In March, Shania Larocque will celebrate six years as a business owner doing what she was born to do.

Her love of art and tattooing began at a very young age. Shania says that she first wanted to be a tattoo artist at seven, and her love of drawing goes back even further.

“I think I started drawing at the same time I started talking,” says Shania, as she recalls her fourth-grade experience with a doodle board.

“I was the kid in school who would get in trouble for doodling too much. I remember in grade 4, they had this board on the wall that they made for the entire class. They would say every time you feel overwhelmed, go on the board and make a drawing. By the end of the year, there was so much of my work on it that they ended up giving me the board.”

This love of art continued into her teen years. When she was 15, she got hired to paint the mural at the mental health centre. Then once she graduated high school at 17, she worked in a nursing home for three years, where she would often hone her craft during down times.

Once Shania turned 20, she decided it was time to start tattooing.

“That’s when I first picked up my tattoo machine and it was the best decision I’ve ever made.”

Before having a permanent location, Shania started off by driving around with her supplies and doing tattoos at people’s homes. After six months of this, she apprenticed with a couple of different tattoo artists. Soon she realized that with a growing clientele, it was time to go off on her own. 

But the road was still a little bumpy for Shania, as bad luck followed her around from location to location in the form of leaky roofs. 

“I started in the back of a craft store with my ex mother-in-law, then I moved into a bigger location where the ceiling started to leak. Then I moved to another location and after two years, the ceiling started to leak again.”

Shania’s luck would change once she’d find a room at 197 Main Street, right by Frank’s Furs. She’s been in the location for almost two years now.

Shania is a vibrant personality who brings her love of tattooing to each appointment. You can find Shania’s Sinful Tattoos on Facebook where her hours are posted, but even if your availability doesn’t line up, she still urges you to reach out and let her know, because maybe she can work something out.

We want to thank Shania for talking to us and telling us her story. That’s it for another edition of the Northern Heat Report. The place you come to listen to the stories that have not yet been discovered.