Frequently Asked Questions
Yes. Always.
That said, I am particular about what I do.
The reason for this is we all have different preferences and skills. This means sometimes I won't be the best choice. If you are looking for a style or flavour of imagery that is not in the realm of my strengths, I will often refer you to someone local who can do a better job for you.
This is not personal, quite the contrary, I want you to have the best tattoo you can have.
Please read this in full.
Please fill out this form to begin the process.
Include all details and images to explain what it is you want to have tattooed.
What you want - be as clear and detailed as possible.
Collect about 5 images of work you like or images to help explain what you are looking for. I am a visual person and you will convey far more to me with images than you can with words.
Give examples of style you like.
Tell me where you want it on your body,
tell me the size, give an approximate measurement or comparison to something i.e. a small plate. Please do not use “small/medium” as those words are very subjective and do not indicate what I need to know.
Colour or black and grey.
If you are covering something please include a clear photo of what you want covered and the context - so a close up and also a photo of the whole area.
If we are working between/around existing work, please include a photo of the area.
** for these photos, please have someone else take them so that they are straight on, as I will draw on the photos for accurate size and shape.
If you have a budget, please provide details.
(** see further reading in FAQs for more information)
I generally book my schedule in blocks of three months at a time. I have a wait list. I email people in chronological order with priority given to work in progress clients as well as large work within the realms of my preference (ornamental, sacred, floral and mildly Japapnese imagery ).
I send out emails to people in waves, once I have booked a three month block, if you have not been contacted you will be forwarded into the next wave.
I book appointments first to get us organized in time. Once you have an appointment set up then I book a consultation closer to the date of the appointment so that all information is current and fresh for both of us.
All tattoos I do are custom drawn for the individual.
I do the drawing for the day of, with no exceptions.
You have chosen me, and with the information you share with me I will create from that. I promise, you get what you want. IF upon your arrival there is anything that you want to change, that is most certainly possible.
I charge $200 an hour
I offer a day rate of $1000 (plus HST)
Deposits are $200
These are non-refundable, non-transferable
If you cancel with less than 48 hours you lose your deposit.
My healing method is a little bit different from most people in the city. It comes from my experience in getting tattooed, from people I respect and have been tattooed by and most importantly from seeing how my tattoos (that I make) heal best.
— YES, all tattooers say something slightly different, that is because this is a craft, we all do it slightly (or very) differently. Each tattoo is different and each person’s skin is different. That said, my instructions to you may vary slightly based on our experience, your skin and lifestyle and the final product of our time together; your tattoo.
YOU NEED:
simple soap
hot water
clean towel
healing salve
cling film/ saran wrap
bandage tape
• You will leave the studio with a wrap on the tattoo, this is usually a little bit of ointment and some cling film/ saran wrap. Keep this wrap on until after dinner, then have a shower.
• Wash your tattoo THOROUGHLY with SOAP and water.
Use hot water ( as hot as you can stand) wash it 5 times in a row (wash + rinse + repeat)
Wash off all of the slimy stuff and any shiny bits.
Then, enjoy your shower.
After getting tattooed generally we all feel a little sweaty, dirty and little violated (because it hurts, our adrenaline and endorphins have been pumping through the whole process ) and maybe a little less than fresh. This shower is also for you to wash away, shed, cleanse from the whole event. You are now more YOU, shed that anticipation, the lead up, the nerves, the pain, let it all wash away.
You did it. That is MEGA.
Thank you. From me to you, and from you to you, some gratitude goes a long way.
Take a moment.
Ok, here we go.
• When you get out of the shower pat the tattoo dry with a clean towel or paper towel.
• Let it air dry for about 10 more minutes.
• Then apply some moisture…. there are many options for this.
Ideally a natural or herbal healing salve or balm
(the main ingredients for this are olive oil, coconut oil and beeswax, shea butter, with some calendula, yarrow, plantain leaf, comfrey…. a variation of some or all of the above. ** be mindful to get one without essential oils as they are generally to concentrated for topical use on open skin)
Coconut oil is a great option
Aquaphor is an option from the drugstore
Last on my list is a moisturizer, though that will work. The more natural or plain the better. Fragrance = alcohol = stinging so avoid that. Keep it simple.
• Apply a little bit of moisture of choice, with clean hands, then RE WRAP with cling film and adhere to your skin with some tape. Keep this on over night. ( ** night owls, if you are up late, do this process again before bed)
Wear clothing that will help keep the wrap in place, and protect your sheets from any tattoo leakage - the re wrap should avoid stained sheets if you have stuck it on effectively.
In the morning, please repeat this process, wash well, dry well, and moisturize ( with one of the moisture options mentioned above, best to continue with the same one for the duration of healing )
• At this point there are two options, I will tell you which route to follow the day of your tattoo.
1. Repeat this process, including the rewrapping for three days, this means you must change the wrap (redo the whole process - wash/dry/moisturize/wrap 3 or 4 times a day ) then wash/dry moisturize (no re wrap) 3x a day until it has finished peeling.
2. The other option is at this point you do not need to re wrap, but I do want you to wash/dry/moisturize 3 times a day for 4 days.
Then resume your regular routine.
Wash and moisturize as you see fit.
*** If you have any concerns at all, or feel confused, please contact me to address it sooner than later. I am happy to let you know what is happening and how to potentially help. Don’t feel weird, I’d rather hear from you than not.
Please no swimming or bathing (meaning no submerging it in water), direct sun, sunblock, essential oils, fragrances, other people’s sweat, on the new tattoo for at least one week. Direct sun will effect the healing of a tattoo, and potentially fade it faster.
Keep your fresh tattoo clean and dry as best you can.
Post healing, wear sunblock for the health of your skin and longevity of your tattoo if you like.
One of my favourite things I was ever told about tattoos is that our tattoos should go grey as our hair goes grey. It shows you have history and have worn them well.
I preface these discussions with the notion that there may be some words used here that are trigger points, please feel free to exchange (or omit) those that do to something that works for you. Source / Divine / Universe / Energy / God / Nature / Gaia / Nothingness / Everythingness
This question often brings a smirk or two.
I join you in that, because it is not what you might think it is.
TANTRA is a sanskrit (an ancient language from the Indus Valley) word.
Tan = to expand, to move beyond
Tra = a technique, to protect
Tantra = to move beyond limitation, while being protected. to weave
Tantra is very large umbrella term under which yoga, ayurveda, philosophy, psychology, cosmology, (among other things) fall under.
Tantra is a worldview which believes that everything is divine. It is a fine dance and interweaving of a dual and non-dual perception of existence.
This means that there is a perception that you are separate from the world around you, which provides opportunity and friction for you to Self Realize ( understand that you are God ) AND at the same time the deeper understanding is that everything is made of the same consciousness and energy, that nothing is separate - simply your perception of separateness is an illusion, you have forgotten your truth.
The practice of Tantra is essentially cleaning and clearing the lenses or blocks in our body, mind, energy that inhibit you from knowing this truth. It is a path of self empowerment, energy management, and ultimately dissolution.
Tantra is an energy management system.
Another Sanskrit Term.
Ha = Sun, Solar, the force of becoming, compare to yang, feminine
Tha = Moon, Lunar, the state of consciousness, compare to yin, masculine
All of these aspects are alive within all of us, we each have a unique expression or combination of them.
This word loosely translates to strike.
Hatha is a path of creating balance and uniting these complimentary forces, so that we move through life gracefully, with ease and skill. So that we respond to situations instead of reacting to them. So that we may be calm and luminous, expansive and aware, strong and inspired.
Yoga in the contemporary west has been largely misinterpreted as a primarily physical practice.
(This is an entire conversation in and of itself, check out my blog if you want to read further)
Yoga is the cultivation of self knowledge, it is a practice if self inquiry.
According to Patanjali’s (sage who wrote the Yoga Sutras, a definitive yogic text) 8 limbs of yoga, Yoga is a systematic process of preparing the body for a more refined and real awareness of what is. Once this is mastered we train the mind to concentrate and focus, this is Meditation. Beyond that we furthermore refine our awareness to (hopefully and ideally) arrive in a state of consciousness wherein we realize that we are simultaneously inherently and integrally connected to everything. In this state we feel at peace, in complete acceptance of all that is and at the same time, completely accepted by all that is. Union, another translation of the word yoga.
Tantra is the cultivation (and management of) energy or power, which on its own can be dangerous.
Yoga is the cultivation of self knowledge, on its own can be inert.
Hatha is the balance of the two.
Let me tell you, it’s the full meal deal.