The studio
A corner studio that books one chair at a time
No. 01
Ironline Tattoo Studio works on Anvil Street in Portland, Maine. Six services, four artists, and a price list that says what the counter charges.
From the first chair
How the studio approaches a piece
Every sitting here starts with a drawing rather than a machine. An artist asks what the piece is for, where it has to sit on the body when the body is at rest, and how it should read in ten years rather than in the first week. That is where most of the difference between two tattoos is decided, and it is the first thing to go when a chair is running behind.
The studio books one chair at a time for exactly that reason. A sitting is given the length the work needs rather than the length the diary would prefer, and the artist who starts a piece stays with it through every sitting it takes. Nothing is bundled, nothing is added at the counter, and a design that would not hold its line at the size and the placement asked for is said so before it begins rather than after.
A first visit can expect half an hour of talking and drawing before anything is switched on, a price that was already printed on the services page, and a stencil placed and approved on the skin before the first line goes in. It should not expect laser removal, permanent cosmetics, piercing or anything belonging with a medical practitioner; those are listed further down and they are listed because the answer is always the same one.
Signed at the chairMara Quinn, owner and lead artist
No. 02 · Anvil Street
Standing rules
Three operating principles
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01
The written price is the counter price
Every service on the board carries the figure the till takes. Where a price is marked “from”, the reason and the difference are quoted before the work begins.
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02
The wrong service is refused, not sold
If the chosen service will not do what was asked for, the artist says which one will. That happens in the reply to a message as readily as it happens at the chair.
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03
One piece, one artist
The artist who starts a piece is the artist who finishes it, across every sitting it takes. Nobody is handed between chairs to keep a diary moving, and nobody is told at the end of a day that somebody else will pick the outline up.
Where those rules came fromThey are the three things the studio was asked about most often in its first year, written down so that the answer does not change with whoever happens to answer the telephone.
No. 04
Start to finish
What happens between the first message and the finished piece
A message arrives
An artist replies
A time is agreed
The sitting happens
The limits
What the studio does not do
Ironline Tattoo Studio draws and tattoos custom work, flash and cover work only. There is no laser removal, no permanent cosmetics and no piercing, nobody under the age of eighteen is tattooed, and nothing is carried out that belongs with a medical practitioner. The studio has two chairs and no waiting room, so walk-in space is limited and an agreed time is the only way to be sure of one.
Talk to the studio
Ask before making the trip
A message describing the piece gets a straight answer about which service fits, what it costs and how many sittings it takes.
The column
A short note when the studio changes something
Holiday hours, an artist joining or leaving, a price that moves. Two or three notes a year and nothing else.