Toby has been an artist his whole life. Toby and Nisha originally met as teenagers in Ashland, Oregon in 2001 while Nisha was going to SOU (Southern Oregon University). Toby was born in Oregon and Nisha was raised three hours south of the Oregon border on the Hoopa Reservation in Northern California. After Nisha graduated college they decided to move to the Bay Area to pursue Toby’s creative career. They were both laid off during the recession in 2010, Toby from his sports-marketing job in Marin County and Nisha from a San Francisco photography studio working for the world renowned wedding photographer, Hanson Fong. Toby started looking for the next thing that would satisfy his need to create. A good friend convinced Toby tattooing was it. Toby brought it up with Nisha and although she had no idea what that would look like, she decided to go with it. Up to that point Nisha had seen Toby make and do amazing things that she had previously questioned if it was possible, so this time she just said, “Yes”. Nisha later wished though that she had hesitated long enough to do at least one google search: “tattoo artist hours.” Already having three children at home at that point, the coming years of nights and weekends without Toby was difficult on everyone.

*A sculpture Toby made at his sports marketing job for the winter Olympics in Canada, 2010

They had hoped to move back to Oregon, so instead of doing a tattoo apprenticeship in CA, Toby got his tattoo license in Portland, OR. Oregon is one of the only states that requires this type of licensing. Nisha and their children were still living in California while Toby attended tattoo school in PDX. They all returned to Oregon in 2012 and now live in the Portland house that Nisha’s grandparents purchased in the 1940’s.

Toby tattooed at three different tattoo shops in California and in Portland, OR before landing at Hawthorne Ink on Hawthorne Blvd. While he buckled down and worked on building his portfolio and gaining clients, Nisha was busy raising their five children (some she birthed, some she didn’t, but love just the same), and taking care of her elderly Grandmother who lived with them for the last four years of her life. The long nights and weekend hours Toby was gone took even more of a toll on their family. It was a lot of hard work, healing and growth (individually and together) over the years for Nisha and Toby to still be married and get to where they are now.

*Nisha & Toby’s five children outside the tattoo shop, 2017

When the opportunity came up to purchase Hawthorne Ink, Nisha- having learned her lesson- asked a question, “Is the tattoo shop breaking even?” As it was not in the “red” (just barely)… they went for it. Nisha figured the only place to go is up! They had a foundation to improve on and Toby had a design vision. Nisha knew they could create a beautiful space that fosters healthy attitudes and acceptance, and she also knew that she could run the thing. There have been other business endeavors for both Nisha & Toby but now they were ready to work on something together, for the first time. Both are using their strengths and relying on the other to help with their weaknesses.

Nisha and Toby officially became the owners of the tattoo shop in June of 2016. Toby worked to transform the tattoo shop on the inside as well as on the outside. Toby removed walls, painted and transformed the space, constructing his design. During the same time period, Nisha created a website to feature their vision, implemented an online waiver (no more paper waste) and set up a credit card system so the tattoo shop would no longer be “cash only”- or in other words, not accessible to all. They wanted to create a place for community where their clients feel welcome and cared for, their artists feel included and invested, and everyone can embrace the success of this unique tattoo shop. With that idea in mind, they reopened “Tattoo 34” in January 2017, rebranded and beautiful.

Tattoo 34 came from Toby’s first business: Three Fourths Designs and it also happened that Toby was 34 years old at the time, along with the first shop being on Hawthorne and 34th.

*The first open layout shop space, 2018

Owning the tattoo shop has been really rewarding for Toby, Nisha and their children. Toby now sets his own hours that allow him to spend time with his kids after school and on the weekends. Nisha is using her organizing, marketing and customer service skills to run the (mostly) behind the scenes business stuff and took over the scheduling for all of Toby’s tattoo appointments, making sure his clients are taken care of while ensuring Toby is getting paid what he is worth and has enough family time.

Toby and Nisha have built- and continue to improve on- what they want their tattoo shop to be. Working together has been a successful adventure. They are a good balance for each other, in and out of the tattoo shop, and are always working at becoming stronger as business owners and a couple who have been together now for over 20 years. They continue to look ahead for their family, business and community.

They purchased a commercial building on Hawthorne that is the tattoo shop’s permanent location as of January 2022 where they will have full control over the space (inside and out).

Tattoo 34 is a tattoo shop that believes in the power of community, connection, and change. The tattoo shop continues to stand for that and finds ways to incorporate the values of Nisha and Toby as Indigenous people, in to their business. Owning their own location is another way to ensure they can live their values.

*The inside of their permanent location, 2022