Question 1

*about me and my work.

Accepted Answer

*i am reece, a self-taught, independent, multi-disciplined artist based in the North East of England, i was born and raised in Newcastle Upon Tyne, and that is where my studio resides. I focus on tattoo, illustration, graphics, words and everything to do with music/audio.

*experimenting and learning with physical art, graphic design and illustration is something i started dipping my toes into from a young age. I've also written, played and produced music/audio my whole life, that was the key in lock for me in terms of realising the creative output my brain seems to enjoy. Music has been a motivator for me to think about things alternatively, how to connect with art, forge my own understandings and responses, collaborate, excavate emotions, accept myself and know worth etc. As i grew older, studied music academically and the industry became more of a presence to me, i kinda fell off tbh, it knocked the wind out of music-making for a period and i focussed creatively more on visual stuff, which ultimately led me to tattooing. Regardless, i realise that music and sound will always be something i'm doing and something that will trigger other kinds of art from me, it's still really central to what i do. Some of the DIY punk/hip-hop/experimental "scenes" i was into in my early teen's are definitely responsible for a lot of my approaches to art and creativity as a whole, the spirit and energy was super inspiring, and really of it's time probably, i was very lucky to have it as a diving board. A lot of people think nothing really happened like that where i'm from, but the North East of England has had all sorts going on, interesting stuff has been going on in it forever, everything kinda just stayed underground and locally rooted for the longest time, you'd have to come across it accidentally or look to find em i guess. Because there was little to no industry presence, investment or infrastructure in the region at that time, it bred a really easy space to just grow and try whatever you want creatively with no purpose or expectation other than expressing yourself and trying to do something you and the people around you felt good about and got something from.

*i started tattooing in 2020, spent a good few years researching, asking and reading up everything i could before then, as well as getting tattooed consistently since my 18th birthday in 2012. I had enquired to numerous spots about formal apprenticeships when i was younger and the response was either nowt, kinda intimidating or was just a bit too conditional in style to feel right and comfortable for what i was into. I subsequently entered the craft independently, working with the handpoke method, continued training myself in that full-time for 1.5 years before i started to work electric tattooing into my practise, which is now almost my entire focus with tattoo. Handpoke is awesome and i'm glad i developed that skill but i personally just wanted to learn more about tattooing as a whole, and my designing was becoming a little finer and more textured in itself, something that seemed almost impossible to replicate with handpoke. I was kinda pining to have access to different techniques, bigger scales and be able to tattoo more like i had grown to draw/paint. I figured if i could get to that point of comfortability and fluency with a tattoo machine and how they work, then creating visual textures similar to a pencil or a paintbrush would kinda just make more sense physically, there'd be this whole other level of possibility, as well as a much heightened understanding of how any kind of tattoo comes to be technically, which is true, i'm always gaining more of that. I'm constantly learning, improving, experimenting and changing as an artist, as well as specifically a tattooer, i plan to do that for as long as i can.

*my visual work has been described as ignorant, abstract, maximal, minimal, weird, child-like, shit, illustrative, progressive, contemporary and a bunch of other stuff so far, the approach behind each piece of work is usually different and spontaneous, so i don't really know what it is to be honest, a cluster-f**k maybe, it's just how i draw and how i approach it personally. Sometimes its freeform expressive mark-making, sometimes it's a concept or image idea i write down that then forms a clothing design or tattoo flash, sometimes it's a full physical art project that i work on for ages and make variants from, sometimes just a quick sentence or a loose sketch of something. I love loads of kinds of art, design, tattoos etc. I dive into it all as much as i can, i react visually to sound, music and words a lot, i probably absorb different aesthetic touches from different places that have gotten their own from different places etc. my work is likely derivative of loads of things in this sense. I don't really see what i do staying in strict parameters as i grow, i mess around and try new things all the time, some things stick around and others don't, might come back to em later, might not. What i do isn't for everyone for sure, not everyone's favourite flavour of crisps is the same as everyone else's, and that's cool. I hope you can enjoy something from it.

*i live and am informed with anxiety, my time tattooing has really helped this, which is down to having great clients really, but i do find tattooing people to be a really positive, calm but also social and communicative time, on a human level there's loads of great open chats and different experiences and information to learn from, from lots of different people. Making art is something i'll hopefully always do, but tattooing particularly is a practise and a job that i hold very dear for this reason, i don't take it for granted, and i appreciate that people wanna look at, support or own my work. The appreciation is particularly real when someone comes for a tattoo, you spend your time, energy and trust on me and it gives me life, thanks for that.

*I am also sober, neurodivergent and queer, it's likely that i am not gonna be the artist for you if any of that makes a difference to you.

*sometimes for my weirder designs, you have to use your imagination a bit to visualise what it will look like as a tattoo for sure. When i make something digitally, there can be some slight changes as it translates over to be in physical tattoo-form. However i think i do pretty well with it, i'll usually mention it in-session, tattooing has kinda always been a bit of an "imperfect practise" in that sense, and browsing my portfolio and seeing what my tattoos look like should make the imagining part easier.

*of course all folk are welcome for tattoos, the only thing i expect from anyone entering the space is that they are of legal age, respectful of others and don't bring any kind of hate in really, the space is rooted in nurturing a whole bunch of positivity.

*thanks very much for seeing what i do.

Question 2

*commissions/design work.

Accepted Answer

*i'm always up for hearing commission ideas and working with folk on freelance design work, in any sense, i enjoy working with aesthetics in general, give me an email at sleep.well.ttt@gmail.com (sleep.well.ttt@gmail.com)- custom tattoo designs, logos, posters and flyers, zines, stickers, clothing, record art, social media content and assets, graphics for print, custom digital and physical artworks, music/audio for video/marketing/promo materials etc, i've got years of experience and love doing all this kinda stuff, just lemme know!

Question 3

*what to expect in your upcoming appointment.

Accepted Answer

*if you have an upcoming appointment with me, i will let you know everything you need to know in my correspondence with you once your booking has been made through this website, i will direct you to the studio brochure, which can be found on the studio page, confirm any quotes, talk over design ideas, you can also ask any particulars and let me know anything you didn't include in your booking form at this point.

*when you arrive at the building on the day of your appointment, you are welcome to hang at the front entrance if you want to, in the main foyer area, or in the cafe/record shop/store area through the foyer and to your right, theres plenty of seating. Once you've arrived just gimme a message via however we've been communicating and i'll come find you and walk you through to my room.

*expect to come in, take a seat, be given a consent form to fill out, be offered a cuppa and get used to the room etc, i'll ask the usual stuff like whether you've been tattooed before and how you're feeling about being tattooed that day etc. If i need to i will give a lil rundown of the kind of sensation to prepare for and how fine you're gonna be, as well as any little points of focus for any of the work we're making that i want you to know. I basically like to spend 30 minutes or so just kinda chatting out what were doing and how we're gonna do it, getting comfortable and making sure we're on the same page with everything, exhausting all the things that we wanna try until we're all 100, sometimes this isn't needed and we can go straight in obviously, it just depends how you're feeling about everything.

*then we prep and make the tattoo, i will shave and clean the area, then we can apply stencils until we're happy with the placement of it, then begin tattooing. We can go at any pace you wanna throughout, if you wanna take breaks we will do that, if you're chilling we can breeze through, i always check in on you multiple times, but you can absolutely lemme know where you're at at any point if you do feel that you need to. I have been told i'm a pretty light-handed artist, my machine is well quiet and i always start slower to introduce the sensation, it's really not as intense as you may assume. I enjoy chatting, but sometimes i have to be quiet and focus on my work, i'm aware a client could be exactly the same in their own regard, so if you need to just chill and focus on breathing whilst you're being tattooed, that's all good, don't feel like you have to talk if you don't wanna, i won't be offended.

*when the tattoo is done i will clean everything down, give yourself a minute or two in the mirror to check it out, then if it's cool with you i will take a few photo's of what we've made for my portfolio, this usually takes a minute or two and i will always send them to you, if i forget, just remind me!

*from here i will wrap the fresh tattoo, give you a full run down and answer any questions about aftercare and what to do next whilst it heals up, then you'll pay the remaining amount according to our correspondence, i'll give you some stickers and stuff if i have em, thank you lots and you can go and just have a great time.

*most palm-sized tattoos take between 1-2 hours to make, with simpler pieces being faster than that, bigger, more complex stuff obviously taking longer. Ask me in our correspondence pre-appointment if i haven't mentioned it already and you'd like a time estimate.

*the studio itself is super bright, open, relaxing and fully private, we built it focussed on a space to nurture positivity. It is in a building full of artist/independent business studios, so there can be life passing around the room throughout the day, but we will always have privacy and our own space. The room is big enough to host myself and about 3 clients/guests, so if you wanna bring support people, feel free but do let me know in advance if you can. More about the specifics of the studio can be found on the 'studio' section of this website!

Question 4

*what getting tattooed feels like.

Accepted Answer

*obviously everyone is different, people have their own pain tolerances, skin sensitivities, lifestyles, mental approaches etc, so there are a bunch of variants to consider, but imo - it's honestly not that bad unless you're going onto some crazy placement, backs and sides and neck's and palm's etc can get rough and quite exhausting. There are a few areas of easier placements like arms and legs that can get nippy too for sure, but generally speaking if your tattoo isn't something massive and isn't gonna be a really long session, you'll get through it absolutely fine, i've never had anyone have to stop because of pain. Electric tattooing is kinda like a slow consistent scratch sensation, but then a lot of shading techniques are low-speed, short and fast movements instead, so it's hard to summarise the feeling fully and is gonna differ piece by piece. Most people i've asked to rate it out of 10 have said 5/6 and the worst i've ever had is 9. It is nothing like an injection, folk have also generally considered it a more handleable pain than piercing.

*the best thing you can do to prepare is to be relaxed and feeling as healthy as possible basically, get a good nights sleep the night before and have a hearty breakfast on the day. I also recommend drinking plenty of water and moisturising your skin on the days running up if you can. Don't be drunk or high or hungover or on a comedown, you just don't wanna do that. A sugary drink is always a good companion to an appointment.

*i do everything i can to make sure the appointment is chill and comfortable, i don't rush anything and we can go at any pace you like, you're more than welcome to bring support people (no more than 2 and lemme know please), i'm also told i'm a pretty light-handed artist and most palm-sized tattoos only take an hour or two tops, my machine is well quiet too which helps!

Question 5

*how to look after a fresh tattoo.

Accepted Answer

*i will clean and cover your fresh tattoos at the end of our appointment, i recommend that cover stays on for 2-4 hours, take it off somewhere near clean water so you can immediately wash down the tattoo and surrounding areas gently with an antibacterial, non-fragranced soap. Wash your hands before cleaning tattoos.

*once cleaned, leave the tattoo to air-dry on it's own, or use paper towel to softly pat it dry and then dispose of it straight away, when dry you can apply a small amount of non-fragranced, as natural as possible moisturiser and work it over the whole surface of the tattoo and surrounding area. You don't need to rub it in loads and loads, make sure it's not smothered but that there is a thin layer of it covering the whole tattoo, it'll do it's thing.

*repeat this cleaning and moisturising routine 2-3 times a day, let it air and basically don't touch it at all otherwise, if everything is going well it should be healed and settling down after a week or two!

*there are stages to tattoo healing - it can be swollen and sore in the first few days, then it will dry out and scab up, then the scab will come off naturally and it can kinda look shiny for a bit, it also gets really itchy, with consistent but not excessive cleaning and moisturising through these stages, as well as refraining from scratching or loosening scabs prematurely, after a while it'll settle and be flush and consistent with the skin around it.

* unfragranced moisturisers i recommend - shea butter, natural cocoa butter, coconut oil, avino.

*a fresh tattoo is essentially an open wound, so keep it away from pets, above water-level, out of direct sunlight and covered with light breathable clothing as much as possible, showering is fine, but tattoos cannot be divulged in water until fully healed. Try to take a week or two away from excessive or strenuous exercise after being tattooed, particularly actions straining muscles near the tattoo itself. Try your best to not sleep with the tattoo pressed into the bed. If you'd prefer, you can wrap your tattoo with clingfilm in between cleaning/moisturising for the first few days, but i do think they benefit from breathing after 2 or 3 days. If you are concerned that something has come into contact with your healing tattoo accidentally, wash it with antibacterial, non-fragranced soap as soon as you can.

*tattoo infection sometimes happens, and it sucks, a lot of the time it's impossible to trace where it came from so if it happens, it's worth just focussing on healing it and not worrying too much, they're pretty common, always have been and when treat in time, often return to good form shortly afterwards. If you are suspicious that your tattoo may have caught some infection, feel free to email me and ask for advice. But the best and fastest course of action is always to see your GP or walk-in service, give them a call, make an appointment as soon as you can, show them and they can prescribe some antibiotics that will clear it up if they think you need it. Antibiotics are always the best bet because they work fast, medical professionals know more about what kind of bacteria your body needs to fight, and they mean you don't have to apply anything chemical to the tattoo itself like antiseptic creams etc - medical creams and things like this are pretty good at pulling ink out, which can leave a tattoo patchy or a bit faded. It is important to stop considering an infected area of tattoo in the same way as an uninfected area of tattoo as soon as you have good suspicion, only moisturise non-infected areas, source antibiotics and just clean infected areas then leave dry in between, until it has calmed down and feels more like a healing tattoo again, then go back to the regular routine.

*regardless of whether you have issues in your healing experience or not, we can touch up your tattoos asap once they're healed and settled if they need it and you want to, so again, never stress, even if ink is lost, it's fixable, never a bother and i don't charge for touch up's. Give me an email to book in a touch-up!

Question 6

*rescheduling + cancelling an appointment.

Accepted Answer

*if there are any issues at any point post-booking, free reschedules are available up to 48 hours before an appointment, after that a new deposit may need to be paid to secure a new slot, email me to do this, in the case of you cancelling an appointment, deposit refunds are available up to 72 hours before the appointment slot. In any case of me cancelling your appointment, you will be offered a free reschedule to the soonest convenience of yourself, or alternatively a full cancelation and deposit refund.

*i always aim to get back to everything within 7 days, but please allow up to 14 before nudging me.

Question 7

*if you're nervous about getting tattooed.

Accepted Answer

*this is sooooooo normal, i've been nervous for every tattoo appointment i've ever had tbh, you are not alone, sometimes it's pretty daunting or confusing, anxiety before a session is totally fine and there's nothing wrong with it. I have built my booking process so that it gathers all the information that can be gathered straight away, so that my first response can include absolutely everything that you need to know, i have always prioritised things like quoting costs upfront, talking out specifics of work before drawing, providing as much studio info as possible etc. It's an important part of the process to me.

*if you wanna - spend some time having a cuppa, talking things out and asking questions at the start of the appointment, try numerous placements with stencils to compare, change placement or size, take a break, bring support people with you, make edits to the design, double-check things - all of these things are totally fine, i will never oppose to any of em and you absolutely have the final say in your tattoo. I will sometimes give an opinion and explain it from the artist perspective if i feel that there is a logistical reason to make it known, or if i think there could be something you haven't considered, but it's always just for the sake of the tattoo itself and making you aware of technical things that may be at play. Any suggestions i make are intended as choices for you to consider basically, it's all focussed on making the best tattoo for yourself.

*my studio is private, licensed and in a communal building of separate art and creative studios, people pass around the room so it often feels busier, but we will have full privacy in the appointment. It's a super bright, chill and homely room made with loads of DIY love, it's fully accessible, i have all the tea and coffee, my switch is there and a bunch of instruments if anyone gets bored, plenty of comfy seats, you can put your own music on if you wanna, bring snacks if you need em.

*I am a neurodiverse, anxiety-informed, friendly and very patient person. I want my own days to be nowt but calm and lovely, so making yours the same is important!

Question 8

*if you have bought from the store.

Accepted Answer

*everything i sell is managed by just me, please allow 7-14 days for shipments and responses to order issues, if a product is for pre-order, that will be stated on the product page along with an estimated shipment date.

*refunds and replacements are only available if the product purchased is visibly defected from the point of you receiving it, please email me at sleep.well.ttt@gmail.com (sleep.well.ttt@gmail.com)with any order confirmation details, information on the issue itself, photos for reference, and I will let you know what i can do!

Question 9

*if you are also an artist.

Accepted Answer

*the space can host 2 artists tattooing at the same time, its kinda cosy but it works and is open to anyone nice to use, it's a super chill room, if you'd like to visit to tattoo in the space, just gimme an email at sleep.well.ttt@gmail.com (sleep.well.ttt@gmail.com,)and we can try work it out.

*if you are an artist/maker in a different field and wanna work on something together, chat about something or trade work etc, also feel free to give me an email, i'm always up for meeting other creatives and checking out what they're up to.

Question 10

*contact.

Accepted Answer

*all enquiries can be sent to me directly via my email - sleep.well.ttt@gmail.com,(sleep.well.ttt@gmail.com.) get in touch anytime to ask anything you like, to let me know anything you'd like me to know ahead of an appointment, or to answer any queries you have pre-booking. All non-tattoo enquiries, commission work, collaborations of any kind etc can also be sent over this way.

*click the logo at the bottom of the page to head to my instagram profile.

*i always aim to respond within 7 days, but please allow up to 14 before nudging me.