Covered Toronto Tattoo & Art Expo

ONTARIO BODY ART PROFESSIONALS: we need to come TOGETHER now. This lockdown is destroying to many of our businesses and we need eachother. It’s now or never. ... Please: head to www.ontariobodyartalliance.com and JOIN the conversation or at very least join as a number. The time to #saveontariobodyart is now.

The tattoo industry has implemented new protocols to ensure we are able to resume services and operate safely. With new screening protocols, enhanced cleaning a...nd disinfecting, occupancy limitations and the use of mask. We are doing everything we can to ensure getting a tattoo or piercing is safer than ever before. Getting a tattoo has had similar protocols to dental and medical procedures for almost 20 years. Most of these protocols have been in practice and place long before we’ve added respiratory protocols and engineering controls for the general public. We have always put the health and safety of our staff and community first. @manitobabodyart @Rich Handford https://www.manitobabodyart.com/

Last year was a blast - join us SEPTEMBER 18-20 2020 in Toronto ON - artist & vendor registration now open

Covered Expo stands with Black Lives Matter

Our Memphis - Covered talking about finding positives in COVID19

Attn Everyone within the Beauty Industry, Tattooers, Fans, Friends, Family we NEED your help. Please take 2 minutes to create a new email, copy and paste the attached information and hit SEND and let's bombard our Canadian Governments with our voices and demand that we are included: During COVID our world has drastically changed, and so has our ability to work. As you may know tattoo shops, hair salons, nail and wax salons, and barbers have been forced to temporarily close,... with no near end in sight. Without the option of working from home we have been eagerly awaiting solutions from government and specifically the CEBA, a loan designed for small to medium size businesses. Unfortunately, when the requirements came out it became apparent that because of the way tattoo shop and the beauty industry operate not everyone would be able to apply. Leaving some with Zero options to keep paying utilities and rent. Though evictions have been halted for residential tenants there has been no clear directive for commercial tenants. Can you imagine finally coming out of this and your favorite tattoo shop is no longer there, the salon or barber shop you frequent is gone? With a timeline that keeps extending, this is what many are facing. Artists, hairdresser, barbers, and nail technicians and clients with no where to go. We want to do the best for all of you and for our staff so please take a moment to send our letter to you local MPP, and to the emails linked below. We DESERVE to be able to fight for our businesses. We DESERVE to be eligible for the same loans as all other small businesses. We need to change CEBA so we are included and furthermore we need to make sure we are seen and heard in all future policies, funding, and relief to help ALL small businesses. Please SHARE THIS POST TOO. - Memphis Mori, Grim City Tattoo Club - Tina Puedmag Legris, Puedmag Inkpire Tattoo Shop Toronto See more

Had the Complete pleasure of doing a podcast with Tatts & Trax Podcast last night. So much fun. We talked Covid-19, Tattoo Shops, Convention’s and Activism. Give it a listen!!

Canadian Tattooers, Collectors and Supporters of All Small Businesses: We NEED YOUR HELP. I need you to copy and paste our message into an email ... Add your own story above it, and then email it to [email protected], [email protected], [email protected], [email protected], Copy & Paste below. - To our Government: We need your help; ***** Add your story here. **** - the CEBA loan information was released April 9- I alongside probably most Canadian small business owners read through the information and contacted my bank in order to apply for it. I quickly realized that my business would not qualify. I own GRIM CITY TATTOO CLUB in Hamilton Ontario and we don’t qualify; because we don’t have a payroll. We pay our taxes every year, like every business, but our artists are independent contractors. They’re self employed. They’re being left behind. WE ARE BEING LEFT BEHIND. How the tattoo industry works is - tattooers charge their clients directly for their tattoo, and then they have to pay the shop a booth rental fee monthly or a percent of each tattoo. The tattoo artist rents a space within the studio and then has access to the supplies and amenities/resources within the shop (a booking manager, computers, scheduling software, marketing and ads, web design and presence, the name of the shop and access to the shop’s client base, social media management ETC). Tattooers are independent contractors or in better terms- self employed business owners sharing a co working space. Our industry has been deemed non essential. We have lost our jobs and have no idea when we can go back- just like many other industries. But the difference is- in the past years - tattooing has always been forgotten and neglected, it has always been dismissed or vilified at worst, and at best; Lumped into the beauty industry as a whole when we are not that similar. Tattooing requires a lot of knowledge of human anatomy, patience, empathy for pain - both physical and emotional, years and years of dedication to developing their art, honing their skills and building their talents, thousands of dollars in supplies and equipment and training in cross contamination, blood borne pathogens & Safety procedures. We are artists, therapists, healers, we help people grow and transform into the people they want to be. We help people heal from the wounds that they never speak about, we hear stories that are the darkest places in our clients’ lives. Tattooing in the USA is a 10 BILLION dollar a year industry, but when it comes down to politicians noticing or listening, we’re ignored. When it comes to business loans or support, lines of credit, business development; banks turn a blind eye. When it comes to local governments helping our businesses- we’re dismissed. I’m no politician, but I have always been one to try and stand up for what I believe in. And right now - Tattoo Studios and the self employed artists are being left to fend for themselves in increasingly daunting waters. Canadians have been told we don’t have to pay rent until this is over; but when it’s over does that mean small businesses will drown in debts that they can’t pay back and thus lose their locations ? We have no way to access loans and the $2000 a month we get personally certainly won’t cover the business expenses; how do we keep the lights on? The heat? How do we continue to pay the bills with no income and no assistance? The government of Canada is trying to help but AGAIN it’s forgetting us, or worse- it just DOESNT CARE. We need to be included. As a Canadian business, we pay taxes, we contribute to our community, my shop has 15 artists, apprentices & piercers that are counting on having a place to return too once it is safe to return. We give back 30% of a flash special every month to local charities. We used to offer free laser removal on racist or homophobic tattoos or pieces from human trafficking, prison or gangs, we try and be a good part of our community, and there are SO many other small businesses that do similar acts, there are so many businesses with self employed people relying on them to reopen. The CEBA needs to provide exceptions or be based on something more than JUST T4 payrolls. We need to come together and protect small businesses within our communities. We need to make our voices heard and stand as a united front - TOGETHER we can make the government and banks notice our industry. TOGETHER we can save our businesses. TOGETHER, WE RISE. Signed Memphis Mori Owner of Grim City Tattoo Club Hamilton Ontario

CANADIAN TATTOOERS: the CEBA loan information was released April 9- I alongside probably most Canadian small business owners read through the information and co...ntacted my bank in order to apply for it. I quickly realized that my business would not qualify. I own GRIM CITY TATTOO CLUB in Hamilton Ontario and we don’t qualify; because we don’t have a payroll. We pay our taxes every year, like every business, but our artists are independent contractors. They’re self employed. They’re being left behind. WE ARE BEING LEFT BEHIND. How the tattoo industry works is - tattooers charge their clients directly for their tattoo, and then they have to pay the shop a booth rental fee monthly or a percent of each tattoo. The tattoo artist rents a space within the studio and then has access to the supplies and amenities/resources within the shop (a booking manager, computers, scheduling software, marketing and ads, web design and presence, the name of the shop and access to the shop’s client base, social media management ETC). Tattooers are independent contractors or in better terms- self employed business owners sharing a co working space. Our industry has been deemed non essential. We have lost our jobs and have no idea when we can go back- just like many other industries. But the difference is- in the past years - tattooing has always been forgotten and neglected, it has always been dismissed or vilified at worst, and at best; Lumped into the beauty industry as a whole when we are not that similar. Tattooing requires a lot of knowledge of human anatomy, patience, empathy for pain - both physical and emotional, years and years of dedication to developing their art, honing their skills and building their talents, thousands of dollars in supplies and equipment and training in cross contamination, blood borne pathogens & Safety procedures. We are artists, therapists, healers, we help people grow and transform into the people they want to be. We help people heal from the wounds that they never speak about, we hear stories that are the darkest places in our clients’ lives. Tattooing in the USA is a 10 BILLION dollar a year industry, but when it comes down to politicians noticing or listening, we’re ignored. When it comes to business loans or support, lines of credit, business development; banks turn a blind eye. When it comes to local governments helping our businesses- were dismissed. I’m no politician, but I have always been one to try and stand up for what I believe in. And right now - Tattoo Studios and the self employed artists are being left to fend for themselves in increasingly daunting waters. Canadians have been told we don’t have to pay rent until this is over; but when it’s over does that mean small businesses will drown in debts that they can’t pay back and thus lose their locations ? We have no way to access loans and the $2000 a month we get personally certainly won’t cover the business expenses; how do we keep the lights on? The heat? How do we continue to pay the bills with no income and no assistance? The government of Canada is trying to help but AGAIN it’s forgetting us, or worse- it just DOESNT CARE. We need to be included. As a Canadian business, we pay taxes, we contribute to our community, my shop has 15 artists, apprentices & piercers that are counting on having a place to return too once it is safe to return. We give back 30% of a flash special every month to local charities. We used to offer free laser removal on racist or homophobic tattoos or pieces from human trafficking, prison or gangs, we try and be a good part of our community, and there are SO many other small businesses that do similar acts, there are so many businesses with self employed people relying on them to reopen. The CEBA needs to provide exceptions or be based on something more than JUST T4 payrolls. We need to come together and protect small businesses within our communities. We need to make our voices heard and stand as a united front - TOGETHER we can make the government and banks notice our industry. TOGETHER we can save our businesses. TOGETHER, WE RISE.