Never got that rose tattoo, nana? KC tattoo shop owner invites you to get inked
If you’ve ever thought about getting a tattoo but kept putting it off, and now you’re old enough to order from the 55-plus menu at Denny’s, Kansas City tattoo artist Ani Maldonado would like to meet you.
She’s hosting an open house for seniors at her Westside tattoo studio, Tintoretta, on Saturday. She’s calling it a VIP day, like when schools invite grandparents to visit.
Nanas. Grandpas. Great-aunties. She’s invited older folks who have always wanted a tattoo but have been wary.
Saturday is for the tattoo curious. Ask questions. Book a consult. Get a tattoo on the spot. Maybe on your forearm? Lots of first-timers get inked there so they can see it.
“They don’t have to have an idea for a tattoo,” Maldonado said. “If they want to get a tattoo, they can. If they want to just ask questions about it or talk about a design ... nothing is off the table.
“People can just come and ask questions and see the space and experience the whole thing.”
When she moved from a one-room studio in the West Bottoms into a former church building at 1017 W 29th St., Maldonado wanted to create a safe, comfortable space for women, people of color and the LGBTQ community.
Now she wants to expand that vibe and possibly clientele.
As a “gay, brown woman” with 11 years experience in a still male-dominated industry, she knows the tattoo process can be particularly intimidating for seniors who might think tattoos are for the young.
“I feel like in this culture ... clearly we live in a youth-obsessed culture,” said Maldonado, who is 38. “Places that cater to cool and hip, I think, kind of discriminate against older people. And I think that’s messed up. I guess I am trying to create a welcoming environment.”
On Saturday she expects some of her younger clients to bring older relatives, the VIPs in their lives.
She got the idea for a VIP day from one of her co-organizers whose mother always wanted to get a tattoo but was too intimidated to even step into a tattoo shop.
“I’ve tattooed a lot of people in their 70s who are getting their first tattoo,” Maldonado said. “It really does matter your experience and your technique. You can’t tattoo all skin the same. When you’re older it thins. It’s a very gentle process.”
She’s learned the big difference between tattooing 27-year-old skin, plump with hydrating collagen, and 72-year-old skin — drier, thinner and prone to bruising. Older skin demands a gentler touch and sometimes specific needle configurations.
She’s thinking about having sample designs on hand, such as birth month flowers or ones that honor children and grandchildren.
Flower designs are popular with older clientele. She’s also tattooed Unitarian chalices, the primary symbol of the Unitarian Universalist faith tradition, on older folks.
She created a floral design for one cancer patient who had a double mastectomy, working the scars into the artwork.
“That was hard because she was in her 70s and her skin was thin and scarred,” she said. “It was multiple sessions, going as slow as we could.”
Yes, the VIP event is geared toward the 55-and-up crowd, but everyone is welcome, she said.
Buôn Bán, a retail and consignment shop inside the studio that features local artists and makers, will be open. Scream Queens vegan ice cream company will serve root beer floats and other food and coffee vendors also will be on hand.
The open house runs from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.
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