Whether tattooing, painting or creating designs for skateboards and his clothing line, King Pearl Clothing, Matt Joannes’ artistic acumen is incredible. He creates with intricate detail and it is no surprise that he has clients who travel from Phoenix for his tattoo art.

In addition to being an accomplished artist and a single dad, Matt possesses an entrepreneurial soul, and that is what brought him to SCORE.

Matt’s plan is to take his clothing line from a modest collection sold at Studio 6 Tattoo on the corner of Miller Valley and Fair streets in Prescott to a national wholesale distribution business.

While doing research to find some guidelines for accomplishing this ambitious goal, Matt came across SCORE. He is now paired with Jerry Jones as his mentor and he has purchased a screen printing machine that he is currently operating out of his home.

A native Prescottonian, Matt relocated to Seattle, Washington, where he apprenticed for four years, learning his tattoo craft. He returned to Prescott to raise his son, and it is Prescott where he is gaining a well-deserved reputation as an artist.

Now branching into clothing art, he is expanding his horizons with the help of SCORE. Through mentoring, Matt realizes that he will need employees to accomplish the production work, as this will permit him to concentrate on his designs.

To this purpose, he has taken one Employee Law Workshop, offered by Laura Hamblin, PLLC through SCORE, and is registered for Hamblin’s second workshop.

The tag line for King Pearl Clothing is “Keeping the Arts Alive,” and in all the enterprises Matt is involved with, his tattoo artistry, his clothing and his water colors, that is what he does, keep the arts alive. He is currently working on an entire new design line for his clothing, which he will promote at the Agenda trade show being held in Long Beach, California, in June (www.agendashow.com/Long-Beach).

With Jerry’s help, Matt has created a list of things to accomplish that will enable him to move into the wholesale distribution market. Among these are:

• He will discontinue his current line of clothing products.

• He is recalculating the cost of his in-house production runs.

• The quality of the clothing material will be upgraded to provide a higher-end product.

• He is acquiring a list of appropriate wholesale distributors.

• There is now a greater concentrating on inventory management.

• A new line of designs is being developing with a broader range of marketable appeal.

• Within the next three months Matt will reduce the cost of his current inventory to clear the way for his new production.

In addition to redeveloping and marketing his clothing line, Matt will continue designing his posters, skateboards and accessories. His tattoo artistry will remain a mainstay while he builds and grows his clothing line.

He has also formed the King Pearl Collective, a format for other tattoo artists to promote their work. For information on joining the Collective or to purchase other King Pearl items, visit www.kingpearlclothing.com.

To get help starting or growing your business and to be matched with your own SCORE mentor call 928-778-7438 email: scoreoffice@scorenaz.org or visit www.northernarizona.score.org.

Ginni Trask Comstock is a SCORE Communications contractor.