The studio
One room, second floor.
No waiting area, no front desk and no phone. Whoever is in the room is tattooing, which is why everything goes through email.
Second floor, 18 Vyner Street, London E2 9DG
Getting here
- Cambridge Heath
- Overground, four minutes on foot. Out of the station, left along Cambridge Heath Road, then first right into Vyner Street.
- Bethnal Green
- Central line, nine minutes. Head north up Cambridge Heath Road and Vyner Street is on your left just past the canal.
- The door
- The plain black door beside the gallery, not the gallery entrance itself. Ring the top bell and come up to the second floor.
- Cycling
- Racks directly outside on Vyner Street. There is room for a folded bike inside if you would rather not leave it.
Open
- Tuesday – Friday11:00 – 19:00
- Saturday11:00 – 17:00
- Sunday & MondayClosed
These are the hours the studio is staffed for booked clients. There are no walk-in hours.
Placement
Where fine line holds, and where it does not.
Holds well
Outer forearm
Thicker skin, very little friction, and easy to keep covered in summer.
Upper arm and shoulder
The most forgiving place on the body for hairline work. Almost nothing moves here.
Shoulder blade and upper back
Rarely sees sun, rarely rubs. Ten-year pieces here still read as drawn.
Outer thigh and calf
Stable skin and plenty of room, so lines can be spaced properly rather than crammed.
Sternum and underbust
Holds well as long as the piece follows the bone rather than crossing it.
Ages fast
Fingers and hands
The skin turns over faster here than anywhere else, and you wash your hands twenty times a day. Expect patchy lines inside twelve months and a retouch you will pay for again.
Feet and toes
Constant friction inside a shoe. The same story as hands, slightly slower.
Inner wrist
Thin skin stretched over bone, plus more daily sun than people expect. Lines widen here sooner than anywhere else we work — the two-year wrist in the gallery above is a fair example.
Elbow and knee
The skin folds and stretches all day and lines break up along the crease. Fine line especially.
Behind the ear and the hairline
Thin skin, direct sun, and a collar rubbing it. Small script here rarely reaches five years without a retouch.
We will still tattoo most of the second list. We will just show you the healed photographs first, and put the retouch in the price rather than pretend it will not need one.
See them healed