I am a Glasgow tattoo artist but I hate getting tattooed

Bright and open, with artworks on the walls and books, antiques and curiosities scattered around stylish shelving units, it is a world away from the old-fashioned perception a tattoo parlour must be dark and dingy, slightly scary and full of burly blokes.

“Well, I didn’t get my first tattoo until I was 24, so I never really experienced that side of the industry, although I knew it existed,” dismisses studio owner and artist Kirsten Stevenson, with a laugh.

“It’s just not like that any more. Everyone wants to get a tattoo – it feels like you’re in the minority if you don’t, in fact.”

She adds: “If people have a bad experience, they’ll be put off getting a tattoo at all, and that’s a shame. We’re just trying to be inclusive and friendly and make our environment a nice place to be.”

Nest of Thorns – “we just liked the name, it’s quite tattoo-y,” says Kirsten, adding, “and we’re up in the attic, like a nest in a tree” – opened in 2021, but Kirsten’s fascination with tattooing goes all the way back to her childhood.

“I used to mess about drawing daft designs on my friends at school,” she explains. “I never considered it as a possibility for a career, though.

“I went to uni – to do computer animation and digital art - but I didn’t really enjoy it.”

She shrugs: “I didn’t like sitting in front of a computer all day. I wanted to be more hands-on, I suppose – do something a bit more people-focussed.”

After completing her degree at what was then Paisley University (now part of the University of the West of Scotland), and a Masters at Glasgow School of Art, Kirsten’s first job was in a small studio in Hamilton.

“Tattooing definitely wasn’t as popular a thing when I was starting out 10 years ago,” she explains. “There weren’t that many women doing it either. I think that benefitted me, coming into the industry, because it was a bit different. There are lots more now, though.”

After a spell working in Livingston, Kirsten, who lives in Moodiesburn, moved to Germany.

“That was a completely different way of life, and the tattoo industry was different too,” she says. “There wasn’t much colour going on, it was mainly black and grey realism.”

Germany was also where she encountered the oddest thing she has been asked to tattoo (that is printable in a family newspaper, at any rate.)

“A guy asked me to tattoo a cow with a flower in its mouth on his bum,” she says, with a laugh. “I mean, it was not a small design.”

She deadpans: “A whole cheek, in fact. That was a bit odd. Who knows why he wanted it?  You never know what inspires people.”

After returning to Scotland, Kirsten worked in Edinburgh firstly, then moved to Glasgow, just as the pandemic lockdowns began.

“That’s when I started drawing anime, and Manga [cartoons and graphic design originating in Japan]," she explains.

"I wanted to specialise in something, have my own theme, I suppose. There I was at home, suddenly with lots of time to watch animation, which I love, and it just grew from there.”

Kirsten opened Nest of Thorns with fellow artist Kyle Shields three years ago.

“It just felt like it was time to do it,” she says, simply. “There are a few people in Scotland doing anime and manga tattoos, but not really the large-scale work I do.

“It’s really popular just now, especially with people my age, in their early 30s, who grew up watching Pokemon and Digimon – there’s a lot of nostalgia.”

Kirsten’s customer base is varied, she says, from 18-year-olds getting their first tattoo, to men and women in their 50s and 60s.

Being part of the Scottish Tattoo Convention, which takes place this weekend (March 23 and 24) in Edinburgh, is a “huge deal”, she says. “It’s the only convention we have up here so to be invited year after year is amazing,” adds Kirsten.

The convention brings together the best of home-grown talent with tattoo artists from around the world. Run by James Aitken, who has been in the business for more than 20 years, it includes stage acts, exhibitions and live entertainment.

“We’re really looking forward to it, it’s a privilege to be part of it,” adds Kirsten.

There are other artists – Pete, Caitlin and Amy – who rent out space in Nest of Thorns but today, Kirsten is on her own, sketching and preparing stencils ahead of her next customer, who is admiring the artist’s own tattoos.

Kirsten makes a surprising admission, however.

“I hate getting tattooed,” she groans. “You’d probably be hard-pushed to find a tattoo artist who loves having it done.

“Why? Because, honestly, it hurts. And it hurts more as I get older.”

Kirsten pauses. “But it’s worth it,” she says, smiling. “It’s addictive.”