I’m a tattoo artist and these are the designs I REFUSE to ink
I’m a tattoo artist and these are the designs I REFUSE to ink – including names if it’s not a member of your family
They say if you really want a tattoo, sit on the idea for a few years to see if the desire lasts beyond a passing fancy, but one artist says that you can skip the waiting period and just ditch some designs altogether.
Speaking to Metro.co.uk, Helsinki-based Sofia Tam revealed her absolute no-go’s when it comes to body art, including people’s names and blatant replications of other people’s designs.
She is also against any symbols which allude to death – or reference taking your own life, such as nooses – along with other more obvious refusals, such as racist or otherwise intolerant imagery.
Sofia also says she’d never tattoo on someone’s genitalia – revealing that a client had once asked her colleague to ink her anus.
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Speaking to Metro.co.uk , Helsinki-based Sofia Tam (pictured) revealed her absolute no-go’s when it comes to body ink
‘I don’t even know how that would heal,’ she said. ‘Anything down there is just going to get infected.’
The tattoo artist, who owns the Finland-based KVART Studios, says that while matching tattoos are ‘cool’ – and understands why you’d want to do something that represents the person you’re with – names ‘should be a family member or nothing at all’.
Sofia, 26, recalled one client who got his girlfriend’s initial – the letter S – done, joking that he could transform it to ‘sex’ if the romance didn’t work out.
Sure enough, just over a year later – ‘sex’ it was.
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She is also against any symbols which allude to death – or reference taking your own life, such as nooses
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As an artist, she explains, Sofia also can’t just copy someone else’s aesthetic when she’s curated her own direction. Pictured, an example of her work
The pro, who was born in Russia, also urges those wanting to get inked to look at an artist’s style before coming to the studio and expecting a rip-off of a design on social media.
For example, fake muscles, fake shoes, and the faces of family members are also off the table for her, as she doesn’t enjoy realistic work.
As an artist, she explains, Sofia also can’t just copy someone else’s aesthetic when she’s curated her own direction.
She adds that you can ask for a trend, but don’t expect a direct replica – as a ‘good tattoo artist’ would never so brazenly lift someone else’s work.
Sofia posts examples of her work on Instagram, having honed in on a more abstract style accentuated by freehand-style lines which often wrap around the body.