Vivid Crystal Tattoo Studio and Shoppe, based in Stoughton, is promoting a tattooing community in the area through inviting guest artists to the shop. Recently Tom Cookson spent some time in the area. A young artist from England, Cookson enjoyed two-months of life in southeastern Saskatchewan.
Cookson, 26, arrived at the beginning of September. Having studied art at university, Cookson started out holding exhibits and doing commissioned works, but found it wasn't a reliable source of income.
"I'd go months without selling anything," Cookson explained. "I'd hold an exhibition, get really excited, but not sell anything. Tattooing was a good way to create a career from what I was doing."
"It's a lot less isolated too, you're not in your studio by yourself, and you meet new people every day."
Having started in November of 2011, Cookson has now had three years of experience at a job he loves; a job that allows him to travel and work.
"I started in England, and then went to a shop in Florida. That's where I met Crystal, we kept in touch, and she said if I ever came to Canada that I would be more than welcome."
"That's one of the best things about the job; it lets me travel pretty much anywhere and do it. You learn new styles and meet lots of people. It's always different going home though because you meet so many people through work connections."
The future for Cookson will see him coming back in the New Year, while he also plans to work in Europe a bit more as well.
While in Stoughton, Cookson was busy with about five or six tattoos a week.
"I really like black and grey realism, and dot work," Cookson explained of his art.
Crystal Begin, owner of Vivid Crystal and tattoo artist, explained, "We don't want to have someone come in and just give them anything, we want the artist to work with their strengths so the clients have something great after. We want our guest artist to be happy and we want our clients to be happy."
Begin added that having Cookson in as a guest artist was a lot of fun and is a way for them to help build a tattooing community in the area.
"We loved having him here," Begin said. "In the States, artists embrace each other and support each other, I really like that community."
"We designed the studio to be comfortable for guest artists. We're set up with the best furniture, best products, and safety is important to us. So, we make sure the guests are comfortable and not stuck using crap. It's comfortable for the clients as well; it's kind of like being at home for the clients and artists."
Sarah Dixon-Wright, piercer at Vivid Crystal, added, "We want to be the spa of the tattooing industry. All of our products are beyond the standard. We spare no expense because it means our clients health and well-being."
"Everything we do we make sure it's high quality. We don't like junk and we wouldn't expect anyone else to use low quality products."
The future for Vivid Crystal is focused on bringing in more guests artists, welcoming Cookson back in the New Year, and continuing to offer their services.
"Our foot is in the door with a few big name artists that we're hoping to bring in, in the new year," Begin explained. "We'll bring in artists from outside of Saskatchewan and give them more exposure. It also gives people around here a chance to get artwork done by a bigger name and experience something different."
"Myself, I'm a tattoo collector. I like to support other artists by going to different people. I have a love for tattooing and encourage people to support other artists. In Canada it's very competitive, but if you have a love of tattooing then you should support it as a whole as a supportive community."
The future will continue to include Vivid Crystal's dedication to clients: "We can do two tattoos a day, we don't do more because we like to spend one on one time with our clients. For some we have designed their tattoo that day and we only charge for the actual tattooing, so it lets our clients come in, not be rushed, and be happy with the result because we took the time to work with them."
"We try to make sure it's relaxed and that there's no pressure because getting a tattoo can be stressful enough, so we try to keep the stress out of it."
Begin and Dixon-Wright encourage people in the area to stop by and say hi, while checking out all they have to offer in the retail shop. Also find them on Facebook at Vivid Crystal for photos of their work.
