Booking
Please read all of the following information before booking a tattoo appointment with me.
This makes communication way easier!
How do I book an appointment to get tattooed by you?
All booking is done via e-mail only at alysinhopetattooer@gmail.com. E-mail me at any time, any day. I won’t be mad. From those e-mails, I pick tattoo ideas that I feel are within my ability/interest. Please take a look at my tattoo portfolio to get an idea of the type of work I prefer to do. I really prefer to tattoo in all black, with VERY minimal pops of color. I do a lot of tiny lines and detailed dot/stipple shading. I require full artistic freedom when designing custom work.
What do I need to include in the e-mail?
In the email please include the following:
- Name.
- Pronouns.
- Phone number.
- Ideas for the tattoo.
- Placement.
- Rough size (in inches).
- Reference pictures.
- Pictures of the area (if there are any moles, scars, or tattoos I need to be mindful of).
- Days of the week that generally work best for you Tuesdays through Saturdays, from 12pm-7pm.
- Budget.
How much do you charge/what is your hourly rate?
I usually charge by the hour for larger projects. This makes it easier for me to price, and easier for my clients to budget around. I charge $200 per hour. Our shop minimum is $150 for designs that are very small. I never know how long a tattoo is going to take, since there are many variables. If you have a specific budget that you’d like to stick to on the date of your appointment, just let me know and we can break the project into multiple sessions to make it more affordable for you.
Do I need to pay a deposit?
Yes! A $100 non-refundable deposit is required at the time of booking once we have confirmed a time and date for your tattoo. That deposit comes off the total price of your tattoo on the day of your appointment. I can accept payments through Venmo, Cashapp, PayPal, and card. If you are paying with a card or PayPal account, you can do so through the website HERE . Deposits are strictly non-refundable. If you have something come up and need to postpone your appointment, let me know as SOON as you find out. I can reschedule you. If you tell me that you need to reschedule and it’s within 48 hours of your appointment, you will need to pay another $100, since it might not be possible for me to fill your original time slot on such a short notice.
Do you have pre-drawn flash?
Yes! I am always working on drawing flash images that I’d like to tattoo. That’s the direction I want my career to start heading toward. I have a book of flash at work that I continuously add to, but I also have a page on here that contains ready-made images I am looking forward to tattooing. Clients who are looking to get a piece of my flash will be prioritized and able to get into my books sooner than custom pieces. I also would like to start working on larger scale tattoos, so expect to see a range of sizes from palm size to the size of a large thigh piece. My favorite subjects to tattoo are demon girls, horror, gore, medical diagrams and instruments, and spooky nature. Think bugs, plants with eyeball flowers, thorns, dead stuff.
What if I don’t hear back from you?
Sometimes emails can end up in my spam folder or might have been overlooked. Please understand that it may take a long time to hear back from me. I spend a lot of my life tattooing tiny dots onto people, and so at the end of the day, there’s a good chance that I haven’t had any time to catch back up on emails. Doing quality tattoos is my priority, no matter what. If you don’t hear back from me in a short amount of time, I promise you that it’s nothing personal. I’m only one person, and I’m trying my best! If it’s been a few weeks, you can always send me a follow-up email!
How far are out are you booked?
I let my appointments fill up until I am booked up for a few months, then I close them until I can catch back up. This allows me to finish up larger projects that take multiple appointments before I take on any additional clients. Emailing during the time my books are open DOES NOT guarantee a slot. Remember, emails are answered and booked in the order they were received. You will be informed if there are still any slots available or not. This does not mean I do not want to do your tattoo and you are always welcome to email me back when books reopen.
Do you do touch-ups, cover-ups, or reworks?
We stand by our work, which means if you have a tattoo that was done by ME and it needs a touch up, I will do it free of charge. Don’t hesitate to contact me! Sometimes, this happens. I’d much rather you end up with a tattoo you can be proud of, instead of having something that bothers you to look at every day.
If a tattoo does not need a touch-up and you are wanting an add-on or change that is outside of the original agreement, you will be charged a minimum of $150. Basically, I’d treat it as a new, separate tattoo.
If a tattoo that needs to be touched up was done by another artist, that is on a case-by-case basis. You will be charged for that depending on how much work the tattoo requires. I may even recommend another artist to you, if the style does not match my style.
Cover-ups and reworks are tricky for me. Due to my style of tattooing and heavy use of dot shading, I may need to see the existing tattoo in person, just so I can really grasp what the minimum size of the new piece needs to be. I have the most success covering tattoos that are very faded. If a tattoo is bold or large, I can recommend another local artist to you who would be able to do a better job. Worst case scenario, we may recommend getting a few sessions of laser removal performed on the tattoo first, just to lighten it to a point where it will be easier to hide in a cover-up.
Can I see my design beforehand?
Short answer: No. We understand that you want to be involved in every step of the process of designing your tattoo. It is permanent, after all. I work on designing tattoos in the order of appointments in my schedule. This means that I do not have time to draw anything days in advance. My workload has been extra hectic since the beginning of 2020. While I am eternally grateful for the opportunity to work my dream job, it is nearly impossible for me to have designs ready before necessary. Because of this, I schedule enough time during your tattoo session to make minor changes to the design before we begin the tattooing. If the design needs to be completely reworked and there won’t be enough time to do so before my next client arrives, we may have to reschedule your appointment. This is extremely rare, and I will do my best to avoid it. I typically have a couple of slightly different versions of your tattoo drawn up for you to choose between, and we can mix and match elements of the design until we find one you are stoked about. If you have additional details or changes you would like to add to your design, please e-mail me as soon as you come up with them so I can draw accordingly.
Can I bring a friend with me to my appointment?
Yes! But if you want to have someone else there to ease your anxiety during the tattoo, we ask that you keep it to ONE guest. When we have a room full of friends and family members crowding the tattoo space, it can stress me out. My awkward ass won’t say anything about it, though lol.
I’m under 18, can I still get tattooed with parental consent?
No. We are not allowed to tattoo minors in our studio. I promise I’m not making that up. Every time I have to break that news to people, they look at me like I’m crazy. I CAN, however, recommend some other really good local artists for you to check out! They should be able to tattoo you with parental consent. Of course, you are always more than welcome to just get tattooed by me when you turn 18!
Do you use numbing cream?
Nope! I personally don’t know any tattoo artists who supply their clients with numbing cream. If you do decide that you absolutely need some to get through your appointment, I won’t make fun of you for it. Getting tattooed on some parts of the body can be such a terribly spicy experience, you’ll want something to take the edge off. Just be sure to read reviews on the products before you buy them. If you are using numbing cream, make sure you actually apply enough and put plastic wrap over the area for at least an hour before you come in! There’s nothing worse than going into a tattoo appointment expecting it to be numb just to find out it didn’t work. Unexpected spice is the worst.
How do I cancel my appointment?
If you need to cancel/reschedule, please e-mail me as soon as possible to let me know. If you no-show me, I will be losing money. If you continuously make appointments and forget to show, I may fire you as a client. I really hate when that happens, so please try your best to keep me in the loop if you suspect your availability might change. I do not send automated reminder texts to you.
What tattoos/clients do you turn down?
I cannot tattoo you if you are pregnant. During pregnancy, your body is already dealing with enough- I don’t want to add any more risks to your plate. If you have an extreme medical condition that could affect the healing of the tattoo or harm you physically, I will not tattoo you unless you have been given the go-ahead from your doctor. I will not tattoo anyone who is intoxicated. I will not tattoo you while you are passed out. I DO tattoo “private areas” like vulvae, butts, nipples, etc. But just don’t be weird about it, okay? If you call the shop requesting to have a female artist SPECIFICALLY to tattoo your penis (because a man touching your dick is gay), that’s weird and we’ll all make sure to tell you that. I love offensive tattoos, as long as it’s something cool like over-the-top gore, anime titties, or blasphemy. There are tattoo ideas that are offensive in a stinky way, though, like rebel flags. That’ll be a big nope from me. If you are unsure if your idea is offensive in a way that I’ll like or not, just ask me.
Where are you located?
I work at Mystic Union, in downtown South Bend, Indiana. The full address is 315 N Lafayette Blvd, South Bend, Indiana, 46601. We are in a large brick building that used to be the Carpenter’s Union. We’re next door to a gas station and there’s a Taco Bell nearby. We have a SUPER shiny painted mural across the front windows of our shop.
What is your parking situation?
Not gonna lie- I hate driving places and I hate finding parking spaces. Thankfully, we do have our own lot! If you’re looking at the front of Mystic Union, there is a parking lot on the right hand side that has a bunch of spaces (like… 18 or something? Idk, I heard someone say it was 18, so that’s what I’ve been telling people.) so you shouldn’t have any issue with parking!