Life & Work with Meghan Alayne

Today we’d like to introduce you to Meghan Alayne. 

Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
I’ve been tattooing since 2011. I got my start in tattooing after I had partnered with a friend, an established tattooer, to help him open his own shop. At the time, I had a background in real estate and lending. I offered to lend my help in finding a space and setting up a new business. As that plan progressed, I became further and further involved in the establishment of that shop, the renovations, and upfit of the space, and ultimately, got offered the opportunity to learn to tattoo. It wasn’t my goal at the time, as it wasn’t even something I thought I could do, even though I have always been a creative person. I think I was looking for a way to have a more creative career, but I never imagined it would be tattooing. From the moment I started learning to tattoo, I was obsessed and in love with it. I loved every aspect of it. I especially liked working with clients to create something that was important to them. And I always felt honored to be trusted enough to help someone change or alter their appearance in a permanent way. I also felt like I had broken out of the constraints of working corporate job, and I would never be able to go back. 

After a couple years, that partnership dissolved, and I was left with my craft, a small rental space on West Franklin Street, and whole lot of determination to forge ahead. And so, I did. 

It was a small space, and it was just myself and a piercer at the time. We didn’t even have a counter person. 

I kept weird daytime hours and left every day at 5 pm because I was also a single mother of two small children at the time. Despite the constraints, I was able to build a solid clientele and steady stream of business through my consistency and good customer service. I think my love of working with people and love for my craft really shined through, and it brought people back over and over. And they referred their friends. And my business grew. 

I eventually hired a counter person to help with greeting, scheduling, cleaning, etc., and then I began to hire more artists as I felt like I had enough customers coming through the doors that I could support another artist and help them grow a business as well. 

In 2019, we moved to a bigger location just off Franklin Street but still close to downtown. It’s a little house/, turned commercial space. We have a yard, a garden, lots of wildlife that come visit regularly. There are 4 artists and a full-time administrative person in the studio now. We have a ton of fun, laugh a lot, create art for people, and tend to our plants. 

I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle free, but so far would you say the journey has been a fairly smooth road?
It hasn’t always been easy. It’s been a ton of hard work and perseverance. Not only in the normal day-to-day duties but also in the gamut of business ownership. I’ve had artists who didn’t work out. I’ve had challenging business neighbors as well as unresponsive and unscrupulous landlords. 

As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
I am a tattooer. My specialty is black and gray work. I particularly love tattooing botanicals, animals, fungi- anything organic and nature related. I also enjoy doing geometric work and anything witchy, spiritual, mythology-based, or occult. 

A huge part of my journey and intention behind my business and my role as a tattooer in my community has been to create a safe space and joyful access to tattooing for everyone, but most especially for folks who haven’t always felt welcomed in more conventional tattoo environments. I realized early on, that getting tattooed often was not an enjoyable, welcoming, or safe experience for women, people of color, and queer folks. While I’ve seen a lot of progress in our industry around this, it was nearly non-existent a decade ago. The overwhelming amount of feedback that I received from clients about how their experience with me, or with our shop, was vastly different from previous experiences was truly what continued to fuel my passion. I knew that what I had to offer in that context, was both needed and wanted. It’s so exciting to see the growth in the industry and the number of women and queer tattooers that have come into the mainstream and continue to do so. I believes it raises the bar for people’s expectations and grows the idea of what it can be like and what it can mean to get tattooed.

Are there any apps, books, podcasts, blogs, or other resources you think our readers should check out?
Work-related-

Procreate is my best bud. It took a me a long time to switch from paper and pencil drawing to digital art. But once I made the switch, procreate makes designing, editing tattoo designs so much easier and quicker. It’s been a real game-changer for me. 

Personal- 

I’ve been particularly in love with a new author, Sophie Strand, whose stories, ideas, and work kind of live at the intersection of mythology, science, spirituality, and ecology. She has done many interviews on other people’s podcasts and I’m always waiting for another to pop up. I find her work and ideas so fascinating. It’s not related to tattooing at all, but I feel like listening to her perspectives and multi/ faceted, intersectional ideas and gorgeous stories helps to root me in my own life and ecosystem. It helps me be a stronger container for my business, my clients, my family, and the work I put into the world. 

I’ve also been obsessed with the podcast, “my dad wrote a porno.” It’s absolutely hilarious, and I’m just happy I haven’t died while laughing and driving. I truly think everyone needs to laugh that hard on a regular basis, and that podcast really does it for me. 

Contact Info:

• Website:Ascensiontattoonc.com
• Instagram: @Ascensiontattoonc And @mm33tattooservice