![]() ![]() You are also welcome to come into the shop and talk to one of our managers or artists, if they’re available. In order for us to quote your idea, we need to consider the subject, size, placement on the body, detail, colors, etc. The best way to get an accurate price range is by booking a (free!) consultation with the artist - if not in person, then through a brief detailed email which we prefer the most. Final price is dependent on size, detail of the design, colors and which artist you’ve chosen. It depends on the artist, our minimum charge is $80 per person. Not only must you be 18, you have to prove it with a valid State or Federal Photo ID. In accordance with this law we have a strict NO MINORS POLICY. It is against California Law to tattoo a minor, even with parental consent. Note: Our artists are located in three locations, some do not travel between the three studios. Give us 1-3 days to reply your email, please do not send us multiple requests. We schedule appointments a maximum of three months in advance. This will enable us to process your request quickly and efficiently. Published as “An Oasis of Ink” in the September 2022 issue of Philadelphia magazine.Once you’ve selected your preferred artist(s) or if you do not have a preference, you can either stop by the shop or send a detailed email with a description of the design, reference photos, what colors you like, and your preferred dates to schedule (the more flexible you are, the quicker we can schedule you in). And in semi-apocalyptic times like these, reclaiming my body in the face of my fears had lifted some weight off my shoulders. This funny little imp gave me a moment of levity I didn’t know I’d needed. Above my left elbow sat a frog-like creature in a pointed hat with smoke billowing from the top. When I looked in the full-length mirror, I realized I’d eradicated the knot of self-doubt, grief and stress that had been building up inside me for the past two years. Harvi spoke about wanting her clients to feel welcome and safe, not like they have to “earn” the ink.Īnd suddenly, it was over. We talked a lot in the next hour and a half - about our hometowns, dating, previous jobs. I’d spent days imagining having to sit perfectly still through sensations so agonizing that I wouldn’t be able to think in fact, the gun felt more like a scratch. rolled around, I was facedown in the hot seat. She directed me to an ornately decorated sitting area where her flash book full of teeth, pin-up girls and 16th-century ghouls sat on an antique table. A bell jingled when I opened the door and caught the attention of Marcella Harvi, that week’s artist accepting walk-ins. I think I saw the beginnings of it firsthand.Īfter months of Insta-stalking, I built up the courage to visit Now and Forever. Oreto believes this wave will drastically change the industry within five years. ![]() A quick scroll through the Instagram tag “#girlswhoink” reveals places like Black Rose Ink and I Am Art Tattoo & Piercing, a shop with all artists and piercers of color. The number of woman-owned and femme-friendly tattoo shops is growing nationwide, but particularly in Philly. I have young ladies that tried to get apprenticeships and couldn’t … or need a safe place to work.” “I wanted to create an atmosphere that wasn’t really masculine but was still true to old-school tattoo shops,” Oreto says. Owner Kristel Oreto describes the studio, with its flamingo pink walls, as a “lady tattooer collective,” though it’s more like an oasis in what can be an otherwise unwelcoming field. Still, for years, I didn’t dare enter any of Philly’s shops to put my trust in a stranger.īut at Now and Forever Tattoo, it’s easy to trust, for both the clients as well as the women and non-binary artists who practice there. I did feel that a tattoo was necessary - not only as a statement that my body is mine and mine alone, but out of love for art. Dentists’ appointments, blood tests, making small talk - these were necessary but agonizing things. Those parts of adulthood that involve subjecting myself to pain, mental or physical, terrified me. My brothers came home bearing tattoos within months of going to college, but I didn’t share their cavalier attitude. Now and Forever Tattoo shop owner Kristel Oreto / Photograph by Gene Smirnovīody modification was a coming-of-age tradition in my household.
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