I booked a memorial tattoo with Savannah Trevino for my dog who recently passed away. I wanted a small, delicate, simple rose tattoo from her. I followed her on Instagram, and found other tattoos around the same size and style that I was interested in. This was a very significant tattoo for me. Instead of being a pleasant and cathartic experience, this became stressful and disheartening. The memorial tattoo has lost its meaning for me, and ultimately felt like a chore to deal with.
In my original email to Savannah, I specified the exact kind of tattoo and the size (3 inches) I wanted from her. She said she thought this was doable and she was very interested in working with me. She followed up with an email and said that she might not be able to make the tattoo exactly at the 3 inch mark (I figured this meant like an inch wiggle room tops), but she assured me that she would do everything in her ability to keep the tattoo small. She told me to call the shop and book two separate appointments. I had to give them a non-refundable $100 deposit to hold my space. As soon as she received my deposit, things started getting shady. I sent her references of the variety of rose that I wanted, and she immediately told me that this would now need to be 6 inches minimum with a stem in the image. I told her I was not comfortable with this (I wanted a simple top view of a rose, maybe a couple leaves, but not a stem), and that I still wanted something smaller. She did not respond. Then, I sent three follow-up emails over the next three weeks asking her to confirm that this was possible for her to do. She finally responded 20 days later saying she could do the style of tattoo I wanted, but did not comment on size! I followed up asking her about what size she thought this would need to be, and she did not respond. I sent her one last follow-up email five days later (I wrote, "Just confirming that the 3 inch size will work for this piece?"). She responded saying this tattoo would need to be a minimum of 5 inches and finished her email stating, "If you are uncomfortable with the idea of this, we totally don't have to tattoo it, no problem! Think about it and let me know." Since she offered to cancel the appointment, I figured I would receive my full deposit back. I canceled the appointment with over two weeks' notice. Was I wrong! The receptionist was very rude to me on the phone for just inquiring about being refunded. I asked her to leave a message for Savannah, stating that she had told me I could cancel this tattoo since it was not exactly what I was interested in, and she responded with, "She's not in the shop right now and I can't take a message." Customer service much?
This isn't my first rodeo, and I'm not an idiot. I understand that artists make more money the larger the piece, but assumed that they would act more professional than this. I also understand that some tattoos require detail work at a larger size. However, I would not have booked the appointment if I had known it needed to be nearly DOUBLE the size that I originally wanted. I repeat- all I wanted was a simple rose tattoo. No frills. Given Savannah had done similar small tattoos on her Instagram page, I figured this wouldn't be a big deal at all. This should have been a super simple tattoo. When I booked the appointment, I asked if I could do a consultation in the shop first. When the receptionist said she doesn't do this, that should have been a red flag.
I spoke to some tattoo artist friends, and above everything else, they said this lack of communication was absolutely unacceptable on her part. They thought it was pretty shady and reflected bad business practices. The Wonderland tattoo artists are talented, but unfortunately there are some big egos at this shop. It's sad that they are willing to risk their reputation and clients over their own arrogance and manipulation tactics. I remained pleasant in all of my interactions with Savannah and the shop, and felt like she tried to take advantage of how important this tattoo was to me. Sadly I don't think she will learn from this, but I hope that this is a lesson for the shop that they should not be bullying clients into something they are not comfortable with.
The saddest part for me is that I have been totally deflated in wanting a memorial tattoo for my dog. This was the worst tattoo experience and communication I have ever had. I really hope that Wonderland gets their act together treats their clients better in the future. I side-hustle as a freelance artist, and would NEVER consider treating a client like this. The reality is these artists are creating custom work for paying customers who deserve to be treated with respect. If they did not think they could deliver on this artwork, they should not have taken the project.
*Edit: Savannah offered to refund my deposit in full so I added a star. read more