We recently had the chance to connect with Hayley Moran and have shared our conversation below.
Hayley , we’re thrilled to have you with us today. Before we jump into your intro and the heart of the interview, let’s start with a bit of an ice breaker: What is something outside of work that is bringing you joy lately?
Dancing on frozen water. I grew up figure skating from 8 – 18 years old. I returned as an adult after turning 30 and 10 years of steady tattooing. At that time, with the bad posture of a tattooer, I hurt my back doing a sit-spin…unable to stand up straight. I continued to rehabilitate and skate off and on until calling it quits when my mom died the same year I opened my own studio.
A consistent commitment to receiving bodywork keeps me aligned and functioning.
I turned 45 this year, a professional Tattoo Artist for 25 years and back on the ice! Figure skating is such a treat, it reminds me of where I’ve come from and the only place my mind and body get to feel completely free. It brings me great joy and balance alongside all the hard work of tattooing full time and running a business.
Can you briefly introduce yourself and share what makes you or your brand unique?
I create Mystic Wholistic Body Art. I see tattooing as Self-Discovery through Self-Expression. I have built my career on kickass custom storytelling and intra-personal relationship.
My studio, Haylo Healing Arts Lounge, provides an eclectic and homey atmosphere built on CARE; Body, Mind & Spirit.
Shifting the industry for the last decade, I am proud to not only be one of the highly sought after artists for my unique style and character, I am humbled to be the region’s top recommended choice for Nipple Tattoos and Breast Adornments for Cancer Survivors on their healing journey.
My calling is to uplift women, originality and creative seekers of community through a supportive and safe environment that honors quality valuing Transformative Personal Development.
Thanks for sharing that. Would love to go back in time and hear about how your past might have impacted who you are today. What relationship most shaped how you see yourself?
My parents were revolutionary spirits and good hearted hippies. They grew up making music and love in the 60s and 70s. They encouraged my authenticity from the very beginning.
“Walk to the beat of a different drum.”
This bohemian adage feels like the staple of my parental encouragement since my earliest memory.
I was allowed to be fully myself and taught to think conceptually and critically. With their solid ground of “know thyself” mentality ~ I maintained an interest in art, spirituality, astrology, psychology and philosophy.
They took me to my first Tattoo Convention at 14 years old and that set me on my course in this alternative industry. They have both passed on – too early – my dad, right after starting my apprenticeship and my mom, the same year I branched out on my own.
They continue to inspire me, through my Healing Craft and Creative Life’s Work.
When did you last change your mind about something important?
This year has been challenging in terms of the vision for my future. My mind is in the midst of changing. I’ve been searching for a property to buy for my business. The lease rates in Charlotte are on the rise and feeling like at this point, I’ve essentially bought my landlord the location I have curated for the last 10 years. I’ve been thinking it’s time to secure my own, for the long haul.
The commercial market is a BEAR. A tattoo shop requires specific zoning and that makes the options even less available. I have considered and reconsidered what it might mean to do the opposite of the capitalistic move and take it more underground. In an industry that started this way, I’ve been proud to have built a career “out there” and “on the scene” ~ I believed the next phase of life would be an opportunity for my business to sustain itself with other artists making their way as I began stepping back for some respite…
The picture now seems less clear. The industry is slowing while generally over saturated with new artists. It’s made me have to review where I personally find joy and aim to balance my years of hard work with desired freedom and adventure. I sit here at a crossroad. Should I walk away from my previous dream and no longer own a public studio of my own with other artists that work for and with me?
It will be many more years before I stop tattooing all together, but this year, I plan to refine my part in the “corporate world” to claim more spaciousness and spiritual renewal.
So a lot of these questions go deep, but if you are open to it, we’ve got a few more questions that we’d love to get your take on. What are the biggest lies your industry tells itself?
In 2025 post COVID shutdown, there seems to be a surge of fledgling artists with very little experience and perhaps even proudly “self taught” tattooers working alone in a salon suite and boasting they have their own “private studio.”
A self taught tattoo artist or one who learned thru some fast on-line program is a safety issue. Without proper mentorship and an environment where troubleshooting happens silently in a vacuum, the person getting tattooed puts themselves at risk.
This is a hands on, inner personal art form and the insights passed down from those with daily experience are invaluable to ease the steep learning curve of this complex practice. Anyone can pick up a machine and try, but the variables within each and every tattoo are excessively unique.
If you’re interested in being a tattoo artist, seek guidance from a true professional, hopefully with a minimum of a decade’s experience. If you’re an artist and want to continue to grow and learn and provide the best possible service to someone who is willing to be that vulnerable – don’t do it on your own. Find your peer group, or at least one other artist who’s better than you. Never stop learning.
Before we go, we’d love to hear your thoughts on some longer-run, legacy type questions. What do you understand deeply that most people don’t?
I think a lot of folks who get into tattooing come from a place of desire for themselves instead of deep consideration for the service they will provide others. Tattooing is more about the needs of the people they are going to be creating for.
An aspiring tattoo artist may also not know upon entering into this field- what a physical, mental and spiritual marathon it is to create for others in a deeply meaningful way. The intensity and focus is unlike many other fields. We often put our bodies in static poses, neglecting ergonomic postures that can create pain and potential injury to our backs, shoulders, necks, etc. If you’re caring deeply about your craft, there is also a striking amount of emotional space holding for others. Not only should be seek to make our clients the comfortable in the process, we must practice self care and provide more nourishment and renewal for our own vessels to keep this work sustainable, especially the older we get.
Through the years of making living art for clients and friends, I’ve been able to more deeply understand the impact on both sides of the needles. In our initial consult, I guide the people to ask themselves the questions that will give me the answers I need to create something completely for them. I always seek to design something uniquely original. More rewarding than to do “my art on people” is the opportunity to “help people express themselves through creative permanence.”
To me, the practice of tattooing for 25 years has taught me, it’s not for the weak.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.haylostudiolounge.com
- Instagram: @iamhaylo (personal)
- Facebook: Haylo Healing Arts Lounge
- Other: @haylostudiolounge (Studio IG)
Image Credits
Lora Denton Photography
