Jenny. At just 12 years old, Mendak glanced at her sister’s 17 magazine picturing a woman completely covered with tattoos, piercings, and flamboyant hair colors. 

“I remember thinking about how beautiful she looked and that was it for me…The first time I ever went into a tattoo shop, I was 15 and I was sold. I told everyone that when I grew up I wanted to work in a tattoo shop. I wasn’t worried about going to college. I wasn’t worried about doing any of that stuff. I already knew what I was going to be when I grew up,” she explained. 

And she did just that. Where a couple of years ago she could be seen as an employee of Three Rivers Tattoo, also located in Millvale, now she is the part owner of her own. It can be assumed that the only push for becoming part owner is her sense of childhood dream accomplishment, but the real push came becoming a mom. To provide for and have enough time for her children was a huge requirement for Jenny when it came to her dreams. 

“I wanted to be able to be a single mother while making more money and also be able to tend to doctors appointments, sports, and things like that. So the true push was wanting to be able to make a better life for my kid,” she said. 

The adjustment from focusing on simpler tasks in your own area of talents, to now managing the lives of others and your business, is a significant one. It’s especially hard transitioning from just focusing on you and your family’s well being to now worrying about giving enough so that others have the ability to do the same. However, Jenny thought it was exciting and “way cooler” than being a traditional employee.

“There’s an idea that the extra work does so much more than the work you were doing before. Sometimes it’s like, ‘OK, I have to stay late and do bills and paperwork and get stuff ready.’ But in the long run it’s like ‘OK I can keep a roof over my kid’s head and put clothes on his back so the overall outcome is so much better than being an employee,” she said. 

The “extra” work no longer just benefits Jenny anymore, but the work of art the staff creates for other people is in many ways magical. Years ago, the tattoo was more geared for the ‘working man’ but now all sorts of people from different backgrounds look for a creative outlet. 

With the significant popularity increase tattoo and piercing shops have received, it has created memorable characters and stories for Jenny to which she feels incredibly grateful to witness. The act of receiving body art has grown into something more than just a simple procedure. In a way, body art is not only an outlet for creative expression, but also emotional expression.

 “I believe in the universe. I believe those people come at the right moment. They come to get their ears pierced, but we’ll sit back here and talk for like 2 hours. And I feel like I need that intimate conversation, which makes me feel uplifted,” Mendak explained. 

For those who receive body art after emotional turmoil has occurred, Jenny has seen it and comforted those dealing with it. 

“I recently had a customer who lost a family member and the first thing they did when they came in was tell me. I told him that I was sorry, but I also feel like when we lose someone we never officially get over it as much as we adapt to it. There’s a small little chip on our heart for that kind of loss. It’s okay to feel sad about that.” 

“There are women who lose their breasts due to breast cancer and get this giant beautiful chest piece because it makes them feel feminine and powerful.”

“Even if it’s a 6 year old when they get to choose something that significant and big for themselves for the first time as an individual. When they look in the mirror after it’s done, they stand so tall and they look so proud of themselves in the mirror. It’s a really rewarding feeling to give to someone. Sometimes I turn away because I’m about to cry,” she said. 

Even though stories that accompany the people who step inside the shop are beautiful experiences to witness, the power that lies in the hands of those who create are also a big piece to those stories. To be able to make others feel better about their self image is a rewarding experience.

“Especially with tattoos some people will look at themselves with their tattoos and it’s almost like they feel like that’s what they should have always looked like and that you gave that to them. I just think that’s a powerful thing that we provide.”

With that being said, Jenny truly loves her job because, “I’m lucky to wake up to not only have a job that provides for my family and home, but something I enjoy everyday. I spend most of the day laughing and having fun which I don’t know many other adults that have that. I’m super grateful for all of it,” she said.