TATTOOIST INTERVIEWDo you go to many conventions now?
Before settling in France, I was used to picking up my stuff, moving
around countries and tattooing everywhere. But I’ve only really
started doing conventions in the past three or four years, because of
opening my studio and wanting to promote it. This is actually the first
time in a while that I’ve been stuck in one place, so to speak, and
conventions are my way of getting out there and catching up with
people. My husband is a musician, so he's the one who gets to go
away on tour now!
How would you describe your personal tattoo style?
I’m very much the ‘bird lady of Bordeaux’! I love birds and wildlife,
so I’m always happy doing them. It’s great if you get known for
something you enjoy doing.
What do you discuss at consultations?
It’s always good to have consultations with people to know how
much I can add in, and how ‘fun’ or ‘silly’ I can make the tattoo.
Then it’s about looking at positioning and angles, and we talk about
all sorts of other aspects, like sizing. Although it’s sometimes hard to
do, it’s important to make it unique for the client. Face-to-face
consultations are the best.
How do you manage the stress and pressure of your
working day?
Hmm, that's a tough one. I love what I do, so I don’t actually see it as
stress. It’s only when I stop that it hits, and then you realise your back’s
gone and the arthritis is creeping in. But when I’m tattooing I
completely lose myself in it. It’s like doing a watercolour painting, it’s
so therapeutic. Especially with the work I’m doing now. I’m doing a lot
of covering up of tattoos and scars, like mastectomy tattooing. That’s
not stress to me, that’s a beautiful thing to be able to do for someone. I
mean, stress can build up after a while if you’ve got people not turning
up or other problems like that. But on the whole, I don’t notice it.