Today we’d like to introduce you to Timothy Howell.
Hi Timothy, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
I grew up in San Diego with a passion for art since I was young, I always wanted to be a collector and surround myself with inspiration, as a teenager I pursued street art and put a heavy focus on that until I became an adult, at 21 years old I pursued an apprenticeship and landed one with an artist from Mexico named Luka (RIP) he took me in and I began learning the fundamentals of street shop tattooing and learned the work ethic that it took to be successful in this business, after working in a few more shops around town I slowly built a name for myself putting a strong emphasis on work ethic and knowing my value when it came to tattooing people. Around the time I hit 10 years in the business it was simultaneous with my son being born and I was inspired to plant my flag as a true San Diego artist and someone who can bring a different perspective to a small tattoo business in the city, Port Side tattoo was born out of passion and drive to preserve San Diego tattoo history in a modern shop, my wife found the location in Bay Park and we couldn’t be happier, we are near the water but not so close that we deal with the hustle of the tourist style life near the beach areas, I’m proud to say I’ve been tattooing for 17 years now and I am making my mentors proud, we have the best crew at Port Side and I couldn’t be more proud of the work they do as well. Come see us 5 days a week in beautiful Bay Park
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Life comes with struggles but I’m thankful to have my wife on my side. She always has my back and it allows me to deal with adversities a little bit easier especially when it comes to business and running a street shop here in San Diego, within the first 2 years of owning Port Side we dealt with the shop flooding from heavy rain, a window being kicked in by a homeless person and then of course the Covid pandemic, I’d say the pandemic was the biggest struggle because we were forced to close for about 8 months and if you know anything about a small business you know that every day you are open is important in order for your business to be successful. Thankfully we had support from friends and family and we got thru the tough times and I’m proud to say we are thriving and business is doing better than ever.
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
I personally specialize in “traditional” style work so anything with an outline, black shading and color if you choose, A huge passion of mine is taking peoples old work and tying it together and making it cohesive, when we are young we just get tattooed and sometimes there is no direction in the work but I like to take what people already have and tie it all in together to give it a more mature look that will suit the person where they are now in life. I also love doing single sitting tattoos or really anything the customer wants as long as it’s in my wheelhouse
Are there any books, apps, podcasts or blogs that help you do your best?
I honestly listen to a ton of podcasts or interviews with entertainers such as Rappers or Comedians. I relate to those stories and I connect with them because they choose a not so normal path in this life like I did. I enjoy gathering insight on what it takes to be an entrepreneur and survive in this wild world while pursuing passion but also having a family and what it takes to balance it all
Contact Info:
- Website: https://Portsidetattoossandiego.com
- Instagram: Tim_howell_pst
- Twitter: Portside_tattoo
- Youtube: PortSidetattoo
