Please take a moment to read through my tattoo policies, in order to answer some common questions and streamline the booking process. For any further questions or clarification please feel free to email me. I’m always happy to help.

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- TO BOOK:

• You can now request an appointment at any time! I reply to booking requests every few days, so you’ll typically get a response quickly.

• I book only through a form, which you can find at Lillin-Karin.com >>> Booking >>> Book an Appointment.

• I release dates about 2 months at a time, so if you do not see the months you are looking for, check back closer in to request an appointment.

• Please sign up for my newsletter to be notified when new appointment dates are added, merch is released, travel and flash days are announced, etc.

- CONSULTATIONS: Once we have an appointment scheduled (we have agreed on a date and a deposit is paid), I am happy to schedule a consultation for your tattoo if you think it would be helpful to best communicate your goals - or if you’d just like to say hi before we work together! Consultations are free, 15-minute video appointments used for planning.

- COVER-UPS, OR TATTOOING OVER SCARS, ACNE, HYPERPIGMENTATION, ETC.: I do offer all of these services, but circumstances vary widely from client to client. To determine if it’s something I can take on, I usually require some photos, and then sometimes an in-person consultation, once we have booked an appointment date. Please understand that these are projects I do not take on lightly, and will be very honest with you if I am not the right fit.

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- DEPOSITS: To book any time slot, all appointments require a deposit.

Most appointments - $150 deposit

Large Scale Work (Sleeves, Backpieces, Etc.) - $250 deposit

Flash / Flash Days - $50 deposit

• Deposits are paid via Square Invoice, after we have set your tattoo time. Deposits must be paid within 7 days of the invoice date, or the time slot will be made available to other clients.

• Deposits come off the total cost of your tattoo at the time of your appointment (or the last session of a larger project), but they are strictly non-refundable in the event that you miss your appointment or choose not to get tattooed. If you need to reschedule, simply let me know and we will make a plan.

• Rescheduling with 5 or more days notice - your deposit will roll to the new appointment date.

• Rescheduling with less than 5 days notice, or rescheduling two or more times - will result in forfeiture of deposit, and require a second deposit to re-book. Please understand that this is not to be mean or punitive - just to protect my time and ensure that I am not completely unpaid for scheduled work time that falls through, and subsequent back & forth / admin time needed to reschedule the date.

• If I need to reschedule - Please bear in mind that I am just one person working for myself, and sometimes need to reschedule appointments for health or family reasons. I know this can be inconvenient or disappointing - please understand that I feel the same way! In the event that I need to reschedule an appointment I will give as much notice as possible and fit you back into the schedule as soon as possible. I appreciate your understanding!

- RATES:

STANDARD RATES

• Half-Day Rates :

  • $250/hour

    • Maximum of ~3 1/2 hours of tattoo work per hourly half-day session.

• Full Day Rate : One-Shot Tattoos

  • $1,200 flat rate

    • Covers a full work day - my start time is 11am, and my end time is 7pm at the latest.

    • Time includes stenciling, a lunch break, stretch breaks, and up to 6 hours of tattooing.

    • Any following half-day sessions needed to finish a project will be charged hourly.

  REDUCED RATES FOR LARGE-SCALE WORK

  This includes tattoo projects that span a full limb or are expected to take more than 3 sessions to complete - sleeves, backpieces, full-color work larger than 8x10”, etc.

  To make large-scale work more accessible, I offer sliding scale for full day sessions and a reduced hourly rate on ongoing large-scale work. By offering a range of rates, it works out to anywhere from a 10-40% discount on large scale work, depending on how long you get tattooed for and the rate you agree to pay per day.

  Please note that this sliding scale is not available while on guest spots - this only applies at my home studio, Estuary, in NYC. Tattoos while guesting will be charges at my usual hourly and daily rates.

• Half Day Rate : Large-Scale Tattoos

  • reduced to $200/hour

    • Maximum of ~3 1/2 hours of tattoo work per hourly half-day session.

• Full Day Rate : Large-Scale Tattoos

• $750-1,200 sliding scale, tip inclusive

  • For people who want to sit for up to 4-6 hours of tattoo time per session

  • Covers a full work day - start time is 11am, end time is 7pm at the latest.

    • Time includes stenciling / drawing, a lunch break, stretch breaks, and up to 6 hours of tattooing.

  • Any following half-day sessions needed to finish a project will be charged hourly.

  • Tip is included in the day rate you decide on, so please gauge what is comfortable/possible for you to pay for the day, and what you’d like to compensate me with. No questions asked, but please refer to this guide for a basic sliding scale framework.

  • Your day rate can be different for different sessions, as your circumstances change.

  • Where do these numbers come from? Some financial transparency:

    • $750 is my baseline - that is the minimum I need to earn per work day in order to meet my needs - home and studio rent, bills, tattoo supplies, NYC sales tax, and paying income tax (at minimum 35% of my income goes to paying self-employment taxes). This baseline figure does not account for any savings, discretionary spending, or unexpected personal expenses. This is the baseline I can charge without going negative for the day.

    • $1,200 is the amount someone would pay for 4 hours of custom tattooing, with a 20% tip. The high end of this scale is meant to match my normal hourly rate, with room for up to an hour of free time per session (if we tattoo for a full 6 hours).

Why do I offer this? Tattoos are a total luxury expense, and (understandably) often the first thing to get cut when budgets are tight. Watching costs for everything rise since 2020, I recognize that fewer and fewer people will be able to access their dream tattoos. I never want to cultivate a situation where my labor and art are only available to the most privileged people - that goes against my core value system. Instead, I want to do my best to create access when possible, and keep my calendar full of diverse projects, scales, and clients. This is the current best system I have to ensure that my own needs are met, and that I’m extending myself as much as possible to clients who may want large-scale work but can’t comfortably budget for it.

As with everything I offer, this system is an evolving work in progress and open to feedback. Please email me directly with any questions or feedback : LillinKarinTattoo @ gmail.com

- COMMUNITY RATES:

I offer two pay-what-you-wish / sliding scale “community rates” appointments per month for half-day sessions. This offering is open to all clients who hold identities outside of white/cis/able experience. This includes anyone who is BIPOC, POC, trans/two-spirit/intersex, and disabled folks. These appointments require a $50 deposit to book, but beyond that cost clients are welcomed to pay what feels comfortable and possible, even if that means not paying anything.

This is an honor-based system intended for folks who experience systemic inequalities that might make it less feasible to comfortably & securely pay my normal rates. You can use this visual guide as a starting point to figure out where you might land in a sliding scale system.

Clients can opt-in to the community rates wait list while requesting an appointment on my usual form. Lastly, this system is still evolving and I am always open to input. If I can be doing better, or if anything isn't clear, please feel free to let me know. LillinKarinTattoo@gmail.com

- QUOTES:

All quotes are given based on your tattoo and how long it takes to complete. So in order to give an accurate price quote, I need detailed information about the tattoo you have in mind - the size, the location, black & grey vs. color.

Once I have a sense of what you're looking to get, I will be able to give you a general time & price range. It is often not possible to tell in advance exactly how much time and work your tattoo will take, so a final cost will be calculated once we have completed your tattoo. We will never exceed the quote you have been given, without expressly talking about it firsthand.

*** Quotes are only for tattoo time and do not include sales tax. If you plan to pay by card or Venmo, please plan for sales tax & processing fees (card - NYC 4.5% + 3% digital payment processing fee, Venmo - card - NYC 4.5% + 2% digital payment processing fee).

*** Check here for some rough outlines of what different tattoos might cost.

- SIZE AND PRICE MINIMUMS: I keep a ~1 1/2 hour / $350 minimum for all appointments, so if you are looking to get something very small, I recommend saving the idea for when you come in for a larger piece. I’m happy to do small tattoos, but it ends up being more worth your time & money to add them into a larger session, rather than coming in for that alone.

I regularly offer flash days with smaller designs that are either sliding scale or flat rate under $350, for people who would like to get tattooed but have a lower budget.

Please note that most of what I do cannot be smaller than 4x4” at the very smallest - this is to ensure good aging and legibility for the type of style and detail reflected in my portfolio.

- BUDGETS: If you are working with a set budget, please let me know. If your proposed idea exceeds your budget, we can work together to scale back your idea to try and better meet your budget. This usually means making the proposed idea smaller, or reducing the level of detail in the piece.

- TATTOO DRAWINGS: Like most tattooers, I do not email drawings or drafts before your appointment time. Your drawing will be made ready for the time of your appointment, but not before. I schedule my appointments with plenty of cushion time, so if you ask for changes to your drawing (like the size, content, small details or edits) we will have time to do so at the time of your appointment. Depending on time constraints, asking for extensive re-drawing may result in rescheduling, so that neither your drawing nor your tattoo are rushed.

All work I do is my own - I do not duplicate work from other artists, or mimic anyone else’s style. As such I strongly prefer that when booking clients do not send reference photos of other tattooers’ work. If I suspect that I’m being asked to too-closely replicate something, I’ll politely decline for personal and professional reasons. Thank you for understanding.

If you are coming in for a large-scale tattoo (full back, sleeve, full front, etc.) , I might* email a draft to you a few days ahead of time. If so, this will give you an opportunity to request changes in advance, if you need. I will then email a revised draft the night before your appointment, and if you ask for changes after the second draft, I do reserve the right to ask an additional $100 drawing fee, and potentially reschedule your session so that neither of us feel rushed.

*I will let you know while setting up your appointment if I think I will be sending a draft in advance. It’s not something I do every time, depending on a few different factors. Rest assured that even if I don’t send a draft in advance, time is built into all appointments to make minor changes to composition and detail in a project.

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- THE DAY OF YOUR APPOINTMENT: 

• At this time, I ask that all clients come alone to the studio. I find it extremely difficult to split focus between my client and their guest, and that my clients and I are generally able to communicate much better one on one. I can also feel rushed or guilty about how long our session takes, knowing that someone is sitting and waiting for you. Our studio is a short walk to lots of restaurants, stores, and parks, if you have a travel guest who will be hanging out while you are getting tattooed.

• I send out an appointment prep list about 10 days prior with specific tips and advice for preparing for your tattoo.

- ACCESSIBILITY: If you know or suspect that you might need physical / sensory / social accommodations for your appointment, please check out my accessibility page for details about our space and practice - Lillin-Karin.com/accessibility You can then email me directly with any requests to make sure we’re on the same page before your appointment. It is extremely important to me to create as much access and accomodations as possible for clients, so please don’t hesitate to make requests.

- ALLERGENS / VEGAN PROCEDURE: I use vegan inks, stencil paper, and skin glide. I use nitrile gloves. I use Dynamic Black and Triple Black inks for black & grey tattooing, and a combination of Eternal & Solid pigments for color. Procedural ointments, soaps, etc. contain : witch hazel, surgical soap, trace amounts of diluted lavender oil. For specific allergen information please contact me in advance and I can help to find an answer when possible.

- PAYMENT/TIPPING: While cash is still strongly preferred, I am now taking card and Venmo payments, for those who prefer it. ***Please note that card and venmo payments will incur sales tax & fees (card - 7.5%, Venmo - 6.5%). Quotes given are for the tattoo time only, and do not include sales tax figures.***

It is customary practice to tip your tattooer for their services, like you would tip a restaurant, bartender, or nail salon. There is no set "rule" for tipping, and anything is appreciated greatly, but never expected. People most commonly tip between 15-30% for their tattoo session, as at least half of your tattoo costs go towards your artist paying shop rent, NYC sales & income taxes (about 40% of profits for self-employed people!), and supply costs. Cash tips are always appreciated.

- LATE / NO SHOW: If you arrive 30 or more minutes late to your appointment, I reserve the right to reschedule your time slot if I need to, based on my schedule for the day. No call / no shows or same-day cancellations on the day of your tattoo will result in forfeiture of your deposit. If you think you will run late, PLEASE EMAIL TO LET ME KNOW! It’s New York, lateness happens. If you don't give me a heads up I may think you're not coming at all and leave for the day! I generally wait 30 minutes for someone to show up before assuming it’s not happening.

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- ANTI-RACIST PRAXIS: In a working acknowledgement of the discrimination Black folks experience in tattooing (and broadly in life), I keep several work habits in the hope of creating a more accessible and equitable environment. Please check here for a full breakdown of my current and ongoing process with antiracist praxis & accountability.

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- TOUCH UPS: Touch-ups are free within one year of the tattoo, and must be scheduled in advance. If you would like to come in for a touch up, please fill out this form and I’ll get back to you shortly. Any touch-ups scheduled after a year will incur a small supply fee. If due to extenuating circumstances you cannot come in within a year let me know and I will do my best to accommodate.

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