2021 Pandemic Booking

Photo by Nelly Antoniadou

Now that we're in 2021, I wanted to make a simplified post on how to book an appointment. It's taken some trial and error to figure out what will work best during this time. Here's what I've settled on until the pandemic calms down: I will be keeping a wait list rather than booking months in advance. 

How Does It Work?
If you are interested in booking, simply contact me at [email protected]. Please include details about the tattoo you're planning (photo references, location, size approximations) and if you prefer a particular day or time for the appointment. I will add your information to the wait list. I'll confirm that I have you added to the list and when it's time to bring you into the schedule, I'll contact you back via email. Once you've been contacted to book, we'll set a date and time for your appointment. If you're starting a large, multi-session project (sleeve, backpiece, etc), we will keep this interval for our appointments and you will stay in rotation unless you choose to take a break or we finish the project. When I finish a project, that frees up space for someone else on the wait list to join in. I aim to only keep 2-3 weeks worth of appointments on my schedule at a time. At the current rate of requests, this puts the average wait time (from first email to booking) at 2-3 months. Pre-pandemic, the wait time was similar and also competitive as spots were limited. In a sense, a client is waiting the same amount of time that they would have prior to the pandemic. The main difference is that I'm just confirming the date and time later in the process.

Why This System?
I've been using this manner of booking for the last 4 months and it has offered a tremendous amount of flexibility in dealing with school schedule changes and quarantines. During the spring 2020 lockdown, I was forced to postpone over 40 appointments when tattoo shops were ordered to close. The pandemic is too unpredictable for me to continue business the way I did before, at least temporarily. In my personal experience of exposure and quarantine, it's much easier to postpone a only a couple of weeks' worth of appointments rather than 40+.

Thanks For Your Patience
While the process sounds complicated and intimidating, I assure you that it is not. If you have any questions about booking, please feel free to email me at [email protected]. These are strange times for all of us. We each need to find a way to move forward in a way that works well for our individual needs. This offers me a little bit of a safety net so that I can continue working with you guys in the best manner possible.

Remember
If you visit Now or Never Gallery, we are asking that you help us stay in compliance with local mandates and health department requirements by wearing a mask at all times, sanitizing at the door, limiting the guests you bring and distancing as much as possible around other clients. 

I wish you all peace and safety,

Summer