Candis

Candis can’t help but grin as she describes her favorite tattoo.

“I’m a huge anime nerd. One Piece is one of my favorite anime, and there’s a guy on there called the ‘Surgeon of Death’—his name is Law, and he has hand tattoos. And I was like, ‘He’s my husband”—she starts laughing—“so I need his hand tattoos on me!” 

Candis thinks her coolest tattoo is a set of octopus tentacles crawling up her leg—though her most sentimental is a short phrase written in her grandma’s handwriting.

“My grandma passed away, and the letter that she left me—it was talking about my apprenticeship and just following my dreams. I was really struggling.”

Candis had dreamed of being a tattoo artist since she was seven. In her early 20s, she started apprenticing, but pursuing the art meant adopting major discomfort.

“You don’t get paid during your apprenticeship, so I was struggling financially. I was stressed that I couldn’t afford my bills. I literally couldn’t afford to eat. I was scared that I was going to have to give up my dream, you know? And that was really breaking my heart. 

“So when she passed away right in the middle of the pandemic and everything, I was on the verge of quitting, and I got this letter from her at the funeral that was talking about my artistry and stuff like that and just pretty much saying, ‘You can’t give up. I know you can do it.’ The last sentence of it was: ‘I know you can do it’”—that’s the affirmation that now rests on Candis’ forearm. 

“When I’m feeling really stressed, I’m able to rest my head against it and remind myself: ‘I know I can do it.’”

During the COVID era, Candis was anxious to get back to the shop, often reviewing her notes and building tattoo machines. Then taking them apart. Then putting them back together. Then taking them apart . . . 

“One of the main things my mentor taught me was how to build bar needles, so I know how to solder needles together—because that’s how they used to do it. And I know how to build coil machines from scratch. I know how to take apart a coil machine, find out what’s wrong, and fix it.”

It wasn’t quick, but Candis did eventually get back to the shop. She became an artist. About four years ago, she moved from Florida to Colorado—with six cats in tow. She is the founder and owner of Black Sheep Collective tattoo shop in Fort Collins and loves her new home state.

“Honestly, I just like the feeling in the air here better. I don’t know how to really describe it, but the energy here is just much more positive.”

To young Coloradans, she says, “Don’t move to Florida, because for some reason everybody in Colorado wants to move to Florida. It’s not worth it. Don’t do it. You’ll come back.”

And to newcomers, she advises: Respect the nature. Respect the lifestyle. Be aware of black ice, and make sure your shoes have good tread.

“I wish I knew how slippery snow was,” she muses, grinning once again. “ . . . I definitely ate the ground a couple times.”