RICHLAND, Wash. – A local tattoo artist opens her first shop at 25 in Richland, all while raising two children and her teenage sister. Jenna Noble, the owner of Nobletats in Richland, tells me art and tattooing are her passions but said family always comes first.
Noble says she grew up in a challenging environment in San Diego. Five years ago, she told me she could leave and move to the Tri-Cities.
She is raising a son and a daughter as a single mother. She tells me her teenage sister was still in San Diego at the time and lacked a good education and parental figures. She knew she had to do something.
“When I found out she was getting older and having a little bit of trouble in San Diego, I didn’t want that for her,” said Noble. “I wanted her to see that coming from our lifestyle. We could still come out of it and make something of ourselves because, you know, our family members aren’t.”
Noble said she wanted to show her teenage sister that her lifestyle wasn’t normal. Noble wanted her sister to take nothing and turn it into something. The transition from moving was hard for her sister, but after Noble opened her business, it allowed her to refocus and build a future outside of that environment.
Noble says having her sister witness her life in the Tri-Cities opened her eyes to what a good work ethic can do. She hopes to continue to set an example for her children and sister.
In May of this year, Noble opened up her first tattoo shop. She said she got her love of tattooing from her older brother. Noble says her love of art goes back to when she was doodling in class and that love never stopped. Her brother introduced her to tattooing, eventually taking Noble as an apprentice for five years.
After that, Noble got her tattoo license. She said after tattooing in shops around the area in recent years, she decided to open her shop in the Parkway in Richland. Opening the shop came with challenges, but she said she had help.
“There’s a lot of resources out there,” Noble said. “Luckily, we have phones and stuff now and Google, so that did help guide me through a lot of this. I also reached out to my mentor when I needed clarification or to know how things went regarding taxes and stuff like that.”
Noble said running the shop and raising a family makes it difficult for her to make time for herself, but she wouldn’t have it any other way. Once she moved into the shop, her family got to work painting and getting everything ready to open up.
