Life Beyond Ink · 2025

A Woman Who Changed Tattooing

Kari Barba is one of the most legendary tattooers alive, someone who paved the way not just for women but for every tattooer working today. She came up on the West Coast at a time when women tattooing was fiercely resisted, and she met death threats, territorial disputes, and constant doubt by keeping her head down and becoming one of the best to ever do it, pushing ink to another level with vivid, unmistakable work. In this episode I step into Kari's world to learn her story and her struggles, and she shows me Outer Limits, the oldest tattoo shop in America, which she saved and keeps alive. I sit down with her son Jeremiah and her granddaughter Mia, three generations holding the Barba name, along with her business partner Yvonne and her wife Terri. I made this with my friend Kari in Southern California, the place I used to call home.

Filmed and produced by Dakota Weik and Michael Corman. Written and directed by Dakota Weik. Edited by Dakota Weik.