Daily Inspiration: Meet Hannette Elawar

Today we’d like to introduce you to Hannette Elawar

Hi Hannette, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
I officially started working in tattoo shops when I was a junior in high school as part of an immersive and career-focused project. Finding mentorship was the main requirement, so I started learning the ropes in 2008 when I was about 15 years old. After 16+ years of failing (and by that I mean being exploited/pushed out of multiple studios), I am finally a local and international tattoo artist. Turns out the secret formula is to be surrounded by people who genuinely want to support you, and I didn’t experience that until about 2022 when my partner gave me the push I needed to ask for an apprenticeship again. From that point forward, Rene Estrada graciously took me under his wing and gave me my first ever positive experience as an apprentice. After that, the kind folks at Dove’s Studio welcomed me and made room for me in a way that I had never experienced in tattoo studios before- you can still find me happily taking appointments there now! Hopefully I’ll soon be able to pick back up on my long-term goal of operating a true safe space tattoo studio back in Beirut, Lebanon where my family is from.

Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
From the very beginning, the road has been everything but smooth. My first mentor literally moved me 80+ miles from home just to fire me and throw me out on the street hardly two weeks later. My next boss immediately after that “helped” me out by giving me a room in his house for weekly rent- but I was not allowed to have friends over, I was also broke because he wasn’t paying me (I was not his apprentice! I was an independent contractor just like everybody else working there!), and he was relentless not only in his sexual advances towards me, but also in the comments he made in front of other people about how I was his next sexual conquest. Mind you, I was 18 and he was pushing 50 with multiple children closer to my age than I was to his age. Every single tattoo studio I worked at after that also involved more of these exact situations, and/or some other shenanigans. Yes, even the “nice” looking studios, and yes, even the women-owned studios. I’ve been fired for my great customer service skills (you read that right), I’ve been sabotaged by coworkers and my family, I’ve even been fired for having underarm hair (by a man with way more underarm hair than me). That’s just some of what I experienced between 18-22; it unfortunately didn’t get much better for a very long time.

Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
Currently I am tattooing between Raleigh and Copenhagen, with the occasional art market in between.
I specialize in black and grey, and I’m most known for welcome mats™ aka cheeky tattoos that hover under the waistline/above the pubic area.
Aside from my perseverance throughout this journey, I am most proud of how I make people feel while I’m tattooing them. The feedback that I’ve gotten about the experience I provide has been incredibly touching and positive- for that I’ll always be more grateful than I am proud.
I believe that what sets me apart from others in this field is that I’m constantly pushing through multi-cultural and generational taboos. The things that make me safe in Lebanon are the same things that make me unsafe in American tattoo studios, and vice-versa. I also had to become everyone’s dad’s favorite stripper to afford tattoo supplies- I don’t think any other tattoo artists around here have ever had to do that.

What sort of changes are you expecting over the next 5-10 years?
I think the general practice of tattooing is going to stay the same, but I’m really hoping that the ethics behind tattooing continue to move in the right direction. I’ve never seen more self-taught people, and people from different backgrounds starting to pick up on the craft while dropping the problematic mannerisms that traditional studios tend to hold onto so dearly. The sad reality is that a lot of tattooers don’t care about the bodies they’re tattooing, and they don’t care to know the difference between cultural appropriation versus cultural appreciation. I’m hoping that the biggest shift to come is more tattooers giving a damn, and more clients feeling empowered and confident in their tattoo choices (especially when it comes to choosing who they go to for the service).

Pricing:

• BYOB [bring your own buddy] tattoos will be priced at 2 for $200 (on smaller tattoos only, normally $120-$150 each)
• ESims/Hibr for Palestine- all Arab themed flash sheets are part of an ongoing fundraiser for Palestine. ESims & proceeds (other than cost of supplies) are donated directly to those in need of aid
• Touch ups are free from me, forever

Contact Info:

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lilbabytattoos/

Image Credits
Casey Alexandra