THE AMERICAN MYSTERY

product is one that the client is happy with.

When Reichardt arrives, Bates greets her at the front, signs her in and the two talk about the tattoo design. Bates has three fonts displayed on her iPad screen, and the client chooses her favorite. Then it’s upstairs to draw, stencil and print a carbon copy of the chosen image.

Before the tattooing can begin, the artist washes her hands and puts on a fresh pair of gloves. A new, fresh pack of needles still in the packaging is placed on her station with a container of black ink, soap, a razor for hair removal and the carbon copy. Once Reichardt’s wrist is cleaned and prepped, Bates positions the scripted image. “We will move it as many times as we need to, to get it right,” she ensured.

Since it was the client’s first tattoo, the artist made sure she was comfortable, propping her legs up and leaning the shop chair back. “I like to get a read on my customer, see how their nerves are doing. After you do it for a while, you can really tell when people are more nervous, or voice concerns.” Bates opts to troubleshoot apprehensions prior to starting the tattoo, so the client feels at ease. She coaches them through breathing techniques and lets her clients know that they can ask to take a break throughout the course of the process. “I start out real slow with small lines, to let them get used to it,” she adds. And so, it begins! With the machine buzzing, the words start to come to life on the skin. Reichardt and Bates chat while the ink sets in. With a singular line connecting the letters together, the tattoo comes to a close in under 10 minutes. As Bates cleans and wraps the tattoo, she goes over care instructions with Reichardt, sending her home with a care sheet while checking out at the front. Now it’s time for clean up, and preparations for the next day of tattoos. When finished, Bates heads home to Hatteras to pick up her two young boys, who are already creating designs and masterpieces of their own.

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