LOUISVILLE, Ky. — There are a number of ways to express love: hugs, kisses, words of affirmation, or even wearing it right on your sleeve in bold colors and unique designs. That’s the kind of show of love that Bluebird Ink Boutique specializes in.
The tattoo parlor on Main Street is an all female run store.
Owner Louisa Kleinert says that the world of tattooing is a world of love, there’s just different ways to express it.
“People commemorate what they love. The put thing in their skin, whether it be relationships, things that they’ve overcome, the things that they love and they hold dear, they tattoo it. So we deal with love year round,” Kleinert said.
Kleinert says that they see all types of love pass through their store. They range from best friend tattoos to pet tattoos, signatures of family members to artistic chest tattoos for recovery breast cancer patients.
“They are having to find their new life, their new self, their new body. Who are they after going through cancer,” Klienert said.
“A lot of people will do, whether it be an areola reconstruction, or it be an artistic tattoo. The artistic tattoos done on the chest are a way of reclaiming themselves and their own love. Sometimes I think our self-love is more important than any other relationship because you have to have that self-love before you can love other people,” she continued.
Sharing in those types of intimate and emotional experiences with clients creates a connection that Kleinert says is a special type of bond.
“You’re here for the death, your here for the life, you’re here for the marriage, you’re hear for all the big things that people will inevitably come back. You get to know your clients, and you know that a tattoo you did three years ago, it’s still with them and they’re still loving it,” she said.
“We become, like, conduits where it’s not about us. It’s about the person who’s sitting there, their story. We’re just helping. But to hear their story and to be able to be a part of it and to know that we are making forever altercations to their body that hopefully make them love themselves more, love their life more, love their experience more that’s really special,” Kleinert said.
Kleinert says three of her top tips for anyone considering getting a tattoo include: making sure the person or thing you want to commemorate is someone you’ll always want as a part of you, trying to come up with a unique idea that is special to you, and avoid getting names of significant others tattooed. She says that is the most common coverup request that they get at the store.
Bluebird Ink Boutique is running Valentines Flash sale. Kleinert says all the bookings are by appointment only and you can find more details on their Instagram account or website.
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