Tala Tattoo

Extremely dissatisfied with my experience.
I have no doubt that she is a talented artist, and I was excited to work with her because I admired her so much creatively. That is why I continued to pursue working with her for a year, in which time I had to redo the initial consultation twice because she lost the paperwork. A year later, and numerous phone calls and visits later, I was finally on my way to start working on my dream tattoo that I had been saving for for years.
She quoted me 10 – 20 hours for a half sleeve, which seemed reasonable, but 10 hours and almost 2K later, the project had barely begun. When I expressed my concern, she indignantly told me I was simply misunderstanding how she does her tattoos. I really wish she knew her own process well enough that she could have given me a realistic estimate from the start. Or had the professionalism and humility to fix the situation.
It may be true that I wasn’t fully aware of her process from the start, but when I DID come to understand the pace at which she works, I jumped ship. Even with an artist as talented as her, I simply couldn’t afford to pay many times more for work that I could get done elsewhere from equally talented tattoo artists.
Thrilled to be going to another artist now to get this long, frustrating chapter closed.

She is either confusing me with a different unhappy client or making up stories.
1) I showed up to both my appointments on time. (tattoo & touch up)
2) She never e-​mailed or phoned me.
3) I brought my own design.
But whatever! :)

I live in Seattle, and travel to California for all my tattoo work, specifically to see Tala. All of my tattoos except one have been the result of our collaboration. My first tattoo wasn’t done by her — it was done in Key West — and the comparison is night and day.
I first met Tala in 2004 while vacationing. My husband decided he wanted something new to cover up an old one. He consulted with Tala, and 2 days later, the artwork was done. It was beautiful and exactly what he wanted. Tala went to work and in 3 hours, the new tattoo was complete.
I caught the fever and wanted to try for an improvement on my first tattoo. Her greywork Goddess spiral was perfect. By then I knew that new Om to cover the first tat from Key West was in order. Tala and I consulted long distance, and I flew down to San Francisco for the second tattoo. Three-​and-​a-​half hours of work, and it was done — it’s beautiful, and exactly what I wanted. It gets constant compliments. Most wish that Tala could be cloned, so that Seattle could enjoy her artistry and expertise.
I’m working with Tala on the third, hopefully for later this year.
You might wonder why I don’t seek someone out in Seattle. Because. Because Tala and I work well together for a beautiful result. Because she brings so much quality and artistry to her work. Because she cares about what I want, and how it comes together.