LOW RAIN Offers Tattoos in a Calm, Intimate Space

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Photo courtesy Low Rain Tattoo

Low Rain Tattoo

Low Rain Tattoo

The Sobelman name is familiar and beloved in Milwaukee for their burgers and Bloody Marys, but the family is now foraying into the esthetic industry. This May, Daniell Sobelman, daughter of Sobelman’s Pub & Grill founders, opened her own brick and mortar tattoo studio and artists’ collective. LOW RAIN is a dream for Sobelman, years in the making.

Sobelman specializes in fine-line, illustrative tattoos. She got her start in cosmetics through microblading—a salon service that restores the appearance of fuller eyebrows using very small tattoo needles. Eventually, she discovered a style of tattooing that utilized this smaller size of needle, producing a finer image than traditional tattoos when inked. She later worked as an independent artist in a larger tattoo studio that rented out to artists. While it was a great gig, Sobelman says that it limited her ability to do what she truly wanted, such as hosting pop-ups for Milwaukee artists and vendors, in addition to generally creating a more comfortable atmosphere for clients. “Tattooing is a very intimate service,” she explains. “It’s a vulnerable thing laying on that bed, and it can be very nerve-wracking. But it doesn’t have to be dark or scary.” 

While her entrance to the tattoo industry is a bit more recent and perhaps non-traditional, her creativity and interest in the field runs deep. Sobelman attended UWM, initially majoring in art with a focus on graphic design. She has always loved illustrative linework and excelled at calligraphy. Developing her personal style that emphasized these elements was part of her search for independence and the opening of her own studio. “I always like to joke that I scribble for a living,” she says. From her own experience, she particularly appreciates tattoos that have emotional significance. “I live for tattoos that are in your grandpa’s handwriting, the address of your childhood home.”

Fine-Line Style

Sobelman’s humbly described “scribbling” is beautiful and delicate, though she shared that her career path and style of tattooing is not always respected by other artists. The fine-line style is sometimes described as “sticker tattoos”—implying heavily that they aren’t “real” tattoos. This has felt demeaning at times to Sobelman; she thinks fine-line and traditional tattoos are both respectable art forms. “In fact, some of my favorite tattoos that I have are in a more traditional style,” she continues. She also feels that some tattoo parlors outwardly project a culture of intensity. She recalls environments of parlors she has visited that felt overwhelming and perhaps hyper-masculine, “blasting screamo and generally making me feel so anxious.” While of course not every tattoo parlor has this sort of aesthetic to it, and while this style may feel affirming and exciting for some, Sobelman wants tattooing to feel calmer and more intimate. With autonomy over her own space, now she can.

Her desire to make tattooing a less-scary process manifests physically in her new space. LOW RAIN is a second-story walkup in the Historic Third Ward. Sobelman originally wasn’t searching in the Third Ward due to its reputation for being a chic and high-rent area, but she lucked out with her location on Water Street. She voices gratitude for the counsel she had in the process of searching. The studio is light and airy, with high ceilings and large loft windows. It is intentionally curated to inspire feelings of comfort and creativity, with a trendy lounge area, built-in kitchen for events, and large brick walls that she is eager to fill with galleries of local artists’ work. Though she is happy to share her art with the community broadly, she has a focus on women. She wants her studio to be a safe space that young women who may have previously shied away from tattoo parlors instead feel welcomed into; where it’s okay to ask “silly” questions and to ask for dainty tattoos that other artists might scoff at the idea of inking.

Sobelman’s extends appreciation to her family, adding that growing up in a family full of business owners afforded her the skills and resources to embark on her own journey and was deeply grateful for this privilege. But while she is thankful for the benefit of name recognition, she insists “I hope to be as successful as them on my own terms, not simply riding on the family name.”

LOW RAIN Tattoo Studio and Artist Collective is located at 326 N. Water St., around the corner from the Milwaukee Public Market. Sobelman kicked off her opening with a party and build-a-bouquet pop-up and hopes to keep featuring events of this nature. Keep an eye out for upcoming events and book-openings with LOW RAIN.