Expat life often inspires you to reinvent yourself – and sometimes in unexpected ways. For expat partner Daniela Garcia, it meant trading computer screens for the buzzing hum of tattoo machines.
Her first reinvention
Originally from Mexico City, where she once ran a bakery, Daniela decided to change lanes when she relocated to Toronto in 2023. “I studied network engineering and software programming, which I enjoyed to a point,” she explains. “But in the end, I wasn’t convinced I wanted to spend my days staring at a screen and tapping on a keyboard. I came to the conclusion that I’m more of a ‘people person’ than a ‘computer person’.”
Bolt from the blue
When Daniela relocated with her husband to New York in the fall of 2024, she was already considering doing something completely different. But how did this former baker find her way to tattoo art? “Well, I’ve always loved sketching, drawing, and painting. Then one day, an ad for a tattoo art course just randomly popped up in my socials,” Daniela recalls. “It wasn’t completely out of the blue. Years ago, my friend was training to become a tattoo artist – it was a job that appealed to me, but I didn’t pursue it at the time.”
Creative sparks fly
As that old John Lennon song goes, ‘Life is what happens to you while you’re busy making other plans’, so Daniela continued down another path – but sometimes the universe gives you a nudge. After seeing the ad, she was inspired by the creative, entrepreneurial energy swirling around her in Brooklyn and decided to sign up. “It was an intensive two-week course, Monday to Friday, 10am to 7pm, that I’d happily recommend to others,” she says. “They also supply you with all the materials you need – gloves, fake skin, needles, ink, and more – to keep practising at home.”
Her first customer awaits…
The studio that ran the course is located beside Bryant Park in midtown Manhattan, so every morning Daniela joined the crowds on the subway. “It felt amazing to be heading to such an iconic part of the city and feel like I’m part of it all,” she says. “I’m still learning my craft, but I’ll soon have my first ‘customer’ – my husband! Luckily for me, he likes tattoos. For the past few weeks, I’ve been practising on fake skin, and once we’re both satisfied, I’ll ink him!”
Photos: Daniela practising her craft on fake skin
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