Meet Sara Eve Rivera | Tattooer, Visual Artist & Community Business Owner

We had the good fortune of connecting with Sara Eve Rivera and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Sara Eve, how do you think about risk?
On your average day, I am a planner. I love lists, researching and diving into topics. However, as a small business owner, I have really had moments of risk when making big decisions about the long term vision for my business, PMA Tattoo. The first 2 years we rented a modest storefront in a very busy road/neighborhood. It was very small and manageable. However, when my landlords changed and signs were not looking good with the new landlord, I decided to pursue a more permanent location in a different neighborhood.

Financially this was a big commitment and risk. The commitment was also big physically since to make it happen, I also had to move into the residential/upper floor of the building, dedicating myself to being here anytime of day. Dangerous for a person who often works beyond shop hours. It was also risky due to the urgency and massive time constraint we had to pull off this endeavor. We ran a Kiva Loan, sponsored by The McKees Rocks Community Development Corporation, poured all the savings into, and with the help of loved ones and community we moved both home and shop into one big building.

This risk paid off so far. I was able to minimize the businesses bills and keep an eye on the shop’s impressive collection of plants throughout the pandemic. The risk and struggle present in the beginning got us in touch with our local community, local resources and ways we could contribute to the community in return. I think back to how scary those times were, but I am glad we took well calculated, educated and guided risks. Doing so has brought us blessings we did not dream of from the start. Risk makes you creative.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
Getting to this point in my career was quite the challenge. I did not see anyone similar to me doing what I wanted to do. I wanted to be a tattoo artist. I grew up creating art thanks to my mom, she is a visual artist. I found tattooing through my dad, thanks to him getting a new tattoo. It took 16 years for me to get to the point of running my own small business, in a permanent business location which I live above. To have a secure work and living situation is something I could not always say I have had. Especially when food and money were scarce during my apprenticeship years.

I am happy to see now that there is a growing diversity in the local tattoo community, which was not there before. The artists coming into the community have beautiful art to add to the community and it has been fun meeting and networking with them. I am happy to see accountability, education and support as we all grow as a community.

I also enjoy being a coverup tattoo artist, which can be quite rare to find. I love helping clients transform things that were once painful memories or embarrassing moments into art they can wear far into their future. I love collaborating and learning from every coverup I do.

I often times cannot believe me and my business have gotten this far and grown so much together. I truly started at the bottom and worked the front desk of shops for years, I had multiple apprenticeships and deep hardships. It has made me truly appreciate every day of peace that my clients and I can experience at PMA Tattoo each day.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
When visiting Pittsburgh, I highly recommend Phipps Botanical Garden. There are local as well as exotic plants, glass sculptures, and environmental education. Weekday mornings are a great time to go, you can even stop at The Porch for a breakfast sandwich and coffee before strolling the gardens all day. Later in the day I would suggest going to Onion Maiden for dinner. Whether you are vegan, gluten-free or an omnivore, they have delicious food with a fun metal theme.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
There are so many people who deserve a BIG shout out <3 Of course my loved ones. My parents, birth and marriage, were instrumental in supporting my community business as well as me as a person struggling to balance it all. My Mother, Michele and Father, Daniel, are both small business owners and have taught and lended a hand with so many wiiild small business adventures. The Federoffs/Panicos, my in-laws, have been beyond supportive and have encouraged and believe in the vision from the start.

My now husband, Andrew Federoff is phenomenal. When I first opened my business, we were only a few months into knowing one another. He has been supportive and grounding throughout all the long nights and early mornings. Though he is the first to admit PMA Tattoo is not his baby, we support one another’s dreams and separate pursuits equally. He is such a great sounding board for all my big dreams and ideas.

Community-wise, the organizations I have met in Mckees Rocks have been overwhelming with support and resources. The Mckees Rocks CDC sponsored our Kiva Loan, securing our permanent location in the neighborhood. The Zellous Hope project has included and connected us with so many opportunities. The Sto-Rox School District helped to get us in touch with the after school programming to start an After school Mural Club. BlackTeaBrown Suga Network has been the source of great brainstorming, community collaboration and support. Pure Grub got us in touch and connected with a food bin to assist with the food insecurities in our neighborhood.

I could go on and on. I feel like we would not be here 6 years later without community <3

Website: www.pmatattoo.com

Instagram: saraevetattoo

Other: *photos are by Wild Native Photography. They asked to please have them credited on image*

Image Credits
Wild Native Photography took all portraits, and business photos. Tattoo photos just taken by me.