10/06/2026
It makes me a little sad that so many people think I’m leaving because I posted that everything in the studio is for sale.
I’M NOT LEAVING.
If you’ve been following along, you know that I’m going to be travel tattooing for all of November and December. And since I’m going to be gone anyway, I decided this is the perfect time to completely change the studio.
So yes — everything is still for sale.
Not because I’m closing. Not because I’m giving up. Not because I’m disappearing.
I’m selling it because when I come back, I want to walk into a completely different space.
The studio I have now has served me well, but the current vibe just doesn’t match the direction I’m going anymore. I’ve grown a lot as an artist, and I want the space I work in to grow with me.
These next two months aren’t just about traveling either. I’m going out to learn. When I am traveling I’m working around different artists, experiencing different shops, picking up new techniques, pushing myself outside of my comfort zone, to come back a better artist, a better tattooer, and a better business owner than I was when I left.
I’ve spent a lot of time trying to make tattoos affordable for everyone, running cheap flash specials, squeezing people in, and honestly probably undervaluing my own work at times. I’m incredibly grateful for every single person who has supported me through that, but I’m ready for the next stage of my career.
When I return, my hourly rate will be $150 an hour.
The constant cheap flash deals will also be coming to an end. That doesn’t mean we’ll never have fun events or specials again, but the $50 flash era is pretty much retiring with the current version of the studio. 😂 If we eventually bring in apprentices or other artists who want to offer lower-priced flash, that may be something we can offer again.
I want to focus more of my time on creating quality custom work, larger pieces, projects I’m excited about, and continuing to improve my craft.
So no, this isn’t goodbye.
It’s more like I’m gutting the old version of everything and seeing what I can build next.
I have no idea exactly what the studio is going to look like when I’m finished with it — and honestly, that’s part of what makes me excited.
Something I don’t think everyone realizes is that the studio you see now was never really the full vision I had for it. I took on this space in January with so many plans and ideas, and then life changed very quickly after my accident. For months, I was physically limited in what I could do, so a lot of the ideas I had for this place had to be put on hold. I made it work with what I could do at the time, and I’m proud of that, but I’ve never gotten the chance to bring this studio to its full potential.
Now I finally get to.
This time, I get to create the space I originally imagined — except now I have even bigger ideas, more experience, and a much clearer picture of the artist and business owner I want to be.
So when I say I’m selling everything and starting over, I don’t mean I’m walking away from Gilded Lily.
I mean I’m finally getting the chance to build it the way I wanted to from the beginning.
So please stop planning my funeral. 😂
I’m not leaving.
I’m just leveling up. 🖤
