If you follow the shop, you may have noticed a change: booking a tattoo now takes a $150 deposit, and it is non-refundable. I want to be straight with you about why, because this is not a money grab and it is not aimed at you if you actually show up for your appointments. It is aimed at the empty chair.
What kept happening
I am a one-man shop, and right now I am booked weeks in advance. Every appointment on my calendar is a block of time set aside for one person. Before you ever sit down, your design gets drawn, my station gets set up, and everyone else who wanted that slot got told to wait.
Then someone just does not show up.
That time does not come back. The hours I spent drawing are gone. The slot is gone, because I cannot fill a same-day cancellation when my books are weeks out. And the person who would have gladly taken that appointment is now waiting even longer for theirs. A no-show does not cost me a little. For that block of the day it costs me everything, and it costs another client their spot in line.
It was happening often enough that I had to do something about it. This is the something.
The deposit is a commitment, not a fee
Here is how I look at it. When you book with me, I commit to you completely: I hold your slot against everyone else who asks, I put in the drawing time before you arrive, and I am standing at that station ready to work when your appointment starts. The deposit is simply your half of the same deal.
If you want the tattoo, commit to it. I have to. You have to. That is the whole policy.
The key part: the deposit is not an extra charge. It comes straight off the final price of your tattoo. Serious clients pay exactly what they would have paid before, just with part of it up front.
How it works
- $150 books your appointment. No deposit, no booking.
- It is non-refundable. That is what makes it a commitment.
- It goes toward your tattoo. Every tattoo is a $150 minimum, so for a small piece the deposit can cover the whole thing.
- Life happens, so reschedules are fine. Give me at least 48 hours notice and your deposit moves with you to the new date.
- No-shows forfeit the deposit. Booking again takes a new one.
The full details live on the terms page, but that list is really all there is to it.
If you show up, nothing changes for you
Read that list again and notice who this policy actually costs: only the people who book a slot and burn it. For everyone who books and shows up, which is almost all of you, the only difference is paying part of your tattoo ahead of time.
What you get in return is a calendar that means something. When I give you a date, that date is protected the same way yours is. Fewer dead slots also means the waitlist moves faster, so the deposit is not just protecting my time, it is protecting your place in line.
Still not sure? Talk to me first
Consultations are still free and always will be. Message me with your idea, we will talk size, placement, and price, and there is no pressure and no deposit for that conversation. The deposit only comes in when you are ready to put a real date on the calendar. When you are, I will be ready too.