‘Safe space’ tattoo studios: why they’re important
Why is it so intimidating to walk into a tattoo studio?
Maybe it’s the inked and pierced professionals who are surely going to judge your cheesy design idea, or the deafening buzz of a tattoo gun scratching away at someone’s arm a few feet away. For many first timers, it’s the amount of trust you have to put in a stranger to permanently alter your body.
Tattoos and piercings are often viewed as a frivolous activity, but trusting someone to permanently alter your body is, in all reality, a big and frightening choice to make. Taking this into account, many tattoo studios have adopted the title of being a ‘safe space’ in recent years. Elizabeth Moroni and Madison Haley, two tattoo artists based in the San Fernando Valley, are advocating for a more inclusive form of tattooing, and would like to eradicate the harsh stigmas surrounding the industry.
Elizabeth Moroni works at Puchica, a tattoo studio in Boyle Heights that is promoted as a safe space for all clients. They have currently been tattooing for four years, but they’ve been an artist for as long as they can remember.
It was during high school when Moroni knew tattooing is what they wanted to do. But, taking the step to get into the industry was daunting and took a lot of effort.
As it is for many trainees, Moroni’s introduction to tattooing was rough. Finding a mentor was difficult, so they got a start on developing their skills by shadowing friends and interviewing tattoo artists. Horror stories about unpaid tattoo apprenticeships are not uncommon, with many mentees detailing abuse and unsafe work environments.
Moroni has now been at Puchia for 3 years, and loves working with like-minded people — most of them Latinx, and/or queer — and the welcoming environment that they foster together. Comparing their time spent working at a more traditional tattoo studio during their humble beginnings as a tattoo artist, Moroni is relieved to be out of that intolerant environment.
“I worked at a shop previously that was very traditional. And that atmosphere didn’t seem to be the most positive,” said Moroni. “I would hear problematic things on a daily basis, like casual homophobia, stuff like that. So [Puchica] is definitely a way better environment.”
The word ‘consent’ came up a lot while talking with Moroni about tattooing. Moroni believes tattooing, and the relationships they create with their clients, has taught them about how to respect their clients’ bodies. Rarely do we consider the intimacy of getting a tattoo, and their effect on how comfortable we feel in our skin. One 2015 study found that among 2,395 college students in the U.S., females with four or more tattoos had a ‘statistically significant elevation in self-esteem’.
“Being a tattoo artist, you learn a lot about consent, and how people reclaim their bodies by getting tattoos. And I think that’s historically been overlooked in the tattoo industry,” said Moroni. “I think that’s also a really valuable part of tattooing, because it translates into human life directly.”
For Moroni, that’s why creating a safe environment without judgment is so important when it comes to tattooing. Both emotionally and physically, clients being tattooed are vulnerable and have to believe their artist will understand their vision and safely guide them through the process.
“Being tattooed is when you’re at your most vulnerable. Not just emotionally, but I think that the physical aspect of being tattooed is scary. So, I think having a safe space to go through that process is really important and valuable to have,” said Moroni.
The importance of a strong client-artist relationship is something that Madison Haley is also very aware of. Haley works at Queens of Needles, a tattoo studio in West Hills that employs an all-female staff of tattoo artists and piercers.
Haley takes a lot of pride in the studio’s commitment to creating a comfortable and welcoming environment for their clients which can be hard to find amongst the countless traditional shops.
“When [female clients] come and sit in our shop, they say that this is the first time they’ve felt safe in a shop, or it’s the first time they feel like they’ve been listened to in a shop,” said Haley.
One thing both Haley and Moroni have in common is their struggle to be respected as a legitimate artist by male peers and customers. When starting out, Haley was lucky to have a good experience with apprenticeships. However, things took a turn when she ended up in a studio with a toxic and unhealthy work environment.
“One of the shops I ended up at, I felt like I was very much deliberately attacked because I was a woman and I progressed fast,” said Haley. “The male co-workers that I had worked with would go out of their way to try and tell me that I was a bad artist, that my tattoos looked terrible. It just was not a healthy environment.”
Even though she faced obstacles, Haley says most of her time as a tattoo artist has been overwhelmingly positive. Haley has now been working at Queens of Needles for three years. She believes having a space where women can come together and flourish creatively in a historically male-dominated field is empowering.
“I have so many amazing clientele, new and returning, and I’m just very thankful that I get to be in an environment where it’s just a complete support system,” said Haley.
Among the issues that still need tackling in the tattoo industry, racism is one of the most prominent; specifically, the lack of artists of color and education on proper methods of tattooing darker skin tones.
Moroni mentioned that the problem is so wide-spread, that there are Instagram accounts dedicated to featuring tattoos on dark skin tones.
“A lot of tattoo artists don’t really know how to tattoo on dark skin. Colors set differently, and designs have to be adjusted so that they look their best,” said Moroni. “I would like to see more education with that. And also, more accessibility for people of color who are getting into tattooing.”
Haley has a similar wish when it comes to the future of tattooing — more accessibility for artists with marginalized identities to succeed in their field.
“I would like to see more people of color and gender diversity. I think those are very important aspects to add into tattooing because tattooing is not limited to just one type of person,” said Haley.
The future of tattooing is looking bright, but there is no doubt still work to be done. Artists like Moroni and Haley are leading the way to normalizing a more inclusive, understanding and safe atmosphere to tattoo.
“Women are becoming more and more accepted and respected in this industry. Even though there’s definitely still bumps in the road for women, we’re smoothing them out,” said Haley.
