The Story Behind the Creation of InkCharm
Yura Chong, owner and founder of InkCharm Studio, graduated from the prestigious Fashion Institute of Technology in New York City. She became interested in the tradition of body art tattooing during her college years. As one of the earliest forms of personal artistic expression, she was intrigued by the level of commitment required for a person to decide on a particular piece of body art that is permanent. Yura's interest led her to begin practicing in body tattoo art in between design classes and she set up a local shop in the Soho neighborhood of Lower Manhattan.
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Yura was living the bohemian New York City life when she fell in love, got married, and moved to the Upper East Side to settle down. She juggled several freelance jobs in fashion and graphic design while continuing to engage in her body art passion. But for Yura, family always comes first, so when she learned that her husband's father in California became gravely ill, she and her husband left New York for Los Angeles, California.
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Without any local contacts in the design field to help her find a job in Los Angeles, Yura decided to go back to school to expand her education. She was inspired by the medical professionals that helped care for her husband's father, who was stricken with Alzheimer's and slowly dying. She studied in the medical field and became a Respiratory Therapist.
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After 8 years of working as a medical professional and being the rock in her marriage as her husband, who is an attorney and Army officer, was deployed twice to Iraq and Afghanistan, she decided to treat herself and got her eyebrows microbladed. Back then, "microblading" was relatively new. Two things happened immediately after this. First, Yura's passion for body art returned with a vengeance. Second, she realized that she could definitely do a better job than the practicioner who did her brows. Yura decided to change direction once again: She became a microblader and permanent make-up artist.
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Yura has studied microblading with the best in the United States, London and South Korea. She has years of experience in this art form and her background in traditional body art tattoo as well as the medical field has only broadened her skills. Today, Yura happily runs her shop in the Eagle Rock neighborhood of Los Angeles while still taking care of her husband and two wonderful children. She also teaches and trains others who share a passion for her art.
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If you are interested, contact us here.