Dermal Sins Custom tattoos
302 13st N T1H2R8 Lethbridge, AB, Canada

this is a long one. you have been warned! =) Ok, folks, pull up a chair and let's have a little talk. First, this is not a debate. It's not a platform to discu...ss politics. It's also not intended to start drama. Miss me and my timeline with that mess. You may read some things you disagree with here. You may think it's aimed at you. It's not. Bear in mind the following are my thoughts, my feelings, my experiences. I understand that my experiences, my needs, etc are my own. We as tattoo artists are just as varied and diverse as the rest of the world. There are plenty of artists out there who are not going to agree with me. That is their business, and I understand. But that doesn't mean I have to be quiet about my opinions to spare someone else's feelings. I am going to word vomit here. I'm gonna talk to you about all the discussions going on behind the scenes amongst the tattoo artists I have been in contact with. I want to have a frank discussion about all the obstacles those in our industry are currently facing as we deal with this outbreak, and the obstacles we will continue to face as the discussion ramps up towards reopening. My hope that this little missive will help you to understand and be informed about what we are up against when it comes to safely reopening our doors. Let's start with the basics. For the purposes of this argument, let's assume COVID-19 IS REAL. Also, it affects perfectly healthy young people. Also, those who are old or immune-compromised are STILL HUMAN F*CKING BEINGS who deserve more than your apathy. If you can't get on board with these "assumptions", GTFO. This post isn't for you, no amount of reason or pleas for empathy or common sense are going to reach you here, you're wasting both of our time, go away.... WHEW. Ok, now that we've gotten that out of the way, on with the show. We closed down as we were told. We remain closed as we have been told. Yes, there are other artists out there tattooing right now. No, they're not legally supposed to be doing so. No, I'm not going to tattoo you illegally just because there are other people out there doing it. Yes, I want your money. Yes, we are in real danger of closing down permanently if this drags on too long. But continuing to practice this profession in the middle of a pandemic in direct contradiction to the order of law and in the face of medical professionals all saying it is dangerous to do so - is not only unprofessional - it's stupid, unsafe, and irresponsible. I know folks have to make a living. I know this isn't sustainable. But if you have to work and you can't do your job safely, you get another job. Find a way to make it work. Is it fair that we should have to be thinking about walking away from everything we've built to ensure the safety of others? No. But you know what? The world isn't a fair place. Ok, that's all i'm going to say about that. Let's get on to the main point - re-opening. Here in Louisiana, our current stay-at-home order extends to may 15th. Prior to that, it was april 30th. After that? who knows? we (tattoo artists) can't tell you when the official opening date is because WE DON'T KNOW. Most likely, we'll find out the stay-at-home order is lifted at the same time you will. We're all watching the same news-bulletins. In many states, re-openings are being phased in based on how risky it is for them to open. Which means even though other businesses may be allowed to open right away, we may not. Will we be phase 1? phase 2 or 3? WE DON'T KNOW. I doubt at this point that even the governor's office knows. We're all playing the same massive game of wait-and-see. So, once all those questions are answered and we get the go-ahead, what happens next? First we have a discussion amongst ourselves (our artists in our shop) over whether we feel it's safe to go back. Just because the governor says we can doesn't mean we have to. If the number of cases in our parish is still rising when the stay-at-home is canceled, don't count on seeing us opening our doors the very next day. Ok. We're ready to go back to work. Now what? Well, in the interest of saving money, we've had all our utilities turned off at the shop. So, first order of business, we gotta get everything turned back on. Clean everything top to bottom. Make sure we're ready to safely welcome clientele back into our space. Speaking of welcoming clientele - next on the list is figuring out how we will handle new procedures - do we go appointment only/no walkins/wait in your car til you're called? Obviously we'll have to make new rules so that folks can't bring their friends. Do we break the staff into shifts so that only half are tattooing at a time? Do we wipe down every surface every time we have a new person in or out? I mean like even the counters in reception and bathrooms? The hallways? Do we switch to only doing one or two clients per artist per day? Do we need to remodel our procedure rooms in order to be able to practice safely? Also, what about PPE? Don't be surprised if the way tattoo shops utilise ppe is forever changed. Did you know most tattoo artists didn't even wear gloves until the advent of HIV? One day they'll be saying "did you know tattoo artists didn't even wear masks until covid?" And speaking of masks, where do we get them? The entire country is scrabbling to get their hands on gloves and masks right now. Can we even get enough to be able to operate in a safe manner? IS IT REALLY EVEN ETHICAL FOR US TO BE BUYING UP MASKS AND GLOVES IN ORDER TO PROVIDE A LUXURY SERVICE WHEN THERE AREN'T ENOUGH AVAILABLE FOR HOSPITALS AND NURSING HOMES? And even if we CAN get masks and gloves, can we get them affordably enough that we can still make a profit without having to jack our prices up sky-high? What about the quality of the ppe that's available? Standard surgical masks aren't going to cut it to protect us or our clients when we're sitting 6 inches from each other for in excess of 2 hours. And are masks and gloves even enough? This is an airborne particle mind you - we've all seen the posts from other tattoo artists saying "We're trained in bloodbourne pathogens!" We're clean! We're sterile! Why can't we open?!?! But here are the simple facts: yes, we're trained in bbp. But guess what? this is AIRBORNE!!! We are not trained for this. Yes, we understand cross-contamination much more thoroughly than the average joe. But how do you manage cross-contamination when you're dealing with an airborne pathogen? When every single surface that a client's BREATH MIGHT TOUCH is potentially infectious? Imagine sitting in a tattoo shop in which someone is constantly spraying small amounts of glitter spray the whole time you're there - what are the chances of you going home after several hours of this without having glitter on your shoes/clothes/bags/etc? How quickly would said glitter end up all over your house when you arrive home? If you're truly well-versed in cross-contamination and aware of what airborne means, you should be MORE inclined to postpone opening, not LESS..... and don't even get me started on "we're sterile". Do a google search of "sterile vs aseptic", there's a difference. If you don't know the difference, educate yourselves. These are conversations going on behind the scenes right now.... They go a little something like this: Should we remove every nonessential item that can't be wiped down from the shop? All trinkets and artwork and knicknacks packed away, because they may be harboring pathogens for weeks after a carrier has contaminated them? Are gloves and masks enough? Should we be wearing face shields? Aprons? Coveralls? Safety glasses? Should we install a washer and dryer in the shop and make all the crew change into/out of scrubs when they enter the shop? Do we provide masks for everyone who enters, or make sure they are aware they need to bring their own? Can we even trust that something they bring themselves will be effective? What constitutes a mask? Will we let someone in if all they have is a bandana? Will we risk losing clientele if we make them wear ppe? Do we even care if we lose clients who place their own comfort above our attempts to be safe? Should we switch to cards only (no cash)? Should we make all consent forms digital? Would our state health department even allow us to go digital? How do we adjust our deposit policy to accommodate the current situation? Should we make all portfolios digital and get rid of the physical copies? Should we put away all books/magazines/flash that clients might normally thumb through? Are all these changes permanent, or are they temporary measures? we don't know. we don't know. we don't know.... Then there’s the moral/ethical dilemma. Not only do we worry about the ethics of procuring masks and gloves when they’re in such high demand - should we really be poking holes in people and lowering their immunity in the midst of a pandemic? Do we deny services to those we deem high risk? How do we decide who is high risk? How is denying service to high-risk people because we don’t feel comfortable not problematic at best and discriminatory at worst? If we really truly don’t feel comfortable tattooing but do it anyway because we need the money / feel pressured / don’t want to disappoint you - what kind of people does that make us? And what do we do/how do we feel/ how do we live with ourselves if we do open back up and people get sick, possibly die, so we can make money? THEN, once the shops are open - will they stay open? We know the virus is still unchecked here in the u.s we are constantly being warned that there will be waves of this, possible renewed shutdowns in the future. What if bootleg tattoo artists / shops that jump to re-open at the first chance they get are proven to be a vector for the disease? Will we be shut down again for the sins of our brothers? Not allowed to open again until the virus is completely under control? Could we potentially be looking at YEARS before we are allowed to reopen nationwide? Did you know an outbreak of hepatitis is largely responsible for the shutdown of large swaths of the tattoo industry in the 50s and 60s? That New York and Oklahoma didn’t even get legal tattooing back until the late 90s and early 2000s? Is that what we are looking at here? We. don’t. Know. To be honest, anyone who is in this industry who claims to know what the future holds- anyone who thinks tattooing right now is no big deal- Who proclaims that there is no danger- Who feels like this industry is just gonna keep right on ticking along unchanged after all this- anyone who isn’t asking themselves these questions and wondering what the future holds- these people are either lying to you, or themselves, or both. Think very carefully about whether they have your best interests and the best interests of your family in mind. All we know is what we feel. We miss you. We miss our shop. We miss our shop family.. We miss our income, our stability, our sense of worth and even our identity. Tattooing isn’t just an income. It’s who we are. Tattooing is and has been the basis for all our hopes and dreams - making art, making connections with our communtiy, providing for our families, defining who we are. We want to come back. Desperately. But we want to be safe. We want our families to be safe. And we want you and your families to be safe. Part of being a family - part of being human - is that sometimes you sacrifice your own wants, your own needs, for the safety of others. You are our family, and we care for you. So if we take a little while to reopen. If it seems we’re dragging our feet if you feel like we’re not getting things off the ground quick enough for your liking; be patient. We’re doing this for you. Hang in there, and we’ll be back at it just as soon as we can safely do so. Being told we are allowed to open, will just be the beginning.

to all current and future customers during this covid-19 epidemic: i will stay open to serve all current bookings and i request that if your not feeling well or under the weather leading up to your appointment i’m willing to book you a future appointment with out fear of lost or forfeit deposits, if your from out of town and traveling to see or be with family and have a booking things are going to day by day, only 2-3 people maximum in the shop at one time , and please be safe out there kids

UNFORTUNATELY CLOSED FOR A DAY OR SO . got the gnarly throat infection goin around, PLEASE DONT LEAVE YOUR HOUSE OR BE AROUND PEOPLE WHEN YOUR INFECTIOUS.. this goes without saying people in the food industry get it if your sick don’t go to work don’t spread this stuff around

Go check out Dermal Sins Custom tattoos I got some more wicked art up in there!!!

times running short kids

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