During its short-lived tenure, the shop hosted flash events, fashion shows, drag shows, art galleries, and multiple concerts, carving out a strong presence in the local community.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
By Tim Belizaire<\/p>\n
Frequent visitors to the shop had not taken the unique octagonal room for granted, showing profound appreciation for the inviting space.\u00a0<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
By Matias Abril<\/p>\n
Kimberly Lopez, or \u201cLopi,\u201d intended the shop to be a hub for everyone to express their art.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
CREDIT: Harleigh Maddison<\/p>\n
By Matias Abril<\/p>\n
\u201cI wanted this to be a space where people who are different could be themselves and not feel like an outcast,\u201d Lopez said. \u201cA place where everybody belongs.\u201d<\/p>\n
While the decision to close up shop was difficult, Lopi remains thankful for this short yet impactful run.<\/p>\n
\u201cAs much as I was trying to do a balance of tattoos and events to make this place work, it wasn’t enough,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
Lopi attributed the issues leading to the shop\u2019s closure to financial reasons, low demand for tattooing, and owning a local underground business in Southwest Florida.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
CREDIT: Tim Belizaire<\/p>\n
By Matias Abril<\/p>\n
\u201cThere’s not enough traffic coming through as far as tattoos with walk-ins and stuff like that, and it’s just a massive space,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
However, Lopi said that Mano Santa isn\u2019t the only shop experiencing this issue, adding that it\u2019s pertinent in the current tattoo industry.<\/p>\n
\u201cI’ve heard, not just from here, but from other shops, too, that it’s been really, really slow, and it’s caught up to us,\u201d Lopi said.<\/p>\n
This was her first time branching out and starting her own business, and she said that while she loves it, being a tattoo artist is more than just dragging needles across the skin.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen you start a business, you really have to love it, especially if it’s something like this that’s a service,\u201d she said. \u201cLike, I work 24\/7, and I reinvested all of my money into this place.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mano Santa\u2019s initial momentum was accelerated by the multiple artists who Lopi mentored before and during the shop\u2019s lifetime.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\u201cEverybody played a part in this shop and helped run this place. I didn’t do it all by myself. It was a team effort,\u201d she said.\u201d\u2029It would have been impossible for me to do it by myself.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBug\u201d, who has worked with Lopi for five years, is grateful for the experience, despite the upsetting news.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
“I am so heartbroken because this is a loss for the community we\u2019ve built here. It felt like something really beautiful was just beginning in that space. But it\u2019s very bittersweet, because I think this sort of emotional push can be really good for us as artists. For me, it\u2019s the push to find my own path now,” they said.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Despite the impending closure, Lopi is excited to see the artists flourish in other opportunities.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was awesome because I got to get a few women under my wing and teach them the ways of tattooing and hopefully pave the way for them to be able to blossom,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
She originally opened the shop with the intention of growing the Southwest Florida tattooing community.<\/p>\n
\u201cI really fought tooth and nail for this place, and it is bigger than me, so it was a lot of pressure. It really hurts because it wasn’t just about me. It was about the community and the artists here,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
Housing multiple forms of art, allowing for expression through synergy, was an advantage according to Lopi, as it facilitated several events that enabled artists who may not have had an opportunity to connect to meet and grow.\u00a0<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
By Tim Belizaire<\/p>\n
\u201cMy favorite part about this business was getting the community involved and teaching them how to excel in this business or in this artistry. I feel like tattoos and music really tie in together in the form of expression,\u201d Lopi said.<\/p>\n
As a final goodbye, the shop rave will be held on Friday, featuring multiple local artists. Local organization Dead End Productions is hosting the event, immediately taking the opportunity to hold one final show.<\/p>\n
\u201cMano Santa has done so much for us as a community,\u201d said Ari, founder of Dead End Productions. \u201cLopi opened her doors when we needed it most. Not only was it a cool venue, but how many people could say they got a tattoo at a DJ show? We’ve hosted some pretty rad shows here in the past, so we had to do something cool for the last one.\u201d<\/p>\n
Lopi is going to take a break from owning and instead focus on her family, try to work at another shop, and be a traveling tattoo artist.<\/p>\n
\u201cI am very overwhelmed with gratitude to everybody who came and supported the spot. I’m very grateful to every band that came in here and to every creative person who has contributed to this place. We’ve had a lot of good parties, and I’m glad that I just lived to see it,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Credit: Tim Belizaire<\/p>\n
By Tim Belizaire<\/p>\n
The shop is located on 9681 Gladiolus Dr., Suite 205, Fort Myers. For Friday\u2019s rave, doors are at 6 p.m., and the show starts at 7 p.m.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"FORT MYERS, Fla. – A beloved local tattoo shop is closing its doors after a little over a…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":162842,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[14],"tags":[209,211,210,28,897,77874,682,31163],"class_list":["post-162841","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-cape-coral","tag-cape-coral","tag-cape-coral-headlines","tag-cape-coral-news","tag-florida","tag-fort-myers","tag-mano-santa-tattoos","tag-tattoo","tag-tattoo-artist"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/162841","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=162841"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/162841\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/162842"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=162841"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=162841"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=162841"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}