BIO
The name "Victory Tattoos" was inspired by Valerie's middle name, which is a derivative of "Nike", the Greek Goddess of Victory.
According to her parents, Valerie has been an artist since birth. Even as a child, she insisted on decorating her math homework with gelpens. She was always the go-to girl in school for murals, portraits, set-designs, and anything else to do with the arts!
Since the age of 14, Valerie has worked as a visual artist, creating custom paintings and digital designs for clients internationally. Her passion for the arts grew exponentially after spending time in Italy during her adolescence, visiting many great museums and churches.
As a teenager, Valerie was very intrigued by the tattoo scene and would watch any show she could find about tattooing. Around that time, her brother was the first one to articulate that she could actually pursue a career in tattooing when he told her that he believed she would make a great tattoo artist.
Although Valerie always dreamed of becoming a professional tattoo artist, she had no idea how to start on that career path so she instead went on to pursue her passion for the arts in university. She majored in Fine Art History and Italian Studies and minored in Visual Arts at University of Toronto.
Valerie spent almost a decade working in the bar and restaurant service industry during and after University, where she loved bartending but also making menus and organizing events. This led her to further her education with a Business Marketing post-graduate certificate at Humber College in Toronto where she learned more about graphic design, advertising, and business.
After meeting her now-husband, she moved to Vancouver, BC to pursue the role of Creative Director at a business on the West Coast. In this role she did everything from website design, to product launches, to business incorporation legalities.
After about a year in that role, Valerie left to begin a traditional tattoo apprenticeship in 2019 where she worked at a busy shop in East Vancouver until late 2020 when she and her husband moved back to their hometown near Toronto, Ontario. Since returning to Ontario, she has been working at 7MAG Tattoos in Toronto where she works alongside some of the city's best artists. She specializes in a unique combination of Fineline & Realism tattooing.
When Valerie isn’t at the studio, she’s relaxing on her farm with her husband and animals.