


This coverage is partially underwritten by the M.J. "But we're all business people, and we all want to be able to operate our businesses as close to normal as possible." "There's all kinds of personalities and ideologies, opinion-based belief systems within tattooing, it runs the gamut, all the way from the far-right to the far-left," he said. Events these days carry risks, but he feels good about gathering with the tattoo community. Check it at the door."Īs Cornell prepares for the first in-person Seattle Tattoo Expo since the pandemic started, he's a bit scared but mostly excited. "You don't want to be forced to shut your shop down so that you can deep clean it because some other people were disrespectful of the policies you've put in place," he said. Stringent policies, he said, are less about beliefs and more about keeping the business running, and Cornell doesn't tolerate those who won't follow suit or take COVID-19 seriously.
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Artists no longer are thinking just about their needs, but also how to keep their work space clean and their clients safe.Ĭornell himself is very serious about policy. Overall, Cornell said the pandemic has given everyone in the shop an air of professionalism. "So this is just a really convenient way to nip that one in the bud and to make that a permanent policy." "It's always been annoying when someone needs to have a friend with them to get their tattoo," he said. Cornell's policy on that, whether for an artist or a client, is "don't bring it here." "I love the fact that hardly anybody is getting sick anymore," he said, adding that one person coming in sick used to mean the whole shop would fall ill.Ĭornell has also digitized all of the shop's forms, and he no longer allows clients to bring someone with them to their appointment. Though Hidden Hand maintains its cancellation policy (at least 48 hours notice), it no longer applies to sickness. "We figured that the most important steps were going to be preemptive, before that person gets to that place where they're right by you." "Whether you got masks on or not, if you're doing a tattoo, oftentimes you're talking about several hours spent together," Cornell said. Hidden Hand, Cornell said, has done its best to take preventive measures like this throughout the pandemic. Recognizing that the pandemic isn't over, he said the event will have some restrictions, like crowd control. 19-21 at the Seattle Center Exhibition Hall, will include music, food and the opportunity for attendees to get tattoos from various international artists (some by walk-in, some by appointment). While the shop has been open, Cornell canceled two years of in-person Seattle Tattoo Expo, an event organized by Hidden Hand. More than that, the past few years have given him and the other artists in the shop a new, more intentional outlook on their craft. Several changes to Hidden Hand protocol brought on by COVID-19 will remain permanent, Cornell said. The shop has had continued success in these past tumultuous years, but things aren't the same as they were pre-COVID. Maybe that's why his shop, Hidden Hand Tattoo in Fremont, has never had a COVID-19 outbreak, despite only closing for about three months in 2020, Cornell said. It is the responsibility of a tattoo artist, after all, to keep a sterile environment. Jeff Cornell had a bit of a head start in the 2020 lesson of stopping pathogen spread.
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17-Editor's note: This is part of an occasional series on our local artists and their experiences in these turbulent times. Add To Favorites Tattoo shop owner gets ready for first in-person Seattle Tattoo Expo since pandemic startedĪug.
