Empress Eye Tattoo: Sharing the vision

Thursday, October 28, 2021

Empress Eye Tattoo: Sharing the vision

by Lilliana Giesemann

It's no secret that traditional tattoo studios can often seem intimidating. Empress Eye Tattoo chips away at that notion with every new tattoo they do.

The studio, located in Omaha and owned by tattoo artists Nhi Phan and Quinn DeRuiter, is filled with kitsch knick-knacks, plants gifted from clients, and Pusheen and Rilakkuma plushies galore. Bright rugs handmade by tattoo apprentice Una Novotny hang on the walls and adorn the floor. Each artist has their own room that showcases their personality and style. Drawings of beloved cartoon characters line the wall of Phan's room while DeRuiter showcases figure paintings in their workspace.

Empress Eye takes its name from the emperor moth which is adorned with eyeball markings. To Phan and DeRuiter, the moth's pattern has a deeper meaning.

"The whole premise of Empress Eye is sharing the vision. We wanted to run this more like an artist collective and have Empress Eye be more of a tool and means of being able to tattoo rather than a means to make money from the other people who work here," Phan said.

Phan and DeRuiter put that vision into how they train Novotny. Phan was trained on the skin from the start and said that even small mistakes can take a toll on an artist.

"My practice wasn't on fake fruit and fake skin and I realized I hated that it was my learning experience. Navigating as a woman, I want to give all the tools for it. In the tattoo industry, your mental health is important," Phan said.

That's why Novotny began by practicing on fruit and has now worked her way up to fake skin. While she's currently tattooing a sweet sleeping baby Snoopy on a synthetic skin pad, soon she'll tackle her first tattoo on her own leg.

"We want to set her up to do art she loves and do the best job she can," Phan said of Novotny's work.

Phan and DeRuiter also set up their studio to prioritize accessibility and the client's comfortability and experience. Due to working in a traditionally male-dominated field, the artists are no strangers to the way some old-school tattoo studios operate.

"A plague of the male-dominated tattoo industry is being more rough than necessary," DeRuiter said.

The Empress Eye artists take a different approach. Each artist's space has four walls to allow for privacy and one-on-one connections with clients, and Phan and DeRuiter begin by guiding the client through the process and asking for consent before beginning to tattoo.

"I have had a lot of women tell me men have touched them inappropriately when they have had hip tattoos. With a lot of conversations and seeing how things played out and just my years of tattooing made me want to change the industry and be a safe space for women to go get tattooed," Phan said.

"You have a permanent connection with your tattoo artist. You remember them. Their art is on your skin forever. It's interesting that some male counterparts didn't realize that. You're just building a connection with someone," DeRuiter added.

DeRuiter and Phan originally built a connection after a COVID-19 outbreak in the studio where both artists were employed last December. Phan woke up one morning with a realization that it was time to move on.

"I registered that feeling that it was done, it was over, and then I went with one of my clients that day and she was telling me about a breakup she was getting over. She was moving on to better things and I just remember whispering in her ear 'I'm quitting today,'" Phan said.

She grabbed a hot chocolate with DeRuiter and after discussing what to do next both artists quit their position at the former studio. While the pandemic caused some initial delays, the pair opened Empress Eye Tattoo in March of this year.

Phan and DeRuiter encourage other women and non-binary people who want to pursue a career in the tattoo industry to scope out and do extensive research on different shops and establish connections by getting tattoos from artists they could envision themselves working under. They also emphasize building up a portfolio with a unique style.

"Having your own voice shine through. That's the thing that makes art special," DeRuiter said.

Check out Empress Eye Tattoo on Instagram @empresseyetattoo

Additional Images

  • Hand and Chest Tattoo by Nhi Phan
    Nhi Phan
  • Cherubs Tattoo by Quinn DeRuiter
    Quinn DeRuiter
  • Leaf Tattoo by Quinn DeRuiter
    Quinn DeRuiter

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