SHELBY – Travis Buckner and his staff are bringing meaningful ink to Shelby and the surrounding area.
The Golden Cobra tattoo and piercing studio, 153 Mansfield Ave., officially opened for business in Shelby at the beginning of December.
Space on Mansfield Avenue was ‘ready to go’
Buckner said he received keys to the building in October and after two months of work, the studio was ready to welcome clients.
“It really wasn’t that much (work) honestly,” he said. “It was basically ready to go.”
Alexx Silverman, Golden Cobra body piercer, said the new studio provides an opportunity for professional growth.
“There’s no piercings around this area,” he said. “(We wanted to) get in a new area, find new people to tattoo and pierce and just better ourselves.”
Buckner is award-winning tattoo artist
Buckner’s love for the art form dates back to his time working as a correctional officer at the Richland Correctional Institution.
“I just started getting heavily tattooed while I worked there,” he said. “So I just decided this was something that I wanted to do.”
Prior to opening Golden Cobra, Buckner said he apprenticed at Thistle and Oak tattoo studio in Shelby and finished his apprenticeship at Outer Mind Creations in Mansfield.
Buckner said his favorite aspect of tattooing is giving someone a piece of art they’ll keep forever.
“Sometimes it’s (tattoo) real personal to them,” he said. “Being able to help create something that lasts a lifetime for a person is a good thing.”
His work has earned him awards in the traditional and most unusual tattoo categories at the Villain Arts and Middle of the Map tattoo conventions.
Silverman balances two careers
Silverman has been piercing for almost three years, while also working in emergency medical services (EMS) at Mansfield Works, a Cleveland-Cliffs steel manufacturer, for the last 13 years.
“I’m passionate about it (EMS), but I love doing this (piercing) too,” he said. “It’s fun to manage both. It’s tough to do both, but it works out.”
The opportunity to offer services in a new area is something Silverman said he was most excited about.
“We just wanted to make ourselves bigger and grow, instead of staying in one spot,” he said. “We wanted to do our own thing and flourish from there.”
One of Silverman’s favorite aspects of his work is providing an opportunity for people to express themselves, whether it’s through a piercing or tattoo.
“A lot of people look down on tattoos, but it’s getting better,” he said. “It feels good to make the other person feel good. Our clients are our favorite part.”
Golden Cobra turns dream to reality for Thomas
Joining Buckner and Silverman is Kaley Thomas, apprentice at Golden Cobra, who said she first met Buckner during a tattoo appointment.
“I quite obviously have a few (tattoos) from him (Buckner),” she said. “I started seeing him pretty regularly and he told me about this place.”
Thomas said she’s always been passionate about art and becoming a tattoo artist. When Buckner secured a storefront, she realized her dream was about to become reality.
Meeting new people and hearing their reasoning behind a tattoo are the kind of experiences she said are most enjoyable.
“There’s so many people out there with different stories,” Thomas said. “I just think it’s really cool to get to hear all of that and get to know these people.”
She said she also enjoys the studio’s location, easy-going environment and staff, which also includes tattoo artist Sam Stricklin, who was unable to attend the interview with Richland Source.
Community response and future goals
Buckner said they’ve received a positive response from the community and have remained busy despite the holidays typically being a slower season.
“In sixty days, we turned this into a tattoo shop and got all our inspections and everything done, so things went pretty quick,” he said. “It’s (business) been pretty good.”
Although their story on Mansfield Avenue has just begun, Buckner hopes the studio can be a stepping stone for the Golden Cobra to grow.
“We’ve had a lot of artists contact us to come work,” he said. “So there is plans to get bigger.”
Golden Cobra is open Monday and Tuesday by appointment only, Wednesday and Thursday 12-6 p.m., Friday and Saturday 12-8 p.m. as well as Sunday from 1-5 p.m.
For more information about the studio, visit the Golden Cobra Facebook page.