Amber Acia regularly sees tattoos that commemorate loved ones who have passed away or vicious breakups.
She prefers a more positive route.
Acia, the manager of High Voltage Tattoo in Los Angeles, chooses to decorate her body with colorful images. She has detailed tattoos of cupcakes, Care Bears and other happy visions.
“I… think that a huge part of tattooing that sometimes we kind of miss is that you just get a tattoo sometimes because you’re happy,” Acia said. “You just want a tattoo. It doesn’t have to be a sad story.”
Acia is part of the female-dominated cast of “L.A. Ink,” shown on The Learning Channel through the end of October. New episodes air every Tuesday at 10 p.m.
Along with Acia, who has also worked as a body piercer, the show features tattoo artists Corey Miller, Kim Saigh, Hannah Aitchison and Kat Von D. They work together at the West Hollywood tattoo parlor, which closed during filming, but is now open to the public.
“They are all amazing people, but they are even more amazing tattooers, and they have been in the industry for a long time so they are all kind of veterans,” said Acia, who goes by her nickname, Pixie, on the show.
The show provides a new perspective with its predominantly female cast in an industry heavily influenced by men.
“It is pretty rare,” Acia said. “I’ve been in shops my whole life basically and they’ve always been male-dominated.”
As part of Acia’s role, she helps create a professional environment, but provides some levity to make clients feel comfortable; tattoo artists leave permanent creations on clients, so Acia deems creating a bond between the artist and the individual important.
“It can be an emotional experience for them,” Acia said. “They can be nervous.”
Von D, however, is the focus of the show after her role on “Miami Ink” ended with a disagreement between her and shop co-owner Ami James.
Von D, who has always been partial to Southern California since moving there from Mexico as a four-year-old, welcomed the idea for her own show. Acia overcame any initial concerns about reality TV and finds herself enjoying the experience.
“I’ve never been an aspiring actress or anything, so I’m green as far as the TV world is concerned,” Acia said. “I was really concerned with how my friends and family were going to take it and if people would be like ‘You’ve changed. You’re on TV now.’”
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