GUIDELINES..
→ Be over 18, vaccinated for COVID and boosted within the past year. Masks are mandatory, N95's, KN95's or any decent, well fitted and mask with a good seal. No single ply surgical masks please.
→ Cash only for payment.
→ If you won't be able to tip me, just let me know beforehand.
→ Read over the tattoo portion of my website and make sure you’re familiar with how I work before reaching out.
→ In the event of needing to cancel within 24 hours of our session, day of or no showing, I ask to be paid for my time and supplies. 150$CAD. I may turn down rebooking no shows that are without good reason.
→ If you're more than half an hour late, I'll charge by the hour (150$/hour) starting at the half hour. If I don't hear from you within an hour of our appointment I will consider our appointment cancelled.
→ Do not come see me if you're sick! Let me know as soon as possible. This is very important!
→ If you have frequent risk exposure to COVID in your life, please test twice before our session and follow up with me if needed. Suggested 7 days and 42 hours beforehand.
→ Ask before photographing me or taking photos with me in them. I will make sure to do the same for you and your tattoo.
→ Understand that I get to turn down work I can't, am not able or do not want to do.
A BIT ABOUT MY PRACTICE..
Tattooing is something I feel deeply grateful to do, it is a serious honour and big responsibility to be in the work of permanently adorning bodies.
I approach tattooing as a form of bodywork that centers experience, emotions, creativity and consent. I tattoo in a compassionate, intentional way that is relational over simply transactional and see tattoos as a celebration of bodily autonomy, agency and choice.
I have been tattooing for a decade as of 2025 and I began in 2015 as a flaily scratcher in a queer collective house. Learning slowly from practice, community, loving hype and plethora of trust from those around me. As I got more serious about it my attention and focus grew and it became my trade and creative displine. Working out of various spaces and home studios, I transitioned to having private studios and began doing guest spots in the early 2020's.
Shaping my practice into what is now has been organic to the way I relate to art and people. It became slow, thoughtful and interpersonal as that best suits me. Different from some standard industry practices based in what works for and makes most sense to me.
I aim to provide a safe, private, curated, comfortable and chill alternative to the classic shop atmosphere for people of all races, skin tones, bodies, and abilities. Offering transparency and discussion to the needs of different people is very important to me. And while my work and art is inherently queer, it is for all those who feel reflected in it and called to it. Ultimately my ambition is to help people self-actualize and feel true to themselves through making freaky tattoo dreams tangible!
I always invite feedback and offer the most gooey heartfelt thank you possible to everyone who has and continues to show up, support and believe in me as an artist.
Being a disabled, interdisciplinary and non-linear person, my work and capacity often fluctuate and I am sometimes tattooing in greater or lower volumes.This can be anywhere from weeks, months to years at a time. You can always check back on the status of my books through instagram or my newsletter for updates.
A BIT ABOUT THE PROCESS..
FLASH
My flash offerings are original designs that are once off AKA I will only tattoo them on one person unless I have your permission to do otherwise. Sometimes they are done for pairs or groups of people upon request. For example friendship or lover's tattoos. My flash is first come first serve and always goes to the first person to book it with me. Occasionally I will make series or pieces of flash that are repeatable, they are always marked with the phrase ‘repeatable,’ when I do.
The designs go up on my instagram stories, organized into my flash highlight. I also maintain a flash Folder as an alternative for people off social media, or those who just prefer that format. I mark claimed flash designs with the phrase ‘claimed,’ or take them down from the highlight and flash folder. Everything else you can assume is available.
FREEHAND
Freehand tattooing is something I am passionate about and eager to do! Creating a drawing on skin like a page in a sketchbook, a person shows up on a booked date with a placement in mind. We form something out of conversation, based around an idea like emotional landscapes, life events, or big open themes (this could be literally anything ex; gender euphoria, dreams about flying, summer road trips etc) I draw out a rough sketch with sterile markers and work towards a tattoo that unfolds as it is completed. The drawing time pre tattoo typically takes about an hour depending on size and detail. Being a process that is extra time consuming, laborious, creatively and emotionally involved I ask $180/hr.
CUSTOM WORK
Custom tattoos are tattoos done from designs that clients hire me to make specially for them! People approach me with their ideas using my booking form, and I reach out to them to discuss and plan over email. Consultations can happen over email for free or in person for a fee depending on what is wanted and needed for that tattoo.
The ideas people bring range from detailed and specific to loose and conceptual and I offer involvement through the process by emailing drafts, making space for input and including two revision requests in my drawing fees. This style of offering extra involvement is unusual for tattooers to offer; and is something I am able to do because of my lower work volume and maximum two clients a day ritual as a disabled tattoo artist. I also offer a few different kinds of in person consultations to accommodate different people, ideas and collaberations.
CUSTOM CONSULTATION OPTIONS
FREE Email Consultation: The most common choice, involving using email as our format to discuss and plan.
$60 Simple: An efficient 30 min to 1 hour meeting at my private studio.
$100 Relational: Involved, conversational and flexible, no time limit meeting at my private studio. Space for big conversations, deep listening and translating complex feelings and ideas into tattoo concepts.
Great for generating ideas, incorporating emotional nuance, working with complex concepts and matters of spirit.
DEPOSITS, FEES
Deposits: Currently I do not take deposits, instead I have a 24 hour cancellation fee and charge drawing fees for custom and semi freehand tattoos.
$80 Drawing fee: This fee is to cover time spent drawing, up to two requests for revisions and corresponding through the proccess. Extra revisions are $30CAN per request and bigger projects may require a larger fee.
$150 Cancelation fee: In the event of needing to cancel within 24 hours of our session, day of or no showing, I ask to be paid for my time and supplies.
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RATES..
CUSTOM WORK
150$ hourly
80$ drawing fee
sliding scale rates
open to discussion
FLASH
at set rates, linked here & on my instagram highlights
FREEHAND
$180 hourly
sliding scale rates
open to discussion
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ACCESSIBILITY INFO..
The studio is located at a drive up old motel turned arts building in a ground level suite. It is in the north west corner of the building tucked beside the stairwell in the corner. It's along a sidewalk with a wheelchair ramp that is 38.5" wide. The window to stairs entryway is 44.5" wide. The front door way is 33.5" wide from frame to the door and opens inwards. There is a small metal lip at the base of the door. The bathroom is small, its doorway is 24" wide. The sink in the bathroom stands at 33" tall. The massage table in the space currently is 29" tall and has a suggested 550 lbs weight limit.
There is a short and sturdy black velvet couch 17.5" wide for seating and two plastic ikea chairs. The space is scent reduced, some chemical smells from sterilization supplies. Noise levels vary with sound from busy roads, construction and other studios. The building is cement which does provide some sound proofing.
The floors are cement and there is efficient heating from a box heater as well as two plug in fans for cooling.
I use an ikea standing air purifier and a miniature portable one that I run near the work area.
For more information, as well as location and directions please be in touch with me via email correspondence.
BOOKING YOUR TATTOO..
My preffered method of intake is through my booking form.
You are also welcome to contact me directly thru the contact page or directly over email with any inquiries at bugcruickshank@gmail.com
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