Meet London Battle | Tattoo Artist & Cremation Jewelry Assistant

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

Hi London, what’s one piece of conventional advice that you disagree with?
That you need to start from the bottom and put up with bullshit until you earn your spot. A common piece of advice in the tattoo world but it’s unrealistic. Like when they told you in high school that your college professors will be even more strict than they are. That was almost the exact opposite of the case in college. In apprenticeships, you’re going to have to do cleaning and administrative work of course, but you don’t need to be bullied and taken advantage of. I don’t get that mentality. This isn’t the marines.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
I always think my art is all over the place, but it overall conveys a style that lets viewers know immediately it’s me. I like macabre, creepy and ghoulish while also loving pastel, cute and whimsical at the same time. My aesthetics definitely clash. I’m excited about building a clientele that appreciates that in my tattoo career. It wasn’t easy. Covid definitely put ahold on things. My first apprenticeship didn’t workout. It was for 9 months and I felt like I wasted 9 months of time, working for free and being degraded. I was so discouraged to start the search for a new one but I had to. I already took a brave step by stopping myself in the tracks of becoming a teacher because I knew that was not my passion. I couldn’t give up. Overall from the time I dropped out of my teaching credential to finding my final apprenticeship,it’d been 3 years. I only have one life like to live and with the pandemic cutting so many lives short, I thought it’ll be impossible for me to get where I am now but I’m so grateful for being uncomfortable and working through it.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
Oh man, a week is too much presssure, I can make a great itinerary for a day though.I live in Long Beach. So we’ll start with magnificent coffee from Rose Park Roasters with their homemade vanilla syrup while we wait in line for breakfast at the breakfast bar where we’ll share a Belgium waffle, shrimp and grits and some deviled eggs. After that, we’ll head over to Feline Good Cat cafe to re-up on our serotonin while our food digest. For lunch, we’ll find our way at the 4th horseman for a pizza and beer while we look at the dark art and oddities inside at the dark art emporium they share the space with. We can keep the party going at the mezcalaro for fancy mezcal and tequila cocktails or go to supply and demand if there’s a show happening. To top the night off, we’ll get ice cream at Long Beach creamery. Other honorable mentions for the rest of the week include morning nights;vegan dim sum. St. Noodle bar for Thai, and rosselbock for German food and beer. For drinks, district wine, the blind donkey, and fickle wood ciderworks. And lastly, to hang out, first fridays in bixby knolls, or 4th street Friday’s on fourth street or the hangar.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
I have two people who definitely deserve credit for helping me get to where I am. First is Gina Murphy, she is the owner of Close By Me, a cremation jewelry company that hired me during Covid. I have the worst luck in interviews, I’m extremely soft spoken and not the biggest advocate for myself. She immediately told me she wanted to hire me out of all the candidates and I was in shook. While working for her she admits she wants her employees to supersede her. Her enthusiasm and optimism for life while working with death is such a unexpected breath of fresh air I’ll be thankful for until I meet her in my next life. And secondly, Steven Saturn, my tattoo mentor. He wasn’t my first mentor and he of course didn’t need me accept an apprentice with everything going on in his life at the moment but he did. I knew he was genuinely caring when he didn’t want me to set up or break down supplies for his appointments, just practice on drawing. He pushes my skills and comfort zone to be my best self.

Website: Londonbattle.com

Instagram: Ghoulcompany