“It’s amazing — putting art on people”

kylie nguyen
Aug 9, 2017 · 4 min read

On the corner of Telegraph and Durant, right outside the UC Berkeley campus, stands the small shop of a henna tattoo artist. This artist’s name is Salma, who’s been doing henna for twenty years now…

Salma moved to the U.S. from her home country Pakistan when she was a child, and remembers how difficult it was growing up an immigrant. “It was tough — the value of life over there is very different from the value of life here,” Salma explained. Salma spent her younger years in Berkeley, attending Berkeley High, and working at a GAP on Telegraph at the time.

She first picked-up on doing henna in high school. Henna (Mehndi) is a dye that comes from plant called Lawsonia inermis — it is a popular kind of body art that is used commonly in weddings or special occasions. Henna is traditional form of art in Pakistan, and so she began to learn traditional styles first.

With “lots of self-teaching and practice”, Salma became very quick and skilled with her henna, practicing on her friends and self. After graduating, she went to Berkeley City College and got her art degree after two years, while still working retail jobs. But Salma realized she wanted to go back to school for a Bachelor’s degree, leading her to transfer to Cal. Salma then finished her education with a Bachelor’s in Political Science.

Who is she?? (Credit: Amane, Model: not kylie)

But even when she went back to school to get a more “serious” degree, Salma was still doing art. Candles, pottery, jars, jewelry, but “henna was always the stable,” Salma affirms. She continued to practice doing henna on friends, family, herself, and even strangers throughout the years. And so she decided that even with a college degree, henna was what she wanted to be doing. She even got offered a couple office jobs with her degree, but having her own business, working for herself, was what she truly wanted. When asked if she still felt like getting her degree was still useful when she doesn’t use it now, Salma replied, “It’s better to have your degree and not need it than to need one and not have it.” Wise words for any person currently in college pursuing a career that does not require a degree!

So after graduating from Cal, Salma got her business license and opened her henna tattoo shop on Telegraph and she’s been there ever since. “It’s amazing — putting art on people…and then you see your art walking around and it’s dope,” Salma shares.

Random customers (definitely not the same girls who made the video).

Salma has expanded her business to beyond just her shop on Telegraph; she has begun putting her pottery, jewelry, and candles on her online shop. She also does henna at private events like birthday parties and weddings — as well as on the road — traveling to festivals and events and setting up her henna tattoo shop at those venues as well.

Some of the art she has at her shop.

After twenty years, Salma has become a master of henna tattooing. Her shop gets visits from students, locals, visitors, and tourists on the daily. At her shop, dozens and dozens of photo albums display all the different henna tattoos she has done over the past two decades.

Even with her shop’s success over the years, Salma wants to pursue more. She shared her aspirations of expanding her art business beyond just Telegraph: “Maybe down road Telegraph won’t be a part of my life, but I’ll still be making art and selling art.”

photo albums

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