Women-owned tattoo shops in the Inland Northwest offer welcoming, inclusive spaces to get inked

By Madison Pearson

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Women-owned tattoo shops in the Inland Northwest offer welcoming, inclusive spaces to get inked

Young Kwak photo

(From left) Evelyne Schafer, Lyn Sweet, Jor Koffel, Sara Mortier, Megan O'Connor and Abigail Moua of La Lune Tattoo Collective.

Let's be real for a second: Getting a tattoo can be scary.

The looming permanence of the decision you're about to make, the sterile smell and, not to mention, the pain of a needle stabbing your skin over and over can make the entire process anxiety-inducing and, frankly, daunting.

When Sara Mortier decided to quit her special education career and become a full-time tattoo artist, she was scared, too.

"I knew what I wanted to do," she says. "But it just seemed so outrageous. I can't go be a tattoo artist — I'm a teacher!"

One giant leap of faith and a cashed-out 401k later, Mortier looked for work in Spokane but didn't feel like she could operate within a traditional tattoo parlor setting. So in 2021, Mortier opened a private studio called La Mort Tattoo in downtown Spokane. Not only was it a way to carry out her dream of tattooing, she thought she could offer something more: a woman's touch.

"The response was huge," Mortier says. "And I think that's because people wanted a place that wasn't made by a traditional tattoo artist. It was so apparent to me that there was a need for a kind, gentle, safe space to come get tattoos."

As Mortier continued to book more and more clients in her one-woman studio, she couldn't keep up with demand.

"They would often ask me if I knew of any similar places they could get tattooed," she says. "I was at a loss every time. I figured it was time to expand."

In March 2023, Mortier opened La Lune Tattoo Collective downtown with the express intent of cultivating a welcoming environment for clients and artists alike.

"There are a lot of places you can walk in to get a tattoo in Spokane," she says. "But almost none of them feel approachable to me specifically. There are more and more shops that aren't like 'biker dude' places. At La Lune, we seek to be the opposite" of unapproachable.

As such, La Lune's exposed brick and sage-colored walls aren't plastered with American traditional flash sheets but adorned with trailing houseplants draped over curated vintage art. The furniture is charmingly mismatched, and artist stations are decorated with trinkets and other bits and bobs that make each area unique and welcoming.

Mortier points out that her knuckle tattoos even read "Be Nice" instead of the usual standoff phrases that often adorn other artists' hands. She's also ensured that the tattooers she hires at La Lune have similar aspirations and hopes for the shop.

"I wanted the artists to truly collaborate with their clients," she says. "You should never walk into a tattoo shop, have a design slapped on you, and then immediately get to tattooing. There is always a collaboration, a back and forth, here. I feel like that would have been beaten out of me in a typical place."

Each artist at La Lune specializes in a different style of tattoo. Mortier works in the realm of vintage and storybook-style tats, while Lauren Poole can create realistic portraits of beloved pets. And, if you're looking to get an American traditional tattoo or maybe a creepy portrait of Pennywise the Clown, artist Megan O'Conner has you covered.

It's no secret that female-owned shops attract a largely female customer base, so privacy is of the utmost importance at a lot of local women-owned shops.

When opening La Lune, Mortier dedicated a corner of the shop to a completely private tattooing area.

"We have a private room that we call the 'boob room'," she says. "Whenever someone has a sternum tat or something in a private spot, they can use the boob room."

It's a light-hearted joke that veils a not-so-silly concern some people face when asking for tattoos in sensitive areas. Mortier has a sternum tattoo herself. She says while being inked, she was laying in a public area for all to see because traditional shops don't often think about those things.

Coeur d'Alene-based tattoo artist Christina Villagomez opened her studio, 5th Dimension, after years of working in traditional tattoo parlors in hopes of providing clients a more private experience while doling out striking red-and-black ink designs, her specialty.

"Tattoos have grown up alongside humanity," Villagomez says. "It's such an important part of self-expression. Having diversity in artists is going to provide more diversity in the styles offered in the shop. Diversity is key."

Villagomez began her journey as a tattoo artist in 2019 under fellow Coeur d'Alene artist Jake Sifford, who at the time was with Black Matter Tattoo. The pair then teamed up to open Electric Age Tattoo, but in 2021 Villagomez decided to open 5th Dimension, a completely private studio.

"Traditional shops can feel intimidating for first-timers," Villagomez says. "There need to be spaces out there that are safe and comfortable for everybody."

Mortier agrees that the tattoo industry is turning toward more inclusive spaces. The efforts by female shop owners like Villagomez and Mortier haven't come easily.

"It's hard as hell. It's hard as hell to break through, but people need this," Mortier says. "The industry will literally just disintegrate if things don't keep changing."

"We can approach the glass ceiling," Villagomez says. "If not break it." ♦