Annie Motel: Tattoo Artist / Painter / Filmmaker / Santerita (young female Santero)

@littleanniemotel
@moteltattoo
littleanniemotel.com

The scene:
We are sitting in Annie’s tattoo shop, six stories above downtown Los Angeles, and she is giving me a tattoo during our interview. The piece we chose together is one of her recent original works of art. Annie is my recent girl crush spirit animal and here’s why: she’s a total fucking badass at living life fully expressed and creating endlessly from her heart. Join us in the shop as we talk about how a sensitive, kind-hearted female learns to set boundaries to become a fierce business owner in this day and age.

Highlights:
+ I experiment with tattoo gun background noise in this recording…you might hate it but what Annie has to say is worth it
+ Tattoo business name: Little Annie Motel Tattoo Parlor
+ Annie has a huge collection of paintings and is manifesting an art show
+ Annie tells the story of how we met: I talked her into a hot tub
+ Art History is her first love (mine too)
+ Dad was an art teacher and encouraged her to not give up making art
+ Tattooing for nine years, lived in LA since 2009, grew up in Seattle
+ “I got what I like going on…I’m well-blended”
+ Books tattoos through instagram DMs
+ Referencing artists at an art show using only their instagram names
+ Annie loves old Hollywood
+ Good read: Gentlemen Prefer Blondes by Anita Luz (A. Luz)
+ Kindness and being walked on
+ Learning to be protective and use masculine energy
+ The challenge of being taken seriously as a female business owner
+ Learning hard lessons about not getting paid
+ “If I were a man, I wouldn’t be having this problem”
+ Dropping the energy of being upset and moving forward
+ Hating depending on people
+ Making short films and learning to make your own scores
+ Women are inherently creators (of literal life) and that energy propels us
+ Been a filmmaker since 2013, biggest influence: John Waters
+ Youtube channel: Annie Motel, 27 short films
+ “Motel Vampire” just won an award at the Roma Film Festival for “Best Horror Short”
+ How we use ourselves as our own muses to experiment with creating
+ Annie describes the tattoo she’s giving me
+ Artist collaborations that are unique to the moment and personal
+ “The more you do it, the better you get”
+ Shaping your life by the way you live your art
+ Tattooed in Italy and fell in love with walking to work
+ The freedom of being your own boss…and dealing with personalities
+ Everyone who works for her represents her business
+ Showing up on time and being kind shouldn’t have to be a conversation
+ Drake says it best: “A boss is a role that I’ve grown into”
+ Her role model: The Godfather - show no emotion, don’t let them know your next move
+ Depression happens because you’re focused on the past
+ Anxiety happens because you’re focused on the future
+ “If you’re upset by something you did in the past, just say, “That was the old me’”

A taste:
“I like to be a nice person and I like to be sensitive, but I also don’t want to be walked on. A big part of the last 10 years has been me being very protective in a way and putting on a very tough exterior in a way and assuming masculine energy to be a business owner. […] So I have to be really tough when on the inside I’m just a sweetheart.”

Favorite sayings:
“God is good.” “God’s got it.”  
To self: “You got this - don’t worry. It’s fine.”