You have no idea how long I waited for the day Mooni Treier would come guest spot at my studio! For those who don’t know, Mooni is the artist that’s been tattooing my back for over a year. This project took root together with the opening of my studio and the blog. Those in turn sparked the idea of inviting guest artists to tattoo here. Mooni seemed the only right option for the first one, as she comes from a land far far away called Tartu and has a completely different style from me. Plus, I had babbled on about her so much on both Instagram and my blog that many people in Tallinn were interested. It took me half a year of constant begging for her to finally say “I do!” and so we booked for the 24th – 25th of January.
Although I give 101% when it comes to my studio, work and clients, there’s always a subconscious fear that everyone else does it better than me. So I thoroughly questioned Mooni on what she needs to comfortably work on clients in my studio. Both of us had quite a laugh as it wasn’t a brand new experience only for me, but also her! But when two are nervous then the result cancels out and both of us ended up excitedly looking forward to it.
Mooni drew an awesome flash tattoo sheet for people to choose and book designs they wanted. Four tattoos got scheduled, which meant a long but easy-going day. Mooni arrived earlier on Friday to check out the studio and prepare her things. As the locations of items in my own salon is muscle memory, I helped her find what she needed. It was great to see that she really enjoyed the atmosphere and interior of the studio!
The clients were amazing and Mooni’s work just as awesome. I was sat on the couch drawing sketches and happily listening to the clients’ stories. Chill vibes. Working on her second client, Mooni suddenly said “oh no”. The machine wasn’t starting, knead the pedal as hard as you want. Maybe it’s the chord or power outlet? Nope, tried another machine and that one worked. Suddenly, she noticed that the connection point of the first machine had just broken off. Murphy’s law: it was only that morning she had gawked over how great her machines were, standing strong after 7 years of work. Leave your own studio for once and there it goes. Fortunately, there was no need to panic, as I had an older rotor which was similar to hers and the work could go on! But I’d be lying if I said my heart didn’t stop when the most important component of the job gave up.
On the second day, we planned to work on my back. It was a long awaited experience to be a client in my own studio, to feel at home! Mooni wanted to try the machine I myself used, which has a slightly different system (EZ pen). Again something to be excited about since I was curious whether it felt any different, as my clients keep saying how soft it is. Cuddling into a blanket and pillows with my dog Charlie and playing my favourite music, I was in paradise. So comfy that the smile couldn’t be wiped off my face! I was glad to see that Mooni truly enjoyed using my machine, but me with my awful pain tolerance didn’t feel any difference – still awful and painful. Once again have to admit that my own clients are such troopers! The session lasted around 3 hours as always. Didn’t want to torture myself or Mooni, who wasn’t feeling her best due to a resilient wisdom tooth.
All in all, it was an awesome experience for both myself and Mooni (I hope)! I look forward to hosting her again, as well as other artists I click with!
Who would you like to see next in my studio?
Nice post, keep it up. Hope you are well.
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