Rotten Peach Studios, located at 1480 S. Water St., opened Aug. 17 in the University Plaza.

Allyson Blessing, 27, and Erin Haines, 27, own the business, which doubles as a tattoo studio and art gallery.

Both owners work full-time at their studio creating and tattooing custom tattoo art.

“It’s all-consuming,” Blessing said. “If you want to tattoo, it’s something you have to take very seriously. You take work home with you on a nightly basis.”

Blessing and Haines said they found inspiration in their friends to create their “multi-functional art space.” Ceramics, jewelry, clothing, and painted and repurposed artwork made by local artists in the community are displayed in the lobby.

“We have so many other friends that have such artistic talents,” Haines said.

The owners plan on rotating artists in the gallery “to give other people opportunities to display and sell their art,” Blessing said.

Blessing and Haines said they wanted a big lobby space in their studio to host people and hold benefits, drag shows, band performances, clothing events and charity work.

For Haines, “having the opportunity to really feel like I can make a difference in my community, having a voice and actually using it” is what it means to be a small business owner.

“We’ve had a lot of other women reach out to us and say that they feel very inspired by the fact that we’ve had the guts to step up and do it, something that we wanted to do,” Blessing said. “[It] seems scary, but it just took a bit of investment and a lot of hard work and I’m really proud of us for doing it.”

Haines and Blessing want people to know Rotten Peach Studios is a queer-friendly space.

The interior of their studio space is painted pink to “get rid of the status quo” and lessen the “intimidation” of tattoo shops, according to Blessing.

“We want it to be warm and inviting and I want anyone to feel welcome here,” Blessing said.

The name “Rotten Peach” came from a poem Blessing wrote. She said she “always had a thing for peaches.” Blessing designed the logo, and the two women are currently working on a sign for the front of the building.

“[The name says] ‘Female tattoo artists: we’re a little rotten, we’re a little sweet,’” Blessing said.

Blessing and Haines said they are the only artists tattooing in their space, but they are looking to adopt two more artists through booth renting in the next couple of months.

“I’m really looking forward to the people I can work alongside, being able to share experience, have a couple more perspectives and hopefully have some people in here that we can learn stuff off of,” Haines said.

Blessing grew up in Rootstown but has lived in Kent for the past seven or eight years. Haines grew up on the South side of Kent and currently lives in Stow.

“We’re both a big part of the Kent community,” Blessing said. “We want to keep that alive.”

The entrepreneurs were roommates after high school graduation and worked together at a hotel job. They said they always talked about owning a tattoo shop together.

“It was always a dream of ours to open up our own space,” Haines said.

A normal work day for Haines and Blessing starts at home, then they come into the studio around noon to set up for their clients, seeing an average of two people per day, according to Blessing. Once they finish at the studio, the women continue to work from home and draw for the next day.

“It’s a non-stop cycle as soon as we start our work week,” Haines said.

According to IBISWorld analysts, the market size of the tattoo artist industry in 2022 was $1.5 billion, and the market size increased a 3.8% average per year between 2017 and 2022.

“We are very fortunate to be living through what some people have called a tattoo boom,” Blessing said. “It’s kind of like the renaissance of tattooing. Everybody seems to want tattoos right now.”

Utilizing social media for advertising, Haines and Blessing share their booking information and pictures of their custom pieces. They are working to create a website to make booking appointments more accessible to everyone, according to Blessing.

The Kent community and interested clients can stay up to date with Rotten Peach Studios through Instagram: @rottenpeachstudios, @erinhainestattoos and @allykat_tatts.

Lauren Bischof is a reporter. Contact her at [email protected].