• You can now request an appointment or join the waitlist at any time! I reply to 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 2-3 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.

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.

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

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.

• Most appointments - $150 deposit

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

• Flash / Flash Days - $50 deposit

• 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 - results in forfeiture of deposit, and require a second deposit to re-book. Please understand that this is not to be mean or strict - 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 know 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!

• Small Stuff : $250-500

  • Under 2 hours of tattoo time

  • $250 minimum for flash : $350 minimum for custom

  • Fit into my schedule as time is available

• Half-Day Rates : $250/hour

  • Between $500-875 total

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

• Full Day Rate : $1200 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.

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.

• This includes:

  • tattoo projects that span a full limb

  • projects expected to take more than 3 sessions to complete

  • full sleeves, full backpieces

  • full-color work larger than 8x10”

  To make large-scale work more accessible, I offer reduced rates. 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 offering only applies at my home studio, Estuary, in NYC.

• Half Day Rate : reduced to $200/hour

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

• Full Day Rate : $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 my normal full-day rate. This figure assumes 4-5 hours of tattooing at my normal hourly rate.

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.

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.

I keep a ~1 1/2 hour / $350 minimum for all custom 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. I also keep a collection of “small stuff” 4x4” flash that is offered at $250 flat rate.

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.

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. Quotes given are for the tattoo time only, and do not include sales tax figures.

  • Card - +12% (7.5% processing fee + 4.5% NYC sales tax)

  • Venmo - +11% (6.5% processing fee + 4.5% NYC sales tax)

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. ⋆˙⟡

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 feel rushed.

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.

Estuary - 546 Johnson Ave, # 430, Brooklyn NY, off the Morgan Ave L

I send out an appointment prep list about 10 days prior with specific tips and advice for preparing for your tattoo. General vibe is - sleep well, eat well, and take care of your body for the week leading up to your appointment.

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.

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.

New Tattoo?

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.

Old tattoo?

I love to see and refresh older tattoos I have done! If you have a tattoo that is 5-10 years old and needs a little revisit, please feel free to reach out and schedule something. Depending on what needs to be done, I often do this for free, or at a steeply discounted hourly rate.

Schedule your touch-up here.