Tag: tattoos

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It’s never over: apprentice Trixie Luni and her mentor MVDV share their views on tattooing

Our contributor Sarah Kay learns about the relationship between mentor and apprentice…

Five years ago, tired of expensive rents and constant noise, delayed trains and endless commutes, I decided to move to a small village in the Upper Normandy region of France where neighbours all know each other and the cheese is definitely better than what I could experience elsewhere. Sure, it was a terrible decision as I travel a lot and was further away from airports, but I had an amazing bakery, a great apartment – then last year, something happened: a tattoo shop opened. Curious, I went in in the first days. Located two doors away from me, I had never seen a tattoo shop that far away from the big cities that had, according to their page, a serious quality to them.

I had just returned from NYC and asked MVDV, whom I barely knew at the time, to tattoo a slice of blueberry pie on me. His enthusiasm and really funny disposition made me immediately at ease, and the result is incredible. Having them as neighbours, I had the opportunity to know them better – and to continue booking appointments even as borders remain closed due to COVID-19. It’s an incredible luxury. I took time out of the apprentice, Trixie Lunie’s busy day to ask her questions about the tattoo world and her decision to enter it, and asked her mentor, MVDV, how he sees it. The keyword? Humility. 

TRIXIE

How long have you been an apprentice for now? A little over nine months.

How many tattoos have you done on actual people, including yourself? Over thirty I think on people, and five on myself.

How long have you wanted to be a tattoo artist for? For about 10 years. It wasn’t always possible, since a tattoo apprenticeship is unpaid, but now I can do it because I have a partner supporting me and after having worked for many years before I’m entitled to unemployment benefits.

Were you drawing before or were enrolled into any form of art curriculum? No, I’m an autodidact. I’ve been drawing since I was capable of holding a pencil though, I had been watching my dad tattoo – he was a tattooer himself. He was more of a scratcher: he would tattoo from home, mostly his friends, local people, I still got to take a look at how he worked, and we would attend conventions together. As clients, not professionals! (laughs)  Let it be clear that I’m not into his style, but he never was told or taught how, never had a strong foundation, and that’s what I wanted and needed. I wanted a reputable studio where I would be shown and told strictly what to do and how to learn to be the best tattooer I can be.

How long did it take for you to find an apprenticeship? A long time!  It’s really hard. There are a lot of requests and very few spots. It took me about a year to find this one. I found them through social media, I liked the work being performed, people seemed satisfied; I just didn’t want to go just by reputation. A reputation can take ages to be formed, but it can fall apart so quickly. I wanted something solid.  Now I truly believe I have what I wanted, with a great mentor.

So who is your mentor? Is it Casper (the owner) or MVDV (the tattooer)? Casper is my Jedi Master, and I am MVDV’s padawan. We’ve only known each other since February!  It’s going very well. I’m learning a lot, because my preference is manga and anime, and he works mostly in realism, so that was definitely a learning curve. He’s making me draw a lot, I’m starting to tattoo on fake skin, and he’s always behind me, telling me what I can improve. He gauges when I’m ready to do something, which may not always be when I feel ready. They’re making me draw some flash sheets right now so I can get used to creating designs.

I saw that you posted on your Instagram about the tattoo me too situation. How do you feel about that and how do you see your place as a young female up and coming artist? I know that in this studio I will never face any form of discrimination whatsoever. I think elsewhere however, womxn can be under-respected because they are still believed to only be there to draw cutesy hearts or butterflies; I follow a lot of female artists that do, and do so in very different styles and who completely own it. And there’s nothing wrong with being girly. Womxn can be good at everything. There’s enough room for everybody now, and now there are conventions for female tattoo artists too, so I’m entering the business at the right time. A few years ago, it may have been different.

Who is inspiring you right now? Charline Puth, who has a private studio in Paris, I’m getting tattooed at Getcha Club by Charlotte E San in Lille. I love all this Japanese inspired art world. At the end of the day though, we’re all here to do the best job possible for the client and their idea of the design, so as Casper told me when I started, we need to be able to do everything. Of course I’d like to specialise in manga-inspired work and work on really colourful designs, and there is an audience for that, but I must be capable of performing in any style as well. 

When it comes to the tattooer-client relationship, what are the values that you hope to bring to the table as a solo artist? What matters to me is to have a very clean shop, that is inviting, really abide by strict rules of surgical hygiene with the equipment, and look my best as well, so people can trust me. Then I want to establish a friendly atmosphere, regardless of the mood I’m in, just like in any other workplace, a lot of humour so people can feel comfortable, and be really respectful of their bodies and of their boundaries. 

How do you deal with someone who is anxious – because it’s their first tattoo, a sensitive body part, because of the pain, how do you put them at ease? You talk to them a lot, you offer them a cup of coffee, you ask them if they had something to eat, you take your time. You make sure to have a lot of time so the person can take as many breaks as they need to, I know MVDV is really cautious on the first lines to see how the person reacts and how he can talk them through what’s happening. 

Do you think it’s a possibility that a womxn would enter the shop and would rather have you tattoo her than MVDV? That’s a total possibility. It depends on the body part. I would do it, if this is a person that would rather have a womxn do it, especially with everything that’s going on. With MVDV though, he’s been working with some sensitive body parts as well and everything went smoothly; that’s his job, he’s used to it, he knows how to work it, and he would never post insensitive photos on Instagram afterwards, you see.

Do you think it’s harder to be a female apprentice with a male mentor? You need to have a strong personality in this business anyway, because there are stupid people everywhere.  You need to stand your ground and go for it once you found the place where you’re comfortable.

About competition? Of course there’s a lot of competition, but as I said there is room for everyone and everyone can carve their own space.

How do you see your future in this shop? I’ll be 80 and still tattooing on fake skin. (laughs) 

Your biggest fear right now about tattooing someone? I recently tattooed one of my good friends and she was really stressed out and it was contagious, but I managed to keep a steady hand and I had really prepared for it. 

This fear that you’re permanently altering someone’s body and you’re afraid to screw up, that never fully goes away, right? No, it doesn’t.  With experience, you gain perspective. A tattooer will always have something to learn. If someone goes ahead and tells you they have nothing left to learn and know everything, I don’t think they got the point. They no longer evolve. Techniques change. Methods change. Equipment changes. Designs change.

Now that tattooing has become so prevalent in the last decade, you see “tattoo schools” pop up, and people entering the fold with art degrees. What do you think about it and how it changes the nature of tattooing? I believe in apprenticeships, but it would be helpful if it had a real legal status. We deal with it, and I do, but it would be great if it could be recognised as an apprenticeship just like any other profession. As for art, you may be a brilliant artist, that still won’t make you a good tattoo artist. Those are two different things. Nothing can replace a solid apprenticeship.

How long do you think your apprenticeship will last? My whole life! After a year and a half I think I will have a good foundation. Just the foundation. But I wouldn’t be a good artist then. I am going to start tattooing soon, because it comes with practice. The shop remains small and approachable, even though we’re starting to be booked quite solidly, but I wouldn’t want to be anywhere else. My two masters are extremely good, we have a great working relationship and they tell me if anything is wrong. They explain to me how to place order, how to manipulate equipment, hygiene requirements, but this is not a shop where they will only have me serve coffee and sweep up for a year, you know? They’re making me draw and work on fake skin every day.

A last word on womxn in the industry? That female tattoo artists are just as qualified as a male one, that some can run circles around others, that we’re not here to be a punchline. Things are changing really fast, hopefully for the better. And there also should be no objectification of heavily tattooed womxn either!

MVDV

How long have you been tattooing for? It’s been nine years. Very happy with my evolution – I’m learning more about the craft every day. I was just doing my thing for five years and now I’m officially set up in a shop for four.

And now that you’re an apprentice’s mentor, how do you feel about it? It feels really strange because I don’t feel like I am in a position to be a mentor. I don’t feel I have what it takes yet to be a mentor.  I don’t feel any seniority.

So how does the dynamic work? I can give her tips and pointers based on what I am capable of doing, but I still feel like mentorship has to be earned and being a mentor is something that carries with it a lot of responsibility. No one is really a mentor as we all learn something new every day. To be a mentor, for me, is the end-all-be-all of the work, it’s being in such a strong position of authority in the history of tattooing.

What has been the most challenging piece for you so far? It was a realistic lion that I just did this week! And it has taught me a lot about what I can do and how to best approach it. 

How do you see Trixie debuting in this industry once her apprenticeship will be complete? I’m not necessarily apprehensive, but just like I did have, it necessitates a lot of rigor and a lot of perseverance to make it. For those of us who had to learn everything on the go, it’s even harder, so it requires a lot of personal commitment.

What does it mean to you to train a new female artist? There are so many womxn out there who are doing such an amazing job, discrimination makes absolutely no sense.  Womxn have their place in this industry the way they do everywhere else. 

What do you think of this reckoning right now in the tattoo industry about sexual misconduct? Those are horrible people who would be horrible in any other job as well but abusing their position. We are in a profession where the human body is literally our canvas, our workplace, so men who are unable to behave with respect in this job have absolutely no place here.

Do you feel a specific type of responsibility when you tattoo a sensitive body part? A place that she wouldn’t like, but she wants to look at and see something beautiful instead? It’s the case for everyone, I feel, that they come to tattooing to change the way their body is before, and turn it into art. And it’s entirely my responsibility to do the best possible job I can so they can look at it years onwards and still love it. It’s true that if they’re having a difficult time because of body image, we have the opportunity to work with the client to make something really significant.  Any art you work on is for life, and you have a duty as an artist to make it as perfect as possible. There’s no way to half-ass it. Whether it’s your specialty or not, if you accept to do it, the responsibility is there. I think about this all the time: it’s permanent body altering.

And that’s really something you want to transmit to your apprentice. Yes: the love of working with people, the love to create; and to me this is when you know someone is really into tattooing and has the potential to be a really good tattooer, it’s when they take pleasure in the challenge of creating something special. Going to work is not a chore. The tattooer-client relationship is an exceptional one. And being talented is something you have to constantly perfect, constantly improve.

The piece that makes you the most proud? I recently worked on a UFO, and I really loved it. I had added it to a flash sheet and I never thought someone would pick it; it’s something that is really dear to me, UFO and aliens, and that was really just something that came out of my head. This person really crushed on it and loved it, and I was just so happy to be able to do that piece. I thought it would be a little too “out there” for people, and no, it found its client!  And that was wonderful for me.

What’s the future like for you? I’m not worried about clients coming in, but I know I have to keep on learning, evolving, meeting new people, working on my craft, because you can become irrelevant real quick, there are new people coming out every day who just blow everything out the water. That’s something I learned immediately, so I’m just really looking forward to being in a job where I have to keep on learning every day. And if I can travel with this, learning other techniques, histories, legacies, that would be ideal. I had no mentor personally – when I arrived at Casper’s, they showed me the technical aspect of this, how to pose a stencil, how  to best see a placement, and for that I’ll forever be grateful. But I don’t consider myself “arrived” or anything like that. I have a team that is family for me, and being a little orphan boy, having found them matters so much to me.

Both Trixie and MVDV are working at Casper S.O. Ink, Chaumont en Vexin, France.

Sarah Kay is a very, very tattooed international human rights lawyer living between Paris and New York. Originally from Belfast, Northern Ireland, Sarah has kept its taste for cold rain and the rewards that come from sitting still under pressure. You’ll probably find her in London drinking wine.

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Kiwi and the Bear

Hayley, the Kiwi in Derby-based Kiwi and the Bear, chatted to us about running a “weird little colourful indie biz” with husband, Aaron (Bear). K&TB started as a hobby back in 2015, they now sell art prints, reusable face pads, scrunchies, pin pennants and more…

I’ve always been a craft lover and loved trying new things until something finally stuck which turned out to be tie-dye. After I spent a couple of months tie-dying everything in sight, I wanted to take it a step further by adding artwork to the dyed fabric, so I taught myself to hand embroider. What followed was a wall full of embroidery hoops containing tie-dye and 2005 emo lyrics with a little bit of Taylor Swift thrown in, somehow that Taylor Swift hoop made its way onto Buzzfeed and shortly after onto her legal team so that hoop was swiftly retired.

Around this time we invested in an iPad Pro and an Apple Pencil, this right here was the game changing moment for me, I just didn’t know it yet. I started to drift over onto a blank canvas and began playing around with little doodles and eventually adding more art to my lettering which, was weird for me as drawing just wasn’t something I ever did – like, at all. 

I didn’t study art, I didn’t consider myself artistic – crafty yes but artsy not at all. At this point I had been following tattoo artists and illustrators on IG that I found so much inspiration in and it had never occurred to me that I could add my voice via my own artwork to the community. I was so nervous about putting my illustrations out into the world, I thought people would think it was a joke.

It was discovering the incredible creative community on IG that taught me art was whatever I wanted it to be and it could mean whatever I wanted it to mean to me, and suddenly I was free to just create. I was having the most fun and finally felt that feeling of being somewhere you were supposed to be the whole time.

So in 2018 we decided to take Kiwi and the Bear a little more seriously, we wanted it to feel more like a brand, something that really reflected who we are – a couple of weirdos trying to live life a little more positively while still remaining sarcastic and foul mouthed. We just wanted a space where we could really just be our obnoxious selves!

We made a few of my illustrations available to buy as prints alongside the embroidery hoops and it felt liberating, so new, so scary, but so exciting! We started developing more products using our hand dyed fabric, purely for selfish reasons as we were making things that we wanted in our own home. It’s selfish but it’s also the best way to find ‘your people’, those that love the same things as you, customers and friends and even better sometimes both!

Our new products and new direction came at the perfect time for us as I had to take a step back from hand embroidery due to my chronic illness making it near impossible to carry on. I’ve had juvenile rheumatoid arthritis since I was seven, two hip replacements and two shoulder replacements later, what hasn’t been replaced is painful and awkward and waiting to be replaced!

I dislocated my thumb while drying my hair, that’s all it took, they couldn’t get it back into place in A&E and soon after, I saw a specialist that showed me my x-ray, and explained that I actually had five chronic dislocations. I’d just learned to live with them. When you’ve been disabled since you were a kid you become really adaptable especially when you’re a stubborn Taurus, so when someone tells you that you can’t do something because of your disability you find ways around it. I couldn’t physically carry on with the hand embroidery, I was grateful we’d discovered things like our pennants and illustrations, so removing the hoops didn’t have to be the end for us, if anything it felt like the start of a new chapter and I found a way to keep drawing and making even with the dislocations.

When people realise I make and create what I do with my sad little hands they often don’t believe it, but for me it’s the most natural thing to keep going, stay positive and stay medicated. Plus, having a high pain threshold really helps. It also helps with really long tattoo sessions, I think nearly every tattoo artist I’ve spent time with has said that I sit like a rock, I mean come on I have to look for the positives in this disease right?

Positivity is a huge part of what we’re about as a brand, it’s strange to say as two emo kids in their 30s who almost always opt for black everything, but somewhere around my 30th birthday I wanted to be kinder to myself. Every day is a battle for my body so I really wanted to focus on the positive things, however small. It was around this time that I fell in love with colour which was super out of character for me, as the only place I ever had colour was my pink hair, but suddenly I was wearing bright fun dungarees and I realised I could be a colorful emo. I found my sweet spot and I’ve stayed here ever since.

It was around my 30th birthday that I received one of my favourite tattoos, it was a real life changing moment for me, like real-life movie montage material of me coming out the other side a bad ass b!

For the longest time I had left gaps on my body that I was too afraid to get out in a tattoo studio, something switched in me when I turned 30, I learnt to love my body no matter what size it was, I learnt to separate the disease I hated from the body that housed it.

I made a tattoo appointment with Mike Love to get my first hand poke tattoo on my sternum, I was really, really testing my limits and I loved it. This piece is so important to me, it marks the beginning of a new era for myself, I faced my fears and got ‘1989’ hand poked into a space I never thought I’d be able to get tattooed, yes it’s my year of birth (I’m a proud 80s baby if only just clinging on to the very end of the 80s) but it’s also a nod to my favourite Swift album, and this one her legal team can’t take away.

We have been a couple since I was 16 and Aaron was 17, so the longest stretch of our tattoo journeys do end up intertwining at times. We have a few “couple tattoos”, for instance he has “Player 1’ on his inner wrist and I have “Player 2”. We’re huge nerds and play video games together any chance we get, and after 15 years together it feels pretty safe to include our story on each other’s bodies. We do have plans for a couple of matching pieces that relate to our favourite Walt Disney World adventures together. During our trip last Halloween I got to show Ariel my Ariel piece and Aaron got to show Mary Poppins his bag and umbrella piece by Lady Chappell Tattoos, yeah we’re those kinda nerds too, and it was so freaking magical!

The one thing I’ll always thank younger me for was being obsessed with filling my arms leaving my legs bare for when I was more educated about the industry. So my legs are home to my most favourite pieces that I’ve collected through my 20s, my absolute favourite is my Rachel Baldwin piece.

Tattoos have 100% had an effect on my relationship with my body, I began getting tattooed when I was underage (I know, I know!) I think as a sick kid this was to have some control over my body when I felt I had none.

Eventually getting grew into a way to love my body, my body art plays a huge part in my body confidence and I’m finally at a point of accepting that I’m like a colourful weird little marshmallow and proud.

Occasionally someone will ask why I describe myself as a marshmallow, it’s actually a kind of sneaky way to refer to myself as chubby (also fluffy, plump and pink it’s the actual food version of me). I don’t use it to replace chubby because I’m ashamed, because I’m not, it’s been a really long journey to dig who I am. I use it because when you refer to yourself as chubby or fat in a positive way, you’ll more than likely experience someone with good intentions trying to tell you you’re not fat. Most people have received an “omg you’re not fat babe” once in their chubby and proud lives, some people can’t see it as anything but a negative, so it’s easier for me to refer to myself as a “leel marshmallow” so I just get to live my fat and proud life. Also marshmallows are pretty dang cute and if just makes someone think of something pink and chubby well, duh, hello!

We have a lot of plans for the future of Kiwi and the Bear, firstly nap with the pups, then celebrate our 15 year anniversary that we worked through, AND then we want to keep adding new illustrations to the shop. We will still take commissions (hand lettering, illustration, custom dyed pennants) most things in the shop you can make a custom request on. I hope to be lucky enough to carry on doing freelance illustration for companies with the same values as us.

The biggest plan we have is to make a zine about being chronically ill which we started working on before everything was flipped upside down. There’s also talk about possibly releasing our first ever pin, which makes sense with our ever growing collection. Really we just aim to keep being a part of the community that we love and making the things we love while making new friends.

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Sweet as a peach: Chelsie Harrison

Chelsie Harrison co-owns Sweet Peach Tattoo with @emgormleytattoo in St. Helens, Merseyside, where she creates sweet, girly and cute tattoos. We love Chel’s work and so we had to find out more about the artist behind the tattoos…

We love your girly cute style, would you describe it like this? Yes I describe it as a girly take on traditional style tattooing. I draw things I would like to have on my own body and I think traditional never goes out of fashion! 

What inspires and influences your tattoos? To be honest almost everything inspires me, from watching the telly to going on walks. I have to jot ideas down before I forget them, my phone is backed up with screenshots of stuff that gives me ideas on what to draw – flowers, cartoons, patterns and colours.

What do you love to tattoo and draw and what would you like to do more of? I’m a big Moomins fan, I love tattooing anything Moomin related, me and @emgormleytattoo (who I work with) are both dinosaur obsessed and the studio is filled with lots of dinosaur stuff, we both love drawing them and have dinosaur offs!

I’d love to tattoo more traditional lady head designs, I think they are so pretty and I have a few tattooed on myself! Cute animals are something I enjoy too and of course always love flowers! I get excited when a customer completely trusts my judgement and just wants my style and designs on their body.

How long have you been tattooing? I’ve been tattooing nearly six years and I’ve loved every second of it. I got into it by getting tattooed by local artists and always talking about how much I’d love to tattoo, until one day my favourite artist that I was getting tattooed by at the time asked me out on a date! (@pau1terry_) We have been together ever since and he has been the best partner in crime. He encouraged me to find an apprenticeship because he knew how much of an awesome job it is, he is so supportive and I love the fact that we are both tattoo artists. We can just talk about the industry together and ask each others advice and opinions on designs and tattoos we’ve done. He gives a lot of constructive criticism which has helped me get better at tattooing over the years.

If you weren’t a tattooer what would you be? I’ve always set my sights on tattooing so I haven’t really gave it much thought, tattooing is my dream job and I’m so lucky to a lifelong hobby as a job. If tattooing was out of the picture I think I would like to work with children in a nursery as me and Paul have a little boy together and he brings us so much joy and laughter.

Can you tell us about your own tattoo collection. I’ve got a mix of different styles, I like both blackwork and colour. I have a lot of tattoos from my boyfriend Paul Terry I’m in love with his work and i just let him have free rain and he can tattoo whatever on me! Some of my favourites are from a Leeds based artist called Lucy O’Connell, she has done my chest, neck and forearm and I absolutely adore them, her work is just amazing! I have already booked in with her for more!

We travelled to Madrid last year as Paul was invited to do a guestspot at La Mujer Barbuda, I got tattooed by one of my favourite artists Derbora Cherrys while I was there, she tattooed a shattered lady face with a peach on me and it’s just perfection!

How does tattooing and tattoos make you feel? I love making people’s ideas come to life, it’s mad to think that my artwork is on them forever! (if they don’t get it removed that is). I also love how you meet so many nice individuals, the people I work with are like my family and a lot of clients I would call my friends.

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Self Love Club member Sare Goldman

We chat to Manchester-based business owner Sare Goldman, a fat positive self lover who loves tattoos, empowering others and sharing her creativity.

Being a self lover is a journey that never ends, it’s about breaking the rules that society has set and embracing everything about yourself – good and bad.

I have dabbled in self love for around two years, I followed plus size girls on Instagram and started to follow their journeys, but it really came to life in June 2019. My parents were going through a divorce which hit me hard and I wanted something else to focus on. I had always struggled with my weight, I yo-yo dieted and I was never happy with my body. In June 2019, I decided to ditch the diet and just start to love and embrace myself instead. I started to take pictures of my body, clothed and unclothed (in underwear), and started to post them on Instagram. I was never prepared for the amount of support I got from other like minded people who were on their self love journeys just like me! Since then I have never looked back!

I’m very much an activist at heart and I strive to be the voice for people who feel that they don’t have a voice. So self love is present in my life every day. Whether that’s practicing it myself or by trying to empower others to see that they’re amazing!

Self love is about trying to train your brain to rethink the rules around your body and the clothes your wear. Of course I still get body conscious from time to time but it’s about always speaking to yourself in a kind way. No matter who you are, I can guarantee that you have something that you’re hung-up about when it comes to your body; whether that be fat rolls, cellulite, stretch marks or your teeth. Life is far too short to be worrying about what you look like. No matter what you look like, you are allowed to exist freely, you are allowed to wear what you want, when you want and live free from judgement. Self love isn’t selfish and you deserve to love your body.

Being a fat positive self lover can be hard at times as it’s about changing people’s mindsets, which can take a long time! I find that the best thing to keep me going in the right direction is to simply get dressed up and take selfies. It’s so empowering to look back on the pictures and think “OMG, I’m so gorgeous”, and there is absolutely nothing wrong with thinking so highly of yourself! If I ever get disheartened or body conscious, I just talk to one of the many friends that I’ve made in the self love community and they put me on the right track again! They are so supportive and it’s great to know people who are exactly like you.

Fat positivity is about accepting fat bodies and not wanting to change them. It’s about normalising the fat body and teaching people to not see fat bodies as “disgusting” and “unhealthy”. Being fat positive isn’t “promoting ob*sity”, it’s simply just trying to show society that fat people shouldn’t be shamed for just existing. I love empowering other people, I love encouraging them to see how gorgeous and amazing they are and yes, sometimes, people can be quite rude and ignorant but when you know you’ve empowered another girl to wear a crop top then it’s so worth it!

Tattoos have helped my self love journey so much! My body is a piece of art already so the tattoos just add to it. I’m not using tattoos to cover my body, I’m using my body to showcase some amazing work that makes my body look even more beautiful! I have around 20 tattoos and my first tattoo was when I was around 14. My ex was getting a tattoo and I was intrigued, so I bit the bullet and got a small star near my bikini line so my mum wouldn’t see it. It’s safe to say that I’ve had it covered up now! From the age of 16-18 I used to be obsessed with stars to a point where I have about five different sets on my body, all of which I’m planning to get covered up with some other amazing work!

My choice of tattoos have definitely changed since I’ve started my self love journey. I have a few women/feminist related tattoos and a few with empowering words on them such as “Stay True”, “Empower Women” and “Tough Girl”. My favourite type of tattoo style is neo traditional. I absolutely love the style and can’t wait to get more once lockdown is over!

Tattoos definitely inspire the pieces I create ! I can’t draw so the pieces I create are the next best thing. I started my business, Creative House UK, in July 2019, I had spent years trying to think of different business ideas because I’d always wanted to be my own boss.

Since a young age, I’d always wanted to be a hairdresser so took a fast track course to qualify. Once I qualified, I soon lost my passion for it. I then dabbled in photography and started to do model and family photoshoots, but then I found it too stressful to try and get that perfect shot. Then I had a lightbulb moment – “OMG, I can make prints!” I had made all of my own wedding stationery and it just seemed like the perfect idea.

I uploaded my first print on Etsy and when I got my first sale, I was just ecstatic! Fast forward to now and I have my own website and I’m now selling prints, phone cases, t-shirts, tote bags and other bits and bobs and I love every second. I’d always wanted a creative job but could never find anything that suited me until this.

I love to create empowering pieces that inspire people to love themselves. I want to create pieces that when people look at them or wear them, they feel so good about themselves. My t-shirts have been a massive hit and so many of my self love babes are wearing them. It makes me so proud to see them wearing something I’ve created, knowing that they feel empowered and that they are loving themselves wearing it.

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New tattoo anxiety: How long before your appointment should you see the design?

It makes sense that when getting tattooed you’ve chosen that particular artist because you love their work and want something in their style. Maybe you’ve followed them on Instagram for a while, loved all their posts, read interviews and checked healed work. You know that they produce great tattoos, their work is solid and, from what you can tell, they’re a nice person. So what’s the problem, why do you feel uneasy when looking at the tattoo design?

We’ve probably all had that moment when you see the design of your new tattoo for the first time and that not-quite-sure, something-isn’t-right feeling arises? Or maybe you’re being shown your finished tattoo in the mirror before it’s wrapped up? Perhaps before the tattoo you’re tired from travelling or getting tattooed by someone you’ve never met flares your anxiety, on the other hand after a session you’re sore and groggy, your tattoo brain has definitely set in and all you can think about is getting some food and getting home. Sound familiar?

Does how comfortable you feel with the tattoo about to be etched on you, or the one just completed, all come down to timing? Should you see the design at the start of your appointment, the night before, a week before? When exactly should you see the tattoo design to make sure that it’s what you want and what the artist is happy to create?

I know many artists may hold back because they fear you won’t show up for your appointment and may even take the design to another artist. While they may not email you the design, there are usually opportunities to visit the studio and see your new piece in person, just ask your tattooer. However, if you’re like me and regularly get tattooed hours away from home, this isn’t always easy.

There’s also the thought amongst tattoo artists that a client may try to micro-manage the whole tattoo process. They could worry that after they have translated your ideas into a workable tattoo that will stand the test of time, you’ll see the sketch and make way too many additions and changes that will render the design now unworkable and unsuitable as a tattoo. It may be hard to hear when a tattooist tells you that your ideas may not work, but really a good artist will have the experience and know-how to give you the best tattoo they can. It may be best to trust their judgement even if this means seeing your design at your tattoo appointment. I’ve found that more than often not the artist has drawn a few examples and sizes so we can play around with placement, or they’re happy to make a couple of small changes if needed.

If you see the design a few days in advance, could you overthink the whole thing? Rather than have time to sit and settle with the tattoo, instead you pick it apart and completely change your mind. No longer are you excited but a little frantic, not even sure that the tattoo will become part of you like so many have done before. This is where seeing the tattoo the night before or at your appointment can be helpful. It’s that balance between exciting and nerve-wracking, surely that feeling is why a lot of us get tattooed?

You’ll also find that the tattoo changes and comes to life as it’s being tattooed, it’s unlikely that you can tell exactly what it will look like from the drawing. Especially if you’ve chosen to add colour and the sketch is in black and grey. For someone who gets a little anxious I’m often telling the artist to choose the colours, do what you like, so my tattoos can be a real surprise! And this is usually a positive thing. I say this because I trust them, I trust that my past self chose them for this tattoo. It will be amazing, I just have to hold space for the tattoo magic to happen.

Surely the more tattoos you have the less it matters, right? Just slap it on, fill that gap. Does this attitude change if you have less or more tattoos? I can only talk from my experience as a heavily tattooed woman, by now, with the amount of tattoos I have they almost blend into one, each new one, as it heals becomes no more significant than the rest. So really does it matter when I see the design, because my skin is a welcoming home anyway.

Thank you to everyone who answered my Instagram stories around this question, your thoughts and voices have helped to mould this piece.
Rosalie Hurr