Today we’d like to introduce you to Caitlen Lyberg.
Hi Caitlen, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
I began testing the waters of hand poke tattooing in early 2019. I had been following along with other hand poke artists’ journeys and decided to try it myself. My first few tattoos were awful, rightfully so. There is a lack of information available about hand poke tattooing and the learning curve was very steep for a self-taught artist like myself. Over time, and with several mistakes later, I had begun to really hone my craft. Over time I gathered friends and family willing to let me practice on them, found a few resources to help me improve my technique, and gathered a small following on Instagram. I was lucky enough to be given a chance in a studio in mid-2021 and from there my life and work has exploded in the best way.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall, and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
I definitely had a difficult journey to where I’m at today. There isn’t a lot of quality information for artists who are interested in pursuing hand poke tattooing. A traditional route is to be an apprentice with an established artist but by the time I decided to follow my tattoo dreams we were well into COVID days. I ended up having to practice on myself and learn from my own mistakes and whatever information I could find online. Over time I’ve been able to gather enough information and practice to be very proud of what I do, and I can only imagine what more is to come.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
I am a hand poke tattoo artist. Hand poke tattooing is different from machine tattooing, instead of putting a needle in a machine I hold the needle on its own and push the ink into the skin manually. This technique tends to hurt less while taking slightly more time. I enjoy this technique because it creates a calm experience, there’s less pain and less noise. While many people associate hand poke (or stick and poke) with young people using ink from ball point pens and creating poorly done and unhygienic tattoos, that couldn’t be farther from the truth. I take a lot of pride in my ability to create fine solid lines and I follow every health and safety guideline that you would expect from a high-quality tattoo studio.
What do you think about luck?
I truly believe I owe most of my success to the wonderful woman who believed in me enough to let me work with her studio. If I hadn’t been able to join the Pinkie Orlando team I would not be where I am today.
Pricing:
- $70 minimum
- $90 per hour
Contact Info:
- Email: lyberg.caitlen@gmail.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/cats.tats/?hl=en
- Other: https://www.flowcode.com/page/cats.tats
Image Credits
David Lawrence
