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Green Bay tattoo shop provides a Sanctuary for creativity

Co-owners reflect on mission, goals as they approach two years in business

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January 13, 2025

GREEN BAY – A tattoo shop in downtown Green Bay seeks to create a welcoming environment for all ink enthusiasts.

Eric Wagner and Kate Kerscher – co-owners of Sanctuary Tattoo (125 N. Broadway) – said following Wagner’s apprenticeship, they wanted to provide a different kind of experience than that of other tattoo shops.

“I’ve been in the tattoo industry for about eight years now,” he said. “I served a four-year apprenticeship at a nearby shop here in Green Bay. I got all the knowledge I wanted, and personally, I felt like I could go above and beyond what they could offer.”

Wagner said he and Kerscher’s idea for their shop was different than most – to provide a serene, relaxing environment for their customers.

“I wanted to gear my studio around a more comfortable and (luxurious) experience for my clients, and that means just being a more open person,” he said. “Providing water or drinks to kind of smooth out the process of getting tattooed and understanding that getting tattooed is already kind of intimidating – I wanted to take the edge off.”

So, in April 2023, the couple of seven years turned business partners said they decided to open a literal sanctuary for tattooing.

Tattoos for all

Combating a traditionally intimidating industry, Kerscher said she and Wagner went a different direction to help make tattooing more accessible to everyone.

“We didn’t want to be like a biker shop,” she said. “More and more, everybody has tattoos now – it’s almost weirder to see somebody who doesn’t have tattoos. (But) tattoo shops are still kind of a taboo thing. They’re kind of scary, kind of intimidating – not always the most comfortable environment.”

Beyond himself and Kerscher, Wagner said Sanctuary Tattoo employs three other artists all with varying skill sets.

“There is Ricky – (who) I brought to the team about four months ago,” he said. “He specializes in realism and portraits and Chicano art style.”

Wagner said he also has an apprentice named Dylan, who will be finishing up his apprenticeship with him this year.

“He’s been under my wing for almost two years now – he actually was part of the start of Sanctuary…,” he said. “Then we have one more, her name is Bert. She does abstract illustrations and she’s been a painter her entire life. She has a very creative mindset.”

Employing artists that vary in style and skill set, Wagner said, affords Sanctuary the opportunity to offer a wide variety of services.

“Offering a full variety of styles here is what I wanted to do in the first place,” he said. “I didn’t want to rush myself into finding those artists I wanted. I honestly let (them) come to me and let my intuition kind of make my choices.”

Wagner said his skill set is “very versatile” – adding that the only things he doesn’t do, style-wise, are realism tattoos and portraits.

“It’s a little bit too personal for me and it’s very time-consuming,” he said. “Obviously, I want to broaden my horizon with those techniques of realism. But if we’re talking about my specialty, it’s traditional-style tattoos.”

Co-owners Eric and Kate say they decided to open their own tattoo shop to create a comfortable and welcoming environment for everyone wanting to get tattooed. Submitted Photo

An advantage to his versatility, Wagner said, is his ability to take a client’s vision, enhance it and run with it creatively.

“I always tell my clients, even new clients, ‘Hey, all I need is an idea from you, and if you really, truly trust my design process, I can create something unique and special for you,’” he said. “I like to be creative (and) give people their own tattoos in personal ways – add in elements of their life, or what this tattoo means to them, making it unique for them. That way they can share it with others (and say) ‘This is uniquely for me.’”

An ‘unmet need’

Kerscher said she and Wagner decided to set up shop in Green Bay because they noticed a gap in the area’s tattoo industry.

“A lot of places around here are a little bit more old-school,” she said. “We really wanted a place that was an open and bright, super comfortable spot with really trustworthy artists.”

And, with the addition of Ricky, Kerscher said the Latin and Hispanic communities have an artist they can go to who’s part of their culture.

“The Chicano community, the Latino and Hispanic communities here (were) so, I think, unmet, as far as having a tattoo artist and a good realism artist that can do that work, who’s fluent in Spanish and able to fully communicate with people,” she said.

Filling needs and skill gaps in the tattoo industry is especially hard, Kerscher said, because of the lack of formal education required to become a tattoo artist.

“You do have to have a valid tattoo license within the State of Wisconsin through the Department of Safety and Professional Services, and then we also have to be licensed as our own tattoo studio through the Brown County Health Department,” she said. “But traditionally, learning how to tattoo is something that’s passed on through apprenticeships.”

Kerscher said sometimes, aspiring artists have to pay to be an apprentice and that some tattoo shops charge as much as $7,000.

“We’re moving in the direction where people aren’t charging for apprenticeships anymore, and realizing that apprentices are, long term, an asset to them,” she said.

Wagner said the tattoo industry can sometimes be described as “cutthroat” – adding that established artists would oftentimes gatekeep the lessons they’ve learned, making it hard for new tattoo artists to learn.

“It was rare for someone to even be able to teach you how to do the techniques of tattooing,” he said. “Nowadays, with social media and the popularity of tattoos – TikTok and all that (has) shown the behind the scenes of what goes into being a tattoo artist.”

Though, Wagner said nothing beats the real-life experience of working in a shop.

Inspiring creativity

On top of curating a welcoming environment for all, Kerscher said she and Wagner will also lean into the artistic and creative aspects of tattooing both in their craft and their space.

“That’s something we are really passionate about,” she said. “It’s in our business plan – we really want to be a sanctuary for all people of all artistic communities. We have spots here where sometimes we sell other people’s artwork and places where people can sell salves and balms for healing and stuff like that.”

Kerscher said she’s currently training in cosmetic tattooing.

“(I’ll do) eyebrows and lips, eyeliner and then eventually, I’m going to learn freckling as well,” she said. “There’s micro-shading and micro-blading, but then there’s also the Nano-brows – which is something I’m really excited about. It’s done with a tattoo machine and just an ultra-fine needle, and you make hair-like strokes (similar to) the micro blading, but (you have) a lot more control, and it’s a lot less damaging to the skin.”

Though Sanctuary’s products and services are geared toward the tattoo community, Wagner said he and Kerscher hope their shop can serve as an inspiring place for other creatives.

“Down the road, too, we talked about hosting art classes for young adults (and) for kids who have an artistic mind,” he said. “You can use your imagination and creativity to make a living. Whether it is tattooing, or it is painting, or whatever it might be – (we want to show) others the outlet of being creative and being successful.”

For more on Sanctuary Tattoo, visit the shop’s Facebook page.

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