A tattoo apprenticeship is the absolute and essential first step on your journey to being an intentional tattoo artist.

We know you want to earn a wonderful income creating art on people around the world. BUT! First you must access supportive mentorship that will enable you to learn the nuances of the trade, develop your art style, and master customer relationship skills.

During your apprenticeship, we will teach you the traditional elements of tattoo as an art form - equipment use, tattoo styles and application.

In addition, our program has a heavy emphasis on business so we will also teach you how to grow your professionalism and skills beyond tattoo - focusing on operations, branding, messaging and marketing. 

Absolutely! If you want to be in the industry for a long time, not just a good time and don't want to spend a great deal of time trying to unravel the industry's nuances to go from survival to thriving in tattoo ...

the answer is YES.

A Tattoo Apprenticeship at Little INKPLAY Shop is a great way to work alongside a seasoned Black female tattoo artist, who can offer you their time and 20+ years of experience while you learn the ropes.

In addition, a tattoo apprenticeship can teach you many transferrable professional skills, including customer care, the importance of sanitation and cleanliness, and how to grow a warm, welcoming relationship with your client.

Beyond traditional tattooing here are skills that will help you beyond your apprenticeship:

• The Art of Business: Learn tattoo shop business models and how to market yourself as an independent artist.
• People Soft Skills & Customer Relations: Develop the skills needed to nurturing any client's unmet needs - master client connection through safety, volition, security, emotion, sense of self, achievement, meaning, community and above all attention
• Trade Tools & Workplace sanitation: Though this is is straight forward, apprenticeships give you the hands-on practice needed to understand your daily tools, how to maintain your machines, and the proper way to protect yourself and your clients from diseases.
• IMPORTANT! Unfortunately, many tattoo artists have terrible health and safety habits, and nothing stops them from uploading a video. We DO NOT do that here and will train you thoroughly on bloodborne pathogens. In addition to passing the test, you must learn how to implement the practices that will keep you safe. Bloodborne certifications are required in every city in the United States. And we DO NOT recommend you rely on some video on Youtube.

Start here: Little INKPLAY Shop

Finding a tattoo apprenticeship is not easy and having a love and admiration for the trade and some art talent is only a fraction of what you need to become a thriving intentional tattoo artist.

Sometimes it can take years to find an artist willing to give up their time to show you the ropes. If you go knocking on doors, the other things you need to think about, which we know you won’t be happy to hear, yet it’s the truth are, “do I look like the people in this shop?” and “are these my kind of people?”

Highly successful tattoo artists are both extremely busy and concerned about creating more competition for themselves. Almost 100% of the time you will get a lot of, “maybes” and “come back later” and “do you want to get a tattoo from me?” 

If you are lucky enough to get a “yes,” it is overwhelmingly likely that you will be handed the mop and the broom, and the squeegee, for months…. months!

But you MUST understand that as the apprentice learning to tattoo and for the apprenticer teaching tattoo, both are a job in itself.

And the reality is, that finding an apprenticeship that is inviting, is as unlikely as getting into the top medical schools.

So we're structured to help make your access easier and your success rate higher.

We are something like medical meets business school - here to help you become our creative colleague!

Little INKPLAY Shop’s Dream Tattoo Apprenticeship Program is the best and easiest way to find an apprenticeship. Our tattoo apprenticeship program will fast-track your training. And give you a solid foundation to operate as an independent artist, successfully.

The sooner you learn how to tattoo from a working tattoo artist, the sooner you can impress the world with your skin art. 

Little INKPLAY Shop provides not only a guaranteed job offer but we train you for career advancement - to not only tattoo, but also how to run tattoo studios and management roles within our studio.

The most important thing to do is ask yourself 'Why'. Why do you want to become a tattoo artist? Why is this important? Establishing your WHY will help you stay grounded and focused when the road gets rocky (cuz it will!)

Once you have your WHY, reach out to set up an interest interview with our team to see if you’re a good fit for the program. 

One of the most prominent challenges artists faces when building their careers is finding a tattoo shop that gives them a chance to thrive. We understand that experience is essential in learning how to tattoo. And on the flip side, we also know how hard it can be to find the proper training, so we can help you build your skills as an artist to become a future teammate or find the right apprenticeship placement for you.

Even though Imani teaches from years of experience, her motto is 'we all have to start somewhere'.

Our shop culture is a big reason why our apprentices want to join our team. We only take on serious artists who have the potential to be aligned teammates committed to delivering innovative art and amazing client care. 

If accepted into the program, we will work with you to ensure you make the most out of your tattoo apprenticeship and welcome you to start your tattoo career at Little INKPLAY Shop. 

Set up an interview with our team today.