Who doesn’t love a good theme, yah know? And I think as I bring this publication to life, I’ll start guiding our talks around monthly themes. I mean …

It’s just easier and I can draw lines and parallels to both tattoo and creative life, in general a lot easier.

That shared … it’s no time like the present to integrate new ideas. So let’s start right meow ~

September is self-care month. And Dear, Black Creative in case you need a reminder

An often forgotten as a part of self-care is community care is a very important and forgotten aspect of self-care. But we got you covered at Little INKPLAY Shop because it’s a serious part of our shop culture.

Not only that, but this topic comes up briefly Black Tattoo Anthology -

Where Lord Yatta and I discuss the importance of replacing a transactional experience with a more humanistic and holistic exchange that is healthier for both the client and the artist.

So, as we explore BTA writings and leave love notes to Black creatives, along the way, we’ll be exploring from a context of what self-care truly means.

We’re In Transition, Folks! ^.^

Hey new (and current) readers! What a time to be a Black creative, yea?!

Exploring self-care is a great start to the transition of this publication which is part newsletter, part email and part social media.

You see, I envision this space as an intimate way to share my creative musings sprinkled with empowerment, while also building an engaged community of readers and radical creatives.

Before the creation of Dear Black Creatives, there was Shoppe Gal which is my book but it didn’t quite call in ALL the folks I want to grow with in this new artistic medium. And the name felt limiting for this iteration of digital me.

But I started playing with loves notes and affirmations addressed Dear, Black Creatives while practicing speech things in stories. It became such a fun thing and a hit with followers that I thought I should explore this.

Truth is … I don’t know where Dear, Black Creatives is going long-term, if anywhere. BUT I know I can use it now to ideate, visualize and get tf out of my own way.

This just for fun platform is a diary of streams of consciousness of a Black creative, littered with tattoo, art and style inspo + insight to fuel the melanin-rich, future forward, avant-garde soul.

Here’s what you can expect with this new shift:

• More art, style & bite-sized fun social content that you can follow along to on Instagram.

• Community interviews highlighting some of the artists and topics of Black Tattoo Anthology.

• Rare & valuable inspo to help you think outside the box and inspire your future creative endeavors.

• Live events & IRL workshops starting with the “Coworking Cookout Series” that will teach you how to level up your mindset, creativity and accountability.

• Content written and curated by other creatives.

August Wrap-up

Moving right along, we’re finally getting into what y’all came for, the monthly round up.

Seriously, August was a blur. I spent a lot of time telling people about Black August before the rebrand to National Black Business Month and why Black Tattoo Anthology is anchoring in this month with February (Black history month) as its backup.

On the money front, despite it being Black business month … it wasn’t our greatest revenue month by far. But … you win some, you lose some. Plus our super soft launch, Books and Tattoos was a VIBE!

We survived the month so we can do better this month. THAT is what counts. And so, here we are ~

Surprisingly though, I did learn that my cat is a plant mom LOL

And … on the creativity front to be quite honest, I dunno WTF happened. But that’s exactly why I do these wrap ups …

To recount the times I may have been present physically, but prolly not mentally accounted for ^.^

So leggo ~

A lot of these pieces will be completed this month or have significant progress so I’ll be sure to update yah!

Explore Tattoo Therapy w/ Imani K Brown

Hello September!

Whew! So, now that you know what this publication transition looks like and we’ve looked back at an amazing Black August …

What’s to come for Self-care September?!

We starting off with mutual self-care aide around these parts. Check out recent vibes from a session with Bianca, featuring Grace <3

New months bring new energy and insight. And I’m excited that we’re rolling into fall having officially soft-launched Black Tattoo Anthology. So much so that last night, my mind was churning over information and how to present it in an engaging format ~

I mean … my brain legit started doing the moon walk, excitedly vision boarding media roll-outs, mapping the book-set into palatable experiences and world building.

AT FUCKING 2AM!

But I’m not complaining. Cuz the fact that my brain is happily dancing around these chunks of info like the smooth criminal that it is tells me that I’m in the right place.

Get Tattooed For Self-Care Month!

Tattoo is a legitimate form of self-care and we’re so happy to be off to a great start this Self-care September. This is the time I usually get to reconnect with my long-time clients as the industry slow months start to creep in. And it’s ALWAYS, ALWAYS worth it!

Here’s an unedited testimonial from Bianca for you before I make it all pretty for my Ink & Release tattoo therapy portfolio. ^.^

Our books are open! For now, Veronica is accepting a variety of tattoos to get her portfolio up. And I’ve got a few slots open for some high vibes’ tattoo therapy.

Either way, you can click thru to visit our portfolios and book with the artist of your choice!

Visual Diary: Black August Be Like …

Welp today is that vibe. I’ma let share with you a story of how me and an unknown therapist support a mutual client -

We’ve never met before or know each other’s names. The customer in mind that I want to tell you guys about is a new client. It’s her first tattoo and well … it’s safe to assume that this is our first journey together.

I’ve been intentionally crafting my work around the WHOLE person, not just the tattoo we’re creating. And actively bridging the gap between tattoo (as peer to peer healing) to therapy sharing many perspectives of how these modalities work together.

While understanding this is a need for folks … the pandemic proved that for us, I didn’t expect to be in awe of the amount of increased support that people get when you open up the door to understand how tattoo and therapy are bridged.

It’s mind blowing. It's inspiring. It's ugling. It's uzi. It's warm.

Because we all need support. And the main part of tattoo therapy is what is lost in self care, which is community care. So peer to peer healing in capacities like tattoo are vital for folk, when you don't have the trust or sustainable funds to go to clinical or traditional therapy.

Well, That’s Not the Case
With this client, that isn't the case, but she understands the importance of therapy and confided in her as a sound voice when choosing her tattoo artist. But not only was she thoughtful of her own needs but also of my studio’s purpose.

I got a lovely email once she booked her consultation because she noticed my tattoo tagline Finelines for My Melanated Folk. It's a part of my personal brand tagline, not Little INKPLAY Shop’s which is why she didn’t see it for some time. I am highly a melanated fine line tattoo specialist so my byline is a comfort for folk, not a repellent for non-folk. But I digress ~

So with that, she saw it, she messaged me, and she promptly:

If you don't want to serve white people, if you are holding space for black people, that's really important. I'm happy to just eat the cost to go somewhere else.

Dayyummmmmm …. Well that’s not the case. But I respect that.

Such an unexpected kindness.

Not that cool though, I dorkily yell out Yo, this is dope as f***!

Post consultation, she receives her followup email with deposit link, immediately pays and books her first date - we were slated for 4 sessions, scheduled at her convenience. And when we start working, we start forming a bond.

Getting comfortable, she starts telling me about her due diligence journey in finding her artist. How she consulted with her therapist about this life-changing decision.

She was feeling some type of way since she wouldn’t see what we come up with until well … we come up with it together.

See, our process isn’t that of a normal tattoo shop, so it can be jarring. We create together! And don't do the whole, like, let me just draw up a tattoo and slap it on you. We create together! We guarantee timeless art for YOU. Creating carefully, from a space of filling out the energy and making sure things are highly energetic for you - from design to placement.

People get tattooed for a myriad of reasons and its a vulnerable space. So we take care to make sure you love your art not just for that moment, but for real love it; taking time to let you see yourself actually wearing and moving with the pieces. This slow fitting process is important and allows you to seeing how these ideas actualize, how you bond with them, and how they bond with you just the same.

So you see … well, maybe you don’t cuz I ain’t said it yet. *I crack me up*

She confided in her therapist about her worries only because of past negative experiences when researching artists. Easily her mind will go back to that instance simply because she doesn’t have a reframe with a positive experience to trust her decisions yet.

And yes, yet … because we hadn't worked together yet, right?

So naturally she's only going on the negative experiences, though she felt good around her choice based on consultation and communication. Plus she’d already paid. And we don’t do refunds.

She felt good around my complete honesty when I told her my process requires breathing room because as you change (and I don't know how fast you're going to change btw), but as you change and we look at the whole person, not just the piece of skin that's being tattooed, sometimes, ideas often change as well. And we like to leave space for those energetic downloads to really happen in favor of the person who's going to be wearing this piece for the rest of their life.

She jammed with all of this! But she was still a lil’ uneasy …

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Second-Guessing Is Natural
So boom! We did the consultation. She talks to her therapist, and then she's just like

…

I don't really know I'd made the right choice. And she was starting to second guess herself.

Personally, I think that’s natural, especially when you don’t have enough information to weigh pro’s and con’s or moments in exchanges between experiences. But that is an understanding she’d have to come to.

Her therapist stepped in so she wouldn’t have to go at this big decision making alone and did her a sold - went down a list of list checks ~

Researched her background? Check.

Looked at her portfolio? Check.

Had a consultation. It was quite lovely, yes! Thank you. She responds.

Check!

Have you seen a design?

She pauses … Issa no for me. And she replies -

No I haven’t but she did deep dive into outlining the process of creating together and we went through my ideas thoroughly.

Even with the one unchecked box, every box was checked.

And the therapist nods her head, looks around and leans in towards the client …

The client leans in towards the therapist with a gentle squint as if to say ‘What you see’.

And after a deep breath, the therapist replies.

Just sounds like fear of the unknown to me *kanye shrug*

Since she told me that story, me and her therapist have been like 2 peas in a pod sending salutations and 3rd party love notes like - Whaddup sis!

This might seem quirky. But we’re both here in total support of the client. But that don’t mean we gotta be stuffy ~ Who wants that along their healing journey. UGH! Instead we have our playful banter though we don’t know each other and allowing the client space as the 3rd party gives her the warm hug she needs along her journey. It’S like we sandwiched her in (literally) picture a sam’mich.

We’re the 2 slices of bread and the client is the meat (or veggies, in case you’re vegan or anything reading this LOL) we support.

She's able to ping pong knowing that both spaces are in full support of her journey - Sometimes, she’ll come back to me with anything that comes up in therapy that may affect or be important for her tattoo journey. Also anything that comes up in her tattoo session, she can now take back to her therapist.

Organic, stronger support for a human.

Now, she can skip the second guessing.

The Support We All Need
A lot of times we forget that people need full support in integrating their healing tools into their everyday life. So practicality is a must and sometimes it can seem a bit … quirky. But it’s humanistic. And only done in love, respect and above all … CONSENT!

Western society teaches us that things must come to us one way. In the case of mental health - we often only look at healing from a clinical perspective, NOT a practical or more sustainable one.

I say this lovingly as an unmedicated, diagnosed Bipolar 2 human … who chose holistic care to understand my diagnosis instead of medicine. That was not a sustainable route for me and I knew it. But I had to do the work to find my own means of coping, which in part brought me to tattoo.

But again, I digress ~

Tattoo tharepay seeks to be a bridge, finding a healthy middle ground of clinical therapy meets peer to peer healing. But we MUST get curious of how these two modalities work together. Not just doing the art, not just causing pain, but looking at the whole human and what they need, how are you serving them so that their needs are met holistically from the time that they discover you. How can a tattoo artist support a human beyond tattoo within means? That’S what we’re uncovering.

And it's just really stunning. It's really awe inspiring. The more I open up about tattoo therapy, beyond just one to one and beyond being with my clients, beyond just working in a private tattoo studio, the more I'm seeing that we needed this. Not just black creators, not just black people. Not just melanated people.

But people, period, need this.

We need to see where these bridges meet and broaden the scope of wellness to include conversations and work with unorthodox and alternative healing modalities.

That's the magic of tattoo therapy is how are you able to use tattoo and what happens in that space? How are you able to integrate some of the lessons, some of the things that come up in that space, not just for wearing the tattoo, but for every day, for your daily life? How do you use that?

Needless to say, this client has had amazing breakthroughs during our work together, from trust and reframing what that looks like to speaking up for herself, returning to art, developing deeper trust with her intuition. Just everything!

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Let’s Deepen the Work
I'm really happy for the work that we are doing with Little IINKPLAY Shop - we’re moving into startup mode and filming the whole thing. That's wild to me. I didn't think 20 years ago when I got into tattoo that I would be going down this rabbit hole.

I don't do this because I want people to know my name as a tattoo artist. That part was already done just by me showing up and taking up space. But to know my name as someone who can help you transform and reconnect to yourself is what I want to see. Not only that, but any artists who come under Little INKPLAY Shop’s brand.

I want people to know their names as it relates to found family, a support system, and as an ecosystem.

I want people to know and love Black Tattoo Anthology for being able to go back into the history of Black tattoo culture, celebrate the present, and forecast our future as we take back our narrative. And I'm really excited for clients who are able to see how they can use a tattoo journey as a tool in their own wellness. That's not something that I can just unlock for anyone. They have to be committed to the inner work to see how it's a tool and not just an art form, it's both. And this is a long lifetime giving art form as a tool. I think that's amazing. I think that's amazing.

So that's my story about a client using tattoo therapy and using tattoo and therapy, not just tattoo therapy, but tattoo and clinical therapy for their wellness and really leaning into that. I'm really proud of her. This is her first tattoo.

What Is It?
She's getting it on her head and it's f****** boss!

It is amazing. It's not just amazing to be able to do the artwork. I'm honored to walk beside her on this journey, but it's amazing to see the ideas come to life and to see a person release things that no longer serve them, in real time. To witness anyone let go and trust the process is huge. That's amazing. Because it’s much easier said than done.

I look forward to sharing another story time with you soon.

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Some Next Steps For Yah:

🌸Get tattooed by Imani! Duhhhh ~

🎀 Download the Tattoo Therapy guidebook.

💖 Follow Imani’s tattoo work on Instagram | Facebook

It’s when my clients (90% BIPOC) poured in asking to pay for time together - to sit, create, decompress … whatever. We all needed each other in such an uncertain time. I … needed money. And they needed comfort. I won’t loaf I was In much need of comfort too - way more than money, in that season.

And it was truly something SPECIAL! And enlightening ~

Because what was happening very naturally was the life coaching aspect of tattoo that we never really consider.

Thing is - if you look at it our life coaches are the most practical people - artists, bartenders, barbers and beauticians, etc. But why is that? Well … it’s in the title LIFE coaching. A title is what you take action to do and who you show up as beyond the surface, so of course we wouldn’t naturally think of these people as life coaches.

The paradigm though, is not only are they living life but because of their open professions they get to absorb and explore other perspectives. Which makes them … us, well-rounded without having to swerve out of our lanes.

Hi! I’m Imani K Brown - a master tattoo artist and life coach -aka- tattoo therapist, so naturally I’m looking at and extracting life coaching from the art and practice of tattoo. To do that though, we must first look at what tattoo means to Black culture:

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Tattoos have been a part of human culture for centuries, and recently become even more popular. Black tattoo culture is a unique subculture within this culture industry that has been steadily growing in popularity. Black tattoo artists and enthusiasts have been pushing boundaries and breaking stereotypes in the tattoo industry.

Let’s sit together and explore the history and significance of Black tattoo culture, the influence of Black tattoo artists, and the importance of representation in the industry to start to peel back the layers of this ancient medicine practice, we now call tattoo therapy.

The Brief History of Black Tattoo Culture

Tattoos have a rich history in African and Black culture. Traditional African tattoos were often used as a way to mark important life events or to signify social status. In the United States, tattoos have always been a way for diasporic Blacks to express and reclaim identity and resist oppression. It’s rebellion, resistance and revolutionary all in one breadth.

In the 20th century, Black tattoo culture moved more from its original or more straight-forward identifiable markings used for identification, communication and healing; evolving more into a counter-culture movement that rejected mainstream beauty standards. Instead, celebrating individuality and ancestry.

Black tattoo culture has continued to evolve and thrive in the 21st century. Black tattoo artists have been at the forefront of the industry, creating innovative designs that challenge traditional tattoo norms. And while the rise of social media has helped to increase the visibility of Black tattoo artists and our work … it’s still not ENOUGH.

The Influence of Black Tattoo Artists

Black tattoo artists stay consistently making waves in the tattoo industry, bringing our unique perspectives and experiences to the craft. We have been pushing boundaries and breaking down stereotypes about who tattoos are for and what they should look like. And, and and …

Black tattoo artists have been using their work to celebrate black culture, challenge social norms, and promote social justice.

One notable black tattoo artist is Jacci Gresham, who became the first female African American tattoo artist in the United States in 1976. I follow behind her, as the second. Another influential black tattoo artist is Miya Bailey, who founded City of Ink in Atlanta, Georgia, to create a space where people of color could feel safe and welcome to get tattoos. Miya, is my big brother, mentor and in a lot of respects an advisor.

Just laying that out do you know that you’re in good company with a well-versed artist here ^.^

Other notable black tattoo artists can be found in my upcoming book, Livin’ Legends: Black Tattoo Culture, Vol. 1.

The Importance of Representation in the Industry

Representation in the tattoo industry is important for a number of reasons - the most important is to break down stereotypes and biases - promoting a better, more natural idea of diversity and inclusivity. Not this manufactured community ish that you’re being programmed to accept as normal. It’s not.

It also helps people of color to feel seen and heard in an industry that has historically been dominated by white men.

Black tattoo artists and enthusiasts have been advocating for more representation in the industry, both in terms of artists and the designs themselves, unabashedly pushing for more recognition that celebrate black culture and history. The collective brain has also been advocating for more opportunities for Black tattoo artists to showcase their work and more specifically, be recognized for their contributions to the industry …

Including the ignition of spiritual and intentional tattooing.

Which can also be considered forms of …

Tattoos as Therapy

Tattoos have been used for centuries as a way to express oneself and mark important life events. In recent years, tattoos have also been recognized as a form of therapy. Black folk, in particular, have found tattoos to be a powerful tool for healing from emotional and psychological pain caused by generations of racial trauma, oppression and discrimination.

The key then is to find a knowledgable and patient artist you feel safe with.

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Finding a Safe and Affirming Space

Creating and connecting in a safe and affirming space is essential for ANY healing process. For my melanated folk, finding a space that is free from judgment and racism - covert or in your face - can be challenging. So I emphatically urge melanated folk to do their due diligence to seek out spaces that prioritize melanated skin and are committed to creating a welcoming environment for you to be you.

We thrive in this space at my studio, Little INKPLAY Shop.

Rules of engagement are simple. Being the owner I don’t allow myself to take up space where I am not allowed or welcomed to be my natural quirky self. And I won’t foster an environment like that either -

Each individual must be treated as their own person, with their own unique needs ~

Emphatically I say again, it of the utmost importance to work with a tattoo therapist or tattoo artist who understands your unique needs and experiences as a melanated individuals. Finding someone who can guide you through the healing process and who can provide support and guidance can be incredibly life-changing.

*Scout’s honor*

The Healing Power of Art

In short, art periodT has the power to heal, transform, and empower anyone. It can be a way to process emotions, (re)connect with cultural heritage and ancestry, and promote healing and activate growth mindset. And for my melanated folk who have experienced racial trauma or discrimination, art can be a way to externalize and process emotion, (re)connect with their cultural identity, and reclaim our power - both as individuals and to the collective.

Art can also be a way to resist and challenge systems of oppression - challenging the dominant narratives that seek to erase or marginalize their experiences. Art can be a way to resist and reclaim agency in a world that often seeks to silence and oppress melanated voices.

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about: Black Tattoo Anthology®

An artist fellowship, living archive and digital campus dedicated to reclaiming, preserving, and reimagining Black tattoo culture across the diaspora. Founded and stewarded by Master Tattoo Artist and author Imani K. Brown®, the BTA documents our stories through scholarship, artistry, and community.

At the heart of our work is a commitment to cultural stewardship: honoring ancestral tattoo traditions, amplifying Black tattoo artists, and creating spaces where our creativity is remembered as inheritance, not erased as trend. From the Collective of participating artists, to our Podcast where culture bearers speak their truths, the Anthology is both a record and a ritual—an invitation to witness how ink carries memory, identity, and liberation.

We invite you to become a paid subscriber to sustain this work. Your support powers our digital campus, uplifts the artists who make up the Collective, and ensures that Black tattoo culture is preserved for future generations. | Website

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