⭐️ Bring cash. Asmentioned in the form a client signs, I am cash only for tattoos under $400. There is an ATM on site but it sometimes only allows $200 with-drawls.

⭐️ Eat a nourishing meal before hand & keep hydrated!

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🌞 SUMMER HEAT season tattoos! 🌞

☀️ it is crucial to stay hydrated. Even days leading up to your appointment ! Dehydration can creep up on anyone without realizing

🌞 Do not work out right before the tattoo appointment.

🌞Don’t forget to eat a meal before your tattoo!

☀️ DO NOT GET SUNBURN on where you want to get tattooed. Artists can not tattoo over sunburn. You will need to wait a good while to heal. Deposits do not cover canceling a tattoo appointment last minute due to sunburn.

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⭐️ snacks & electrolytes are at the shop, you are welcome to bring your own!

⭐️ wear comfortable clothing, and clothing that is both accessible to the tattoo area & you don’t mind getting potentially stained. Avoid white.

⭐️smoking THC & drinking alcohol The evening before your appointment can lower pain threshold and cause more bleeding. (It will hurt more)

If you smoke, do it after your tattoo rather than before. Don’t drink alchohol alot the day before a tattoo.

⭐️ For large scale tattoos, there is such a thing called tattoo-flu. Sometimes after a long session, you can feel flu like symptoms later on. This is due to tattooing being stressful to our body, as our skin is a living organ & losing fluids through blood & sweat. Plenty of rest and hydration will help and should pass quickly.

A $60 non refundable despot is required when booking an appointment that will be deducted from total cost of tattoo or given back at appointment. If needing to reschedule, contact me 48 hours or more to keep deposit & reschedule. You must reschedule a new future date within 10 days of canceling to use the same deposit. No showing, Canceling under 48 hours, & lack of confirming reschedule date during designated time span forfeits the deposit and a new one must be made.

Illness:

Getting sick and getting tattooed is a recipe for a bad time. Tattooing affects our bodies as it is trauma to the skin and the body has a stress response.

In the event you get sick the same week within 7 days of your appointment) it is important for you to reschedule. By notifying me at earliest signs, you are able to keep your deposit and reschedule. Please respect my time and don’t wait until the night before to mention you happened to be all that week.

I understand sickness can happen day of appointment in rare circumstances. I respect when my clients are honest, I’d rather reschedule for both our safety with deposit safe.

If sick policy gets abused, there could be loss of deposit and a new one needs to be made.

Our studios name is Black Velvet Ink and it is located in the Velvet Mills in Stonington, CT. The address is 44 Meadow Ave., Stonington, CT and the studio number is 65A. (Dont google map “Velvet Mills” - it will bring you to the wrong entrance)

The studio is located on the East end of the mill and we recommend parking along the lot on Meadow Ave alongside the sculpture park (but you are allowed to park in any of the mills lots). Look for the hanging BVI sign, We are the first set of double grey doors to the left of the loading dock. Enter through those doors and we are to the left with another large BVI sign!

Tips are greatly appreciated.

Artists either have a commission split, or rent a chair in a shop.

We also purchase a portion of supplies out of pocket.

We spend a lot of time outside of tattooing designing unique and custom pieces for our clients.

Tipping is a great way to show your support to a local artist for all the behind the scene work to bring an idea to life! ❤️

My current rate is 130/hr plus CT sales tax. The total cost is based on the syle, detail, size and duration of sitting.

Art takes time. The more detail, the more time it takes as everything is done by hand!

Color, realism, & packing black tend to take the longest.

You are worth it! Your tattoo is a direct investment back into you✨

I currently offer free touchups to all my clients. To book a touchup you can fill out a form and put “touchup” with the description of which tattoo, or text my business number.

As a new artist, there is a lot to learn and experiment with. Tattooing on a living organ (your skin) is quite different than drawing traditionally.

Time is a factor to the artwork. I want both the client and I to be proud of the piece.

For fine line tattoos and the placement of feet & fingers, these tend to fade faster. This just means maintenance once in awhile. We go over this more in person.

As an artist, I have a right to use my curated designs as a medium outside of tattooing such as advertising, portfolio, and merchandise as it is my creation.

⭐️Custom tattoos, will always be one off original tattoos. ⭐️

Translation- your custom tattoo is yours as a tattoo. No one will ever receive your custom tattoo as a form of tattoo. In that medium realm- that is yours alone!

Tattoo Flash- pre drawn by artist & repeatable designs for a duration of time. Some are limited edition, some get retired, some only repeat a certain number of times.

Tattoo Predrawn: artwork made by the artist to be claimed by someone only once.

Tattoo custom- a client works with an artist and brings an idea to the artist. It is either very specific tailored to the client or, a client brings up an open ended idea left up to the artist to interpret into the artists style.

Example- I often make merch/ prints of my pre-drawn designs or open ended requests in my style and use client specific custom tattoos as portfolio/advertisement.