Your Home Away From Home:
The Tattoo Studio

It is very important to present a welcoming and tidy space to your clients so they can be assured of your adherence to high standards when it comes to tattooing.

My tattoo studio is practically my second home.  I literally live 5 minutes from the shop—which is both a blessing and a curse! (great to have such a quick jaunt to work—bad cause it’s too easy to “just go to work for a bit” and lose track of time). In the last 11 years I have spent so much time there that I know every nook and cranny of the building including all its special quirks.

In fact, many times I must force myself to really stop and look around, because once you walk through your place a thousand times, you don’t always see what needs attention.  Like cobwebs in corners, dust on shelves, chipped paint or accumulated boxes. (Oh Shit I better go down there right now and heed my own advice!)

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Okay I’m back!  ?

When it comes to having an appealing and safe tattoo shop & studio space, keep in mind the following:

• Lobby should be clean, organized, uncluttered and comfortable.
• Shop should be properly ventilated and clean.
• The walls, floor and floor coverings in the studio should be non-porous, washable and they should always be clean.
• Area around tattoo work stations should stay clean, including floor. (Stools are often rolled around in dripped ink spots and cause build up on wheels and messy marks on floor.)
• Studio should be supplied with continuous hot and cold running water.
• The studio should never be used for cooking, sleeping or living quarters.
• The whole shop should be kept free of rodents and insects.
• Exits should be clearly marked.
• Restroom should be kept in sanitary condition and provided with hot and cold running water, liquid soap, paper towels and toilet paper. (A little air freshener couldn’t hurt either!)
• Any waste material, such as paper towels, dropped on the floor during tattoo should be removed from the floor without delay and deposited in trash.
• Tattoo furniture should be made of non-porous or corrosive material and have a smooth surface for easy sanitizing.
• Studio should have good lighting. Bacteria have a more difficult time living in continuous light.

Busy tattooers need to remember to make time for the shop.

A routine spring and fall cleaning should help keep things like burnt-out bulbs, touch-up painting and dusty corners at bay. And regular daily and weekly tasks should be assigned to all artists, particularly if there is no shop assistant to organize chores.

I recommend having a chore list assigned to each person in the studio, and they can initial a chore calendar when the task is complete. This helps to keep track of everything and avoid any one person having to be the HARPY (I even made a step-by-step list of HOW to do each chore).

Honestly, I’m always surprised how many of our new students/artists don’t know how to do a thorough job on chores!!  I often feel like I am talking to my children when they were little… “this is called a DUST PAN…it goes with its friend Mr. Broom!”

I know, I know….artists are special, creative, & magical…they have no time for silly menial things like chores.

Seriously, that might be fine in an art studio, all whirls and twirls of paint, clay, and pencil shavings, but a tattoo studio must be ship shape at all times!

~S

PS
Eikon Device  Tattoo Supply
has a large variety of items to help keep your studio clean as a whistle!