Lifestyle
'It's totally different': Younger tattoo artists are ditching the machine
Abby Ingwersen, a guest artist at Nice Try Tattoo, works on a client using the stick and poke method.
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For purveyors of an artform that’s famously permanent, tattoo artists sure like to switch things up.
In studios and shops around the world, younger artists are challenging the traditional ways of running a business and poking ink into skin.
From independent collectives to a revival of the so-called “stick and poke” tattoo, a new generation is leaving its mark.
A new studio structure
In a typical walk-in tattoo shop, there is an owner, some contracted artists and maybe an apprentice. The artists pay a percentage of their earnings to the owner in return for expertise, a place to work and a storefront to attract clients.
But some artists are forging ahead with a new, non-hierarchical vision: the independent studio, where the idea is to cut out the middle-man.
That’s where you will find Ella Sklaw, one of the five artists who works out of Nice Try Tattoo — a collaboratively-owned and operated tattoo studio they started three years ago with a friend in Brooklyn, New York.
The members of Nice Try Tattoo, which includes (clockwise from top left) Cierson Zambo, Sydney Kleinrock, Ella Sklaw, Sara Sremac and Lu Walstad.
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Ella Sklaw talks through the process with their client, Maddie Dennis-Yates.
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From the outside, Nice Try Tattoo is an unassuming warehouse. But once you enter, you’re met with comfy couches, walls plastered with thank you notes, and a wooden dining table in the back.
“We visually decorate the entire shop together,” Sklaw says. “We try to keep it super warm and super inviting. I think we really go for this idea that you should have stuff to look at while you’re getting a tattoo, because it hurts.”
For Maddie Dennis-Yates, one of Sklaw’s clients on a recent summer day, those touches are appreciated.
“There’s been a real shift in the vibe of tattoo studios lately,” Dennis-Yates says. “Even just having it in a building like this, it’s got this certain coziness to it. Like, you have to go find it somewhere, you can’t just stumble in off the street.”
For an array of reasons, the pandemic contributed to the rise of independent studios — some artists took up the skill during lockdown, while some clients found extra money or the confidence to get inked. And while there isn’t complete data on the number of independent studios versus traditional shops, the industry as a whole grew a steady 2.5% a year from 2018-23, according to research from IBISWorld.
The move towards independent work models is a symptom of something larger, especially for artists and creatives who have been the most historically exploited, according to Trebor Scholz, a New School professor who researches cooperative entrepreneurship.
“We have seen the increase during the pandemic, but this is something that is part of a much longer shift in the way work has performed over the past 50 years really, and these kind of non-standard work arrangements,” he said. “I don’t think the clock will be turned back on them.”
A “stick and poke” revival
Along with a shift in the business model there are also evolving styles and tastes — both from customers and artists.
Some artists at Nice Try Tattoo have left the machine behind and rely on a singular needle to etch their designs. It’s a method often called “stick and poke” or “hand poke.”
Nicole Monde works out of a private studio in Brooklyn.
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“I just take the needle and I just put it in my hand and then I just poke the design dot by dot,” says Nicole Monde, a hand poke artist who shares a private studio space in Brooklyn. “It’s very similar to machine in that it’s going the same depth, I’m using the same ink, same supplies, same needles and everything, but I’m just taking the machine out of it.”
Hand poke tattoos can conjure up images of college dorm rooms or DIY mishaps, and Monde acknowledges it’s not always seen as legitimate.
Monde puts together a tattoo design.
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“I think a lot of people don’t see it as a valid form of tattooing because the industry standard for so long has been using a machine. But I like to point out the fact that before electricity existed, this is how all tattoos were being done,” she says.
Some clients, like E Barnick, prefer hand poke tattoos for the overall experience.
“It’s totally different,” Barnick says. “I mean, it doesn’t hurt nearly as much and it’s also just a lot more intimate to have somebody hand poking.”
Still, some artists make the case that there are benefits to the traditional shop model that are lost when artists work out of independent studios and trade in different approaches.
“They’re missing out on the grander scale of experience and I think it’s harder to advance as an artist. I think you need that interaction with the average daily wacko wandering in off the street,” says Mehai Bakaty, who owned Fineline Tattoo in Manhattan until it was forced to close due to rising costs and the pandemic lockdowns.
Still, Bakaty now works from an independent studio as well, and says it takes him back to the 1990s when New York tattoo shops used to all operate under the radar because their operations were illegal and there were concerns about AIDS transmission.
“Sort of underground, clandestine, appointment-only, word of mouth, no advertising, no storefronts,” he says.
It’s not lost on Sklaw, from Nice Try Tattoo, that their collective studio model has come full circle back to these same ideas: word of mouth. No storefronts. No walk-ins.
Sklaw works on a client.
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Artist Sara Sremac show her client E Barnick their new tattoo.
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“We kind of exist in the legacy of that alternative space,” Sklaw says.
These days, whether clients choose a machine or hand-poked tattoo, at an indie studio or a shop, the goal is the same: distinctive, meaningful, permanent art.
“Tattoos, I mean, cross-culturally, were always something to be extremely proud of,” says Lars Krutak, a tattoo anthropologist. “Because we’re talking primarily these … identify you as a member of a community.”
So when clients leave Nice Try Tattoo or a traditional shop, they aren’t just coming home with a new tattoo. The marking is a symbol of a community much larger than a singular artist or a singular needle.
Sunday Puzzle
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On-air challenge
I’m going to give you some clues. The answer to each one rhymes with the last word in the clue.
Ex. The sky’s hue –> Blue
1. Toy that flies to great height
2. Pistol, for one
3. Funeral fire
4. Things you count when you have trouble getting to sleep
5. Friars event with a celebrity host
6. Brand of pen that you can click
7. Place to acquire knowledge
8. Have uncertainty about
9. Not go away
10. King Felipe VI’s domain
11. Three plus one more
12. Locale for someone who needs bail
13. One-tenth of a bowling game
14. Like the runner that all the others have passed
15. Quick blow on a flute
16. Superior to all the rest
17. Was rank
18. New addition to a family, maybe
Last week’s challenge
Challenge:
Last week’s challenge came from Evan Kalish, of Bayside, N.Y. Name a famous living singer whose first and last names together have four syllables. The second and fourth syllables phonetically sound like things a dog walker would likely carry. What singer is this?
Answer:
Alicia Keys
Winner:
Laurie Rose of Maldon, MA.
This week’s challenge
This week’s challenge comes from Alan Hochbaum, of Duluth, Ga. Think of two hooved animals. Take all the letters of one of them and the last three letters of the other, mix them together, and you’ll get the first and last names of a famous actress. Who is it?
For Ty Dolla Sign, the perfect Sunday begins in the sky, traveling back to Los Angeles from wherever his career has last taken him. The singer, producer and multi-instrumentalist lives in constant motion — our interview had a few interruptions because he was getting ready to fly to Las Vegas, where he would be performing at a club later that night.
In Sunday Funday, L.A. people give us a play-by-play of their ideal Sunday around town. Find ideas and inspiration on where to go, what to eat and how to enjoy life on the weekends.
“I’m about to be at the airport in like 17 minutes,” he said, his signal cutting in and out. “Do you want me to hit you back?”
Born Tyrone Griffin Jr., Ty Dolla Sign is known for his gruff sandpaper vocals and memorable hooks. Last fall, he released his fourth studio album, “Tycoon,” with features from YG, ASAP Rocky, Chlöe, Lil Wayne and Leon Thomas and more. Then he kicked off 2026 by dropping a mash-up version of the record on the streaming platform Hotcue.fm.
Awards season has been just as active. Ty Dolla Sign is up for his seventh Grammy nomination, this time for melodic rap performance for his collaboration with JID. EZMNY (Easy Money), the record label that Ty Dolla Sign co-founded with A&R executive Shawn Barron in 2021, also earned 10 additional nominations through its roster, including six for Leon Thomas and four for Bizzy Crook.
“We’re the greatest squad,” the L.A. native said of his team. “We just want to keep being the greatest and doing the best we can to change music for the better and keep the standard high.”
The 2026 Grammy Awards will take place Sunday — the same day as his daughter’s 21st birthday, so naturally she’ll be joining him for the special occasion. He’ll also be doing a pre-show performance before the ceremony.
Just before his plane took off, Ty Dolla Sign shared what a perfect Sunday in L.A. would look like: hitting up his favorite smoothie bar, cooking up new music at his compound and enjoying a low-key Italian dinner.
This interview has been lightly edited and condensed for length and clarity.
5 a.m.: Wake up on a plane
A perfect Sunday for me would start with landing on a plane early in L.A. Since I’ll already be up, I can handle my calls super early, which is convenient.
11 a.m.: Hit the weights with my PT
Then I’d go straight home and my trainer would get to my place around 11 a.m. or noon. We’d work out after that in my home gym. I’ve been working with my trainer since before Ty Dolla Sign. We’ve been training together on and off for about 15 to 20 years. I’m the type of guy to where it’s like, yeah, having a six pack is cool and all that, but eating great food is also one of my loves. If a girl wants to deal with me, she’s going to have to know certain times, I’m going to be the super workout fitness guy and sometimes, I want to eat for three years and I might get a little chunky. If you love me, you love me. If you don’t, get away. [laughs]
2 p.m.: Grab a healthy smoothie from Body Energy Club
Afterward, I’d shower up and if I have to do any more calls or answer emails, I’d handle that. Then I’d go to this spot called Body Energy Club, which has these fire a— smoothie and acai bowls. They have the most natural ingredients. The Green Goodness is great. It has avocado, spinach, banana and some other sweet stuff. It doesn’t taste nasty at all, but it’s super healthy. Then there’s the Blueberry Crumble that I love, which kind of tastes like French Toast Crunch with blueberries in it. It’s fire but also healthy. Then last but not least, I like the Turmeric Mango. That’s the one I get when I need to heal up and I’ve been wildin’. [laughs]
3 p.m.: Hit up the studio
After that, I would head over to my compound and probably just do some music. I might throw on a football game while I’m working.
10 p.m.: A low-key Italian dinner
Depending on when I leave the studio, I’d either order in or go out for dinner. There’s a few restaurants that I love. If we’re talking Italian, I’d go to Giorgio Baldi in the Palisades. If it was getting late, I’d go to Nice Guy. They also have Italian food. I’m only going to places that give me the private room and don’t try to “rap guy” me, meaning they don’t try to charge me extra high because they know I’m an artist.
At Giorgio Baldi, I like the ravioli that has corn in it, which is what they’re famous for. They have so many good things, so I order a whole bunch of things and then I just taste a little bit of each thing and that’s how I like it cause that’s how I eat. Everywhere I go, I like to order steak, fish and chicken and veggies just like how I cook at home. I don’t have to eat everything, but it’s better if I bring a lot of people so we can all share. That’s like when I’m on my diet s— and trying to stay slim. If it wasn’t then my favorite food is a burger. As for Nice Guy, they have this chicken Parmesan but I’m a weirdo, I eat the chicken Parmesan without the Parmesan. I found one other person who’s like me and it’s YG because we’re both on some “No cheese.” It was funny to find out that he was the same way. After that, I would call it a night.
US director Jon M. Chu attends the 83rd annual Golden Globe Awards at the Beverly Hilton hotel in Beverly Hills, California, on January 11, 2026. (Photo by Michael Tran / AFP via Getty Images)
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This week’s show was recorded in Chicago with host Peter Sagal, judge and scorekeeper Bill Kurtis, Not My Job guest Jon M. Chu and panelists Negin Farsad, Peter Grosz, and Annie Rauwerda. Click the audio link above to hear the whole show.
Who’s Bill This Time
Let the Games Begin, Flotus on Film, Tree-N-Tree
Panel Questions
The Back Door to Heaven
Bluff The Listener
Our panelists tell us three stories about a surprising new international tourist attraction, only one of which is true.
Not My Job: Wicked and Wicked: For Good director Jon M. Chu answers our questions about Boston
Wicked and Wicked: For Good director Jon M. Chu plays our game called “Wicked good!” three questions about Boston.
Panel Questions
A Black and White Solution, Putting the WD in Whodunnit.
Limericks
Bill Kurtis reads three news-related limericks: Steel Cut Torment, Sssssssteam Engine, Open Ocean.
Lightning Fill In The Blank
All the news we couldn’t fit anywhere else
Predictions
Our panelists predict, now that we know trees can explode, what will trees do next?
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