We had the good fortune of connecting with Jayna Won and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Jayna, maybe we can start at the very start – the idea – how did you come up with the idea for your business?
I came up with Angel Kisseses along side Sabrina Drescher my business partner. We had met and discussed how hard it was for handpoking female artists to get hired as residents when we had started. We wanted to create a shop that was welcome in of anyone and everyone and had an inviting comfortable feeling for residents clients and guests. Additionally I used to call her tattoos Angel Kisses which is what inspired the idea for the name!

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
I tattoo full time and I co own the space. As an artist, I started out by handpoking which is the technique I used exclusively for the first 4.5 years of my career, only in the past 2.5 years have I picked up a machine. I am not sure what sets me apart from others but what I do know is that my intention is to make my clients feel as comfortable as possible. I try to make them feel as thought they can tell me what theyre thinking about the entire tattoo process without feeling like they are disrupting me in any way. I got here professionally on accident. The whole thing was not my intention, I just happened to fall in love with this wonderful form of art and connection while I was a college student. I think that the reason I call it an accident was because I didn’t really see a professional “in” for myself. This was due to not really seeing any handpoke artists and also not seeing any black or brown female artists in the tattoo spaces I entered. Once I started doing this professionally full time, I was lucky enough to be supported by so many peers. I learned that as positive as mine and Sabrina’s intentions are and were, our way of tattooing, or at least the way we run our shop isn’t for everyone, which is something we very much respect!

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
If my best friend was visiting, I would go get a room at a fun hotel like the petit ermitage so we could have a fun pool day while its hot. I would make sure we would go to the beach too and have a beach day with our friends preferably paradise cove. We would eat sushi of course, I would probably bring them to Miya Sushi which is my secret all time favorite sushi spot in Valley Village. We would also go see some live music, right now Im really enjoying the live shows of Frank Pellegrino. We would have to go to L&E oysters and have a drink and a snack then walk around the reservoir before bed.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
I always credit Liz Kim the owner of Jelly LA with how far along Angel Kisses jumped off the ground. When we had started she offered us any advice and help we needed. But also a sense of community that we will always be eternally grateful for.

Website: https://angelkissesstudio.com/

Instagram: https://instagram.com/angelkissesstudio?igshid=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==

Image Credits
Photos Taken by Tolago, Paris Helena, and Joseph Matick

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