Tell us about you:
So, my name is Amelia and I’m a 25 year old film coordinator who lives in Gothenburg, Sweden. I like movies (kind of a work requirement..), cooking, petting cats, books and of course otters!
What’s The Story Behind It?
I kind of always knew that I wanted my tattoo to be otter-themed. It’s my favorite animal and I love everything about them, from how they take care of each other, how clever and curious they are to their ridiculous cuteness. Mostly I’m moved by the way the mothers keep their pup on their belly when they float. It looks so safe and caring. I’m very close to my own mom and she is always there for me to lean on when life gets overwhelming, as it does. She is my harbor and my best friend so it felt natural that my first, and only, tattoo would be about her, alas it became us as otters.
Who Was The Tattoo Artist?
My tattoo is made by Haeny and turns 1 year this July!
The story behind how I finally got my tattoo is actually a really good one! Around five years ago I found a tattoo-artist on instagram who did hands down the most incredible tattoos I’ve ever seen. They were like little paintings with details I didn’t think possible and I immediately started following her. At this stage I hadn’t really considered getting a tattoo myself and she was based in Seoul, South Korea, so even the possibility felt very far fetched. After following her for two years the thought of having a tattoo of my own had started to grow and even begun looking at travel options and planning how much money I would need to save to be able to go (Spoiler, flying from Sweden to South Korea is quuuuuite expensive).
Two more years passed and the whole ”flyingtoSeoultogetatattoo”-thing kept shifting from plans to fantasy until last spring. That’s when I found a tattoo-artist in Polen who had a similar style, not as good, but hey, I really wanted my tattoo at this point so I decided to settle with that and reached out to her. Less then a week later, I kid you not, the tattoo-artist from Seoul, whom I’ve been following for five years at this point made an update at her social media that she would do a short tour in Europe that summer and guest tattoo in different cities, including Copenhagen. I’ve never sent an email that fast in my entire life. I actually had to send a followup email with all the things I forgot to write in the first one. I managed to get a slot in Copenhagen and the rest, as they say, is history.
Did It Hurt, Were You Brave?
I was really really nervous beforehand, mostly about the pain, but Haeny was so sweet and calm that my nerves went away. The tattoo is placed on the inside of my upper arm which is a sensitive place because the skin is quite thin so yes, it did hurt but not nearly as much as I feared. The pain comes after a while, when the needles been working in the same place for a long time but as soon as it stops the pain goes away. My tattoo took about two hours and we did it without breaks and it went really well. I like to tell everyone that if fear of pain is the only reason you don’t get a tattoo, then its not nearly bad enough to let that stop you!
Anything Else You’d Like To Say?
My otter-tattoo is the only one I have and I don’t think I will do more. I can really relate to the whole ”once you got one you want more” though, but for me it kind of makes it even more special that it’s my only one. But at the same time, if Haeny does another tour in Europe or if I find myself in South Korea… I mean.. my dad kind of deserves a tribute-tattoo as well.
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