It has come to my attention that there are some (nasty) rumors about me floating around:
I have heard that I DO NOT do small tattoos.
I have heard that I DO NOT take walk-ins.
I have heard that I charge $250+/hour.
These are all untrue.
I LOVE SMALL TATTOOS. I think small tattoos are just as important as larger ones and at NO TIME does it elude me that, whether a tattoo takes 5 minutes or 5 hours, I am permanently changing someone's life. The shop minimum is only $50 and I often do $50 tattoos. I don't know where the idea that I don't do small tattoos is coming from, but it is certainly not from me. Frankly, it pisses me off.
As for walk-ins, the fact is that I get booked up fairly quickly. On top of that, if you follow this blog you already know, I have been dealing w/ herniated disc issues and cannot work as much as I would like. Truth be told, I should be working half of what I am working NOW. I'm not going to try to pack a ton of tattoos into one day so I'm exhausted and end up in so much pain that my work may be compromised. (Seriously, do you want an "okay tattoo" immediately or a great tattoo in a couple weeks?) I wish I had more hours in the day to make every person happy, but I simply do not. I am only one person. I try to take Mondays off, but book plenty of Monday appointments anyway. I also will stay late to fit people in. I'm usually booked 2 weeks - 2 months in advance. That seems a bit below average for most of the custom shops in the area. I do not always have time to take walk-ins, but do when I can. I prefer to be able to draw the piece up and think about it for a while so I know that I am doing the best job possible. If it's something that I don't need to redraw and if I'm not already booked, I will take the walk-in.
I charge $200 per hour. I raised my hourly rate this past summer after charging $150 per hour since 2003. I began tattooing in 2001. I tattoo pretty quickly and am happy to point out large tattoos (as I do to many a skeptical client) and explain how long they took to create. I'm not rushing, either... so get that out of your heads. I also understand what it is to be on a budget. I always offer to do the piece in sessions so as to avoid putting you all in the red. I run discount specials frequently, as well.
What's the point of all this venting? I LOVE MY JOB. I love tattooing. I love meeting all of you fine people. I love owning my own business. If I DIDN'T, I could easily go back to the anthropology field that I left all those years ago when I decided to see what tattooing was all about. As those of you that know me can surely attest, I am ridiculously down to earth and have a great time making fun of myself. I don't think I'm some hot-shot, fancy-pants tattoo artist. I draw on people for money. That ain't a bad gig. I'm happy if I have my rent paid and money for some sweet earrings at the end of the month and a little extra for my "buy-a-house-someday" fund would be perfection.
This isn't some pity party and I don't need a bunch of "I Love You"s to feel better. I just wanted to make sure we're all on the same damned page!! I'm thinking about instituting a Walk-In Day once a week. Let me know if you think it's a good idea.
Thanks for your time,
Joy
