CLIENT STORIES: Nate Holley Tattoos Local Resident

Carrie Ware is a local resident and West Virginia native. She currently is the Program Director of St. Peter's Episcopal Community Outreach (SPECO) here in the West End of Huntington, the CFO of the ACLU-WV, and a part-time staff member at Huntington Addiction Wellness Center. Ware focuses her volunteer and career efforts on helping the underserved, specifically those with substance use disorder. She recently decided she wanted to get a tattoo to reflect those she's lost to addiction. 

The Design

"The flowers are opium poppies, which is what heroin is derived from," Ware said about her tattoo (pictured above). "The broken heart is a representation of those I've lost to addiction."

Ware shared that she's lost several friends to addiction overdoses, but she's seen the powers of recovery. Ware had most recently lost a good friend, Nichole Lively, and distributed naloxone at her vigil in her honor. It wasn't long after that she contacted Nate Holley about wanting a new tattoo.

Remembering Nichole Lively: Raising awareness for addiction recovery in Huntington

HUNTINGTON, WV (WOWK) - Nichole Lively from Huntington, West Virginia, tragically lost her battle with addiction earlier this week. However, before this happened, she was a big part of the local recovery community, helping many people turn to sobriety. Many of them attended her candlelight vigil Friday night.

Working with Local Artists

Ware said she has gotten tattoos from other people but when she saw the article about Nate from our website, she knew she had to reach out to him to be the one to do her tattoo. 

"After reading about his story with recovery, I knew I wanted to reach out to him to be the one to do this tattoo," Ware said. She also mentioned she has gone to Ryan Worley "too many times" for tattoos. "Worley is the best, so I knew I could trust Nate to do this tattoo," she said.  

Schedule Your Next Tat Appointment Today

Ware said she reached Holley on Instagram and even came down to the shop on 14STW to talk about scheduling an appointment and finalizing a design. "He was excited to do it and very professional," Ware said. "It was my first tattoo by him and I love it. He killed it."

Reach out to Holley today by sending an email to [email protected]

or stop by the West End Tattoo Club Tues-Sat. 12PM-8PM located at 720, W 14th Street.