Submissions and Appointments
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Location:
Broadleaf Studio 833 SE Main St #209 Portland OR, 97214 Contact: Text only (503)966-1222 Email dlaciejeanne@gmail.com While I am away on sabbatical, there will be minimal to no contact until I return in September. Thank you for understanding and supporting me while I take this necessary break. $300 minimum Hourly rate: $200 Traveling hourly rate: $220 How do I get an appointment?
I use a Submission Form to select my projects. I am open to your ideas to inspire my work. If your submission is chosen I will email you within a few days with follow up instructions. Please, be ready to pay your $300 non-refundable deposit. What happens with the deposit? I require a $300 non-refundable deposit before calendar access is granted. While deposits are always non-refundable, they do not expire. A new deposit must be paid for each new piece. Deposits are applied to the total cost upon completion of your tattoo. How do I pay my deposit? Once your project has been chosen I will email you an invoice to pay your $300 non-refundable deposit. I will also consider some forms of crypto currency for deposits. Please, let me know after you have you received your project approval if this is something that you are interested in. Can I call the studio to discuss my tattoo idea? No. I run every aspect of my business therefore, I am rarely available for phone calls. The Submission Form is set up so you can share your tattoo concept when I am available to read your proposals. Is the studio open for walk-ins? No. My schedule is typically booked out 8 to 10 months. I am available by appointment only. The building is locked and you must get buzzed in. I cannot answer the elevator call while I am tattooing. Do you have a wait list? I do not keep a waitlist. I only accept enough projects to book a few months at a time. I tried a waitlist in the past, but people were waiting years to get in. This system is a much more efficient system. I am a returning client, how can I get access to the calendar? You may send an email with what you are wanting to get done and I will get back to you with instructions on how to proceed. What is your cancellation policy? During this time, I am waiving the 48 hour policy, until things can return to some sense of normal. Please, let me know as soon as possible if you are experiencing any kind of illness symptoms (fever, sore throat, body aches, etc). There will be a text containing questions about your health on the day of your appointment. Please, be honest about your well being for the health and safety of yourself and others. 48 hours notice is required for cancelling or rescheduling your appointments. Failure to comply with the cancellation policy will result in the cancellation of all subsequent appointments, your deposit will be dissolved, and a new deposit will be required before making further appointments. How should I prepare for my tattoo appointment? Taking care of your body the week of your tattoo appointment will help in the healing process. Drink plenty of water and get a good night's sleep the night before your appointment. Make sure to eat something before you come in. If you are not a breakfast person, bring a snack for when you do get hungry. Bring a water bottle and some snacks, particularly if you are doing a full day appointment. Where is the Submission Form? The Submission Form is only available while the books are open. It will be clearly posted here on the website. You may sign up for the Newsletter to receive a direct notification when it becomes available. The Newsletter will contain a direct link to the Submission Form on the Contact page. When the books are closed you will not find any access to the Form. |
What can I expect during Covid?
Appointments will be a little different during this time. I am required to ask a few questions regarding your health prior to getting tattooed. If your answer is yes to any of the following questions, we must reschedule:
While Health Authorities are still strongly encouraging the use of masks, the vaccines are rolling out quickly in many communities. Hopefully, once you are fully vaccinated, you may be able to travel regardless of having a weakened immune system or not. I am now fully vaccinated, and will continue to wear a mask until it is no longer recommended. If you feel comfortable coming in to get tattooed, then I encourage it. What if one of us gets sick? If proper notice is given, we will default to your following appointment and another appointment will be added to the end of your appointments. The same policy will be upheld in the case that I need to cancel because I am not well. We will not be adding in another appointment, as it disrupts the flow of the schedule. It puts too much stress on the immune system to tattoo you while you are sick, as well as putting others at risk for getting sick. For example- If your March appointment is cancelled, your next appointment will be your April appointment. We will then add another date to the end of your appointments. If you only had one appointment then I will do my best to find you something within a month or two. Why does my consultation need to be 2 weeks before my tattoo appointment? I like consultations to be fairly close to your tattoo appointment so that your idea is fresh in my mind. I use the 2 weeks preceding your tattoo to consider your concept, look at references, and cultivate a design concept. This process has taken years to perfect, and it is the most efficient way to bring you an authentically inspired design, and for me to manage my illustrative work load. I am never contemplating more than a few people's designs concurrently, even though I am managing hundreds of tattoos annually. How do I get into your schedule if I'm only off on the weekends? I typically book Wednesday through Saturday. Saturdays are very popular. If you require Saturdays only, you may want to be prompt about scheduling once you have the link. What if my project is not chosen? You are always welcome to try again in the next booking round. I provide some guidance as to the kind of projects I'm looking for in the Submission Form. The most common reason I would not choose a project is an under quoted budget. Take the time and do some research. Great tattoos are not cheap. I work very hard to bring you tattoos with longevity and integrity. Can I bring a friend? Until the threat of Covid-19 has passed, there are no guests allowed. Please, leave your family and friends at home. Are you comfortable tattooing color on naturally darker skin?
I am experienced and feel comfortable working with darker melanin. I am working on getting more healed photos of work that I have done as an example. If you are interested in doing a color test so you know what will show up on your natural pigment I am happy to do this during your linework session, so it can be later covered with shading once we make final color selections. Testing color this way means that if you decide that you do not like the way color looks on your skin, we can still make a beautiful tattoo in black and grey, regardless of your skin tone. Tattoo pigment is naturally transparent, like watercolor paint. In a tattoo it rests in a very thin layer between the layers of your skin. Therefor, your natural pigment is often stronger than that of the tattoo pigment, but that doesn't mean that it won't show up at all. The image below should be a good place to start when trying to understand how tattoo pigment will show up on your skin. 
Image created by James Lauder @mrlauder
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What kind of content do you like to tattoo?
My portfolio should be a good indication of the work I enjoy doing. I like designing nature based content. Some of the common imagery you will see in my work, are flowers (of any kind), foliage, tree branches, seed pods, buds, animals, birds, skulls, sea creatures, shells, crystals, and mostly anything from the natural world. I am rather particular to the Pacific Northwest. Is there anything you don't like to tattoo? I no longer do any kind of lettering, "hidden" or blatant. I feel that it creates a visual distraction to my illustrations. There are plenty of great tattoo artists in this area that are happy to do lettering. If a request includes lettering or dates, I will probably decline the project. How long are standard appointments? My calendar now offers a range of appointments lengths. You may choose to sit for 4, 6 or 8 hours. Full Day (8 hour) sessions are only available on Thursdays and Fridays. I will provide some indication of how many hours your project will require in your scheduling email. We will usually take a couple of short breaks to use the restroom and drink water, but those breaks are not included in the final price for your session. I will sometimes end a little earlier or work a little longer to get us to a good stopping point. Choosing a stopping point typically depends on the design. For example, if we worked on black shading all day, I will try to wrap up with a completed section rather than moving on to color. As I age, and my physical needs change, I find it easier to work on a single project daily, rather than multiple sessions in one day. I am encouraging folks to choose fewer but longer appointments. I utilize everything I can to make longer sessions possible. I will try to keep you warm and comfortable during your appointment, and I have lidocaine to help with pain. Topical lidocaine only makes the tattoo less painful, it does not numb the area completely, for most people. The spray only works once the skin is already open and raw, therefore it does not work at the beginning of your appointment. I will usually start using the spray about halfway through your appointment. It does not work at all for linework appointments. There is a topical lidocaine gel available at Hush Anesthetics that can be applied 90 minutes before your appointment. You are responsible for purchasing and applying this gel according to their instructions. It is important that you apply the gel very thick, and cover it with plastic for it to work properly. This may offer you an hour or so of reduced sensation, which could extend your pain tolerance range. Please, come prepared with a water bottle and snacks, since many of the nearby business are not open at this time. Getting a good nights sleep before and after your appointment is encouraged. You will likely be pretty wiped out afterwards, so take care of yourself. When can I see my drawing? I complete drawings in the order of appointments. Clients will receive an email with a line drawing the evening before, or the morning of their appointment. I am more focused and attentive in the morning, and I like to pull together final assessments and details earlier in the day. If you have not received your drawing yet, then I am most likely still working on it. Can I make changes to my design? You may request changes, and I will take them into consideration. If the requested changes upset the flow of the piece, then I will politely decline to maintain the standard of my work. |
Descriptions
In the Submission Form I ask a couple of questions regarding your stylistic preference. The answers you provide help me determine the amount of time we will need to finish your project. Below are examples of each category in the questionnaire.
This is an example of no background.
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This is an example of a color background.
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This is an example of a black background.
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These have a loose density, with plenty of negative space between contents.
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This piece is very dense, with little space left between the contents.
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This piece has a black and grey palette.
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This piece has a neutral color palette.
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This piece has a bright color palette.
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Healing
What should I expect the day after getting tattooed?
Be kind to your body, your immune system needs some extra care to heal. Plan on taking it easy for a few days after your appointment. If you exercise regularly, light exercise is fine. Drink plenty of water. Taking some vitamin C and probiotics can also assist the healing process. You may take some ibuprofen to reduce swelling and inflammation on the day of the appointment.
How should I heal my tattoo?
A complete aftercare sheet will be emailed to you when you fill out your release form. The most important part of healing your tattoo is keeping it clean and not handling it during the healing process. Your tattoo should finish bleeding before you leave the studio, but it will continue to express lymph fluid for a few hours, or up to a few days. While your tattoo is still expressing lymph it is very important that you continue to wash it regularly. Once your tattoo has stopped weeping you may apply a light layer of unscented lotion or coconut oil. Whatever you choose to moisturize with, be sure to massage it all the way into your skin. It should not be shiny or greasy on the surface.
Do hands and feet heal the same as the rest of the body?
No. Your hands and feet are the farthest away from your heart, so they take a little longer to heal. Make sure to take a couple of days off of work and exercise to heal them. You can expect an extra phase of healing after it has flaked. The tattoo will look somewhat "milky". After a few days the color will return and your tattoo will look fancy and new.
What is a touch up, and when would I need it?
Because we are living creatures, we are exposed to bacteria during the healing process. Sometimes our immune systems are not able to heal things as nicely as we'd like. That's a perfectly normal part of the healing process. Taking care of yourself while you are healing will help you heal better and more quickly. But in the case that you lose a part of your new tattoo, a touch up is an option within the first year, and they are usually very short appointments. Touch ups are for any fallout that happens during the initial healing process. Anything after that is considered normal settling and fading. Your tattoo will look softer over time. If things are significantly faded we may consider a rework to brighten it up so it looks new again. I charge $100 hourly for reworks (my work only, reworking anyone else's designs will be charged the normal hourly rate).
Be kind to your body, your immune system needs some extra care to heal. Plan on taking it easy for a few days after your appointment. If you exercise regularly, light exercise is fine. Drink plenty of water. Taking some vitamin C and probiotics can also assist the healing process. You may take some ibuprofen to reduce swelling and inflammation on the day of the appointment.
How should I heal my tattoo?
A complete aftercare sheet will be emailed to you when you fill out your release form. The most important part of healing your tattoo is keeping it clean and not handling it during the healing process. Your tattoo should finish bleeding before you leave the studio, but it will continue to express lymph fluid for a few hours, or up to a few days. While your tattoo is still expressing lymph it is very important that you continue to wash it regularly. Once your tattoo has stopped weeping you may apply a light layer of unscented lotion or coconut oil. Whatever you choose to moisturize with, be sure to massage it all the way into your skin. It should not be shiny or greasy on the surface.
Do hands and feet heal the same as the rest of the body?
No. Your hands and feet are the farthest away from your heart, so they take a little longer to heal. Make sure to take a couple of days off of work and exercise to heal them. You can expect an extra phase of healing after it has flaked. The tattoo will look somewhat "milky". After a few days the color will return and your tattoo will look fancy and new.
What is a touch up, and when would I need it?
Because we are living creatures, we are exposed to bacteria during the healing process. Sometimes our immune systems are not able to heal things as nicely as we'd like. That's a perfectly normal part of the healing process. Taking care of yourself while you are healing will help you heal better and more quickly. But in the case that you lose a part of your new tattoo, a touch up is an option within the first year, and they are usually very short appointments. Touch ups are for any fallout that happens during the initial healing process. Anything after that is considered normal settling and fading. Your tattoo will look softer over time. If things are significantly faded we may consider a rework to brighten it up so it looks new again. I charge $100 hourly for reworks (my work only, reworking anyone else's designs will be charged the normal hourly rate).