Pretty UglyCollective

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Davi standing in her Pretty Ugly studio in Charlotte, surrounded by plants on dark shelves
The studioCharlotte, NC
Meet the artist

Meet Davi.

I’m Davi. Artist, founder, and the person behind Pretty Ugly Collective.

Raised in
Miami, Florida
Before tattooing
A decade in hospitality
Degree
Political Science
Now
Tattoos, PMU and piercing

Raised in Miami, Florida, my path to becoming an artist hasn’t exactly been linear. Before tattooing, I spent more than a decade in the service industry bartending and waitressing, earned a degree in Political Science, and learned how to balance ambition, creativity, and motherhood as a single mom.

Those experiences shaped the way I approach my work today. Years in hospitality taught me that how someone feels in your space matters just as much as the service you provide. I’ve carried that with me into tattooing, permanent makeup, piercing, and everything I’m building through Pretty Ugly Collective.

For me, art has always been about more than creating something beautiful. It’s about identity, storytelling, connection, and creating a space where people feel comfortable being themselves.

Why Pretty Ugly

Beauty and imperfection can exist at the same time.

Pretty Ugly was built around the idea that beauty and imperfection can exist at the same time, and that the parts of us that are complicated, unconventional, or imperfect are often the same things that make us interesting.

What started with tattooing has grown into something bigger: a collective centered around art, beauty, self-expression, conversation, and growth.

I’m still creating it as I go, and that’s kind of the point.

Davi