Female tattoo artists live out their passion for art

Lolly Marais, Leyla Mouton and Melissa Blommetjies are three talented young women making the world a more colourful place with their tattoos.

Lolly, the owner of The Ink Shack, explained she started in retail and soon realised it wasn’t for her. She decided enough was enough and decided to pursue a career in drawing instead and completed a course on how to do tattoos. At first, she did tattoos in her mom’s backyard and her grandmother’s braai area. Her grandparents had a chicken coup on their plot and when the chicks were all sold she opened her tattoo studio.

She recalls a man calling her to tell her how great the work she was publishing on their social media accounts was and how he couldn’t believe it was done by women. When he questioned who the male tattoo artist was, she said it was only her. Even after appreciating her efforts, the man insisted that women tattoo artists cannot accomplish what men can. She subsequently resolved to only recruit women tattoo artists.

Leyla’s husband’s last wish was for her to become a tattoo artist. Upon starting to work for Lolly, they discovered her husband went to school with Lolly, almost like it was meant to be.

Melissa came in with a client one day and found her dream job working for Lolly.

Eventually, Lolly’s mom also joined the team organising and making appointments. She keeps them strong and motivated; a pillar they can rely on.

Lolly noted many of their clientele are women and all their clients are like family.

“We are blessed with amazing clients. They do not just come in to have tattoos done, we laugh, cry and even get mad together. Some of our clients even pop in just to say hello and have a chat.”

About how doing a tattoo for someone makes them feel, Melissa said, “We do what we love, it is our passion. We can express ourselves.”

Leyla added, “I believe we make a difference and we change people’s perspectives. It’s about community, we gain friends.”

The trio is thinking of opening a coffee shop at the back of the studio.

“Men can go to bars to let off steam, where do women go? Women don’t necessarily want to sit alone in a bar and have a glass of wine. The coffee shop would offer them a place where they can unwind from daily life,” Lolly said.

She noted one of the sad things about the industry is the competition. Instead of artists competing against one another, they should help each other.

“There are enough people in the world for all of us to tattoo,” she said.

She described how she assisted a customer who had lost her job and needed to care for a child. She taught her how to tattoo, and now she owns her own studio. In turn, she assisted Lolly when no one else was willing.

“We shouldn’t keep our art away from others. We shouldn’t feel we can’t help or teach others. We should reach out and not see one another as competition.”