Imagine that, a business owner with a brain. How refreshing. All it's going to take is one person getting sick and/or dying after getting a tattoo at your open too soon tattoo shop and your business will be over. It doesn't take a genius to understand this.

Some folks already have tattoos of the virus.

Tattoos are optional, people. You do not need a tattoo.

I have one tattoo, and there is every likelihood I'll get another some day. But even if I came across the perfect tattoo idea and had money burning a hole in my pocket, there is no way I'd get it right now. Why take the risk? I can still get that tattoo six months from now, or a year from now, when my risk of catching a potentially fatal disease (or accidentally giving it to the staff) is much lower. Getting a tattoo in the middle of a pandemic is insane.

Oh, and Laughing Buddha is great. That's where I got my current tat, years ago. Thank's Christy, for being a responsible human, as well as running an awesome shop.

This is stupid...most restaurants at 50% capacity still hold more people than a tattoo studio. Most tattoo studios have like 3-6 artists max working at one time. They could reduce to make sure tables are 6 feet apart. I mean do whatever you want as a business owner, but lets not pretend this is an informed and rational argument.

This post also ignores the large amount of tattoo artists who fought to get shops opened...how about reaching out to one of those artists?

If you do not feel safe by all means wait to reopen your business.
But saying that any business “willing to operate in this time, I would question the rest of their safety standards” this statement is unbelievable coming from someone who said online that she will be reopening when the governor allows because “I have bills”. I guess she is only questioning the standard of other business owners, not herself?

I agree that this person should not re-open in Phase 2, and that's ok... Anyone not feeling confident about returning to work safely should stay home right now. However, many of us professional tattoo studios have worked very hard on adopting new CDC and State Health Guidelines, have procured the necessary PPE, and are ready to return to work safely. I have so many issues with this article I don't know where to start. First, there was just no reasoning to support her suggestion that Tattoo Shops should be re-categorized to open with concerts and night clubs? How does a professional tattoo artist, working privately on pre-screened clients with proper PPE, compare to a concert??! As someone who's been tattooing for 30+ years, is well trained in the prevention of disease transmission, and has recently taken CDC recommended Covid training courses for nurses (as many other tattoo professionals have), it is very frustrating to read op-ed pieces like this. Considering the current environment, I think it's irresponsible to continue providing platforms for people like this to project their personal fears onto an already fearful public, rather than express their concerns in a more reasonable and fact based way, especially when those opinions can have a bearing on other people’s livelihoods. I'm still scratching my head trying to figure out why this article even has the title it does? Our guidelines are flawed because this particular person had not yet acquired their PPE? The guidelines seem pretty clear to me that without the proper PPE you simply do not re-open (PPE is a bit more of a challenge to get right now because it's also in demand by the general public, but it IS available). Rather than allow this person (who does not represent the typical tattoo artist) to state her opinions as fact, It would have been so easy to have followed up some of her statements with simple fact checking: When she said she was not prepared to deal with something 'in the air'. A quick visit to WHO or CDC websites would have revealed that this virus is spread via droplets, and that it is NOT airborne. I also find myself scratching my head (I'll be bald of you publish too many more of these articles) and wondering why The Stranger didn't reach out to one of the many professional Tattoo Artists who have educated themselves about the Covid-19, have implemented the new safety guidelines, secured PPE, and actually ARE ready to go back to work safely (7000 signatures on our moveon.org Tattoo Artists Return to Work Safely petition suggest there are plenty of them out there). You would have found a much more practical and down to earth response, but I guess something like 'Washington Tattoo Artists Are Ready to Return To Work Safely' just isn't sexy enough click-bait for modern times.

How fucking dare you tell people not to trust a shop that opens when they can!! There’s a lot of tattooers (including myself) who feel perfectly confident in our sterilization skills to open and practice safe tattooing. Tattoo (legit) shops are prob some of the cleanest places you can go. Your not even a Tattooer,your a fucking piercer? How about staying the fuck out of Tattooer business and minding your own!! Just because you some hippie tattoo/piercing hybrid shop doesn’t give you the right to criticize other shops for having to open and make money to feed they’re families,it’s great that the landlord of your fancy dentist office looking “tattoo” shop lets you just hang out forever until you open but a lot of us aren’t that lucky.