Welcome to my Newsletter
This is where you can keep up with all the Handpoke Tattoo biz like when my books open, future travel dates, flash drops and things that are inspiring me lately.
If we haven’t met…
Hi!!! My name is Alyssa Maunders and I am a self-taught Handpoke Tattoo artist living in California. I grew up outside of Santa Fe, NM, where I interacted with desert bugs and plants at a young age. These themes continue to influence my drawings. I first started tattooing in Denver, CO, and was able to build a small but supportive community around this new skill. Shout out to Denver-I miss you Stowaway and the tall mountains and the cold-ass nights on South Broadway waiting outside Hi-Dive for a show and the hot-ass summers sweatin’ at house shows and all the sweet friends I miss and left behind. I will be back before the finish of the year I hope.
I moved to LA at the end of 2021 with my band Down Time and we all live in Silverlake in a house together, it’s very cute and Bob is a good dog. In the beginning I chose handpoke over machine and I really can’t see switching it up any time soon- I just got good at it! Plus, I’m obsessed with it! I love the focus it takes and the attention to detail and the quietness that I have with my clients during the process. I also love when people think it’s gonna hurt way worse than machine and then they are like, “oh, that’s kinda nice actually”.
This will likely be my most lengthy newsletter (I really do plan to keep it short and sweet) so if this interests you, please read on. If you feel you definitely DO NOT want to be a part of this, please unsubscribe, and I’m sorry for holding your email address hostage. Times are hard out here on the Internet.
A bit about my Tattoo Journey
My growth from "someone who can tattoo you in their living room” to a full-time “Tattoo Artist” (with her own brand new private studio!) has actually been more about my Creative Practice as a whole than I would have thought when I started. For me, Tattoo began as a slap dash side-hustle, DIY to the core, doing pop-ups in bars and drawing pretty basic shit on people for money. I learned after several years of doing this that just like all the other things I want to be good at in this world, Tattoo takes consistency, time, patience and vulnerability. And I knew I needed to practice all of these things before I could grow further.
Contrary to what most people think when I tell them, I actually would not have said I was much of a visual artist when I started to tattoo. I did my first stick and poke back in 2016/2017 on a hot summer day in a garage in Denver, mostly out of a mixture of boredom and curiosity. I really could barely sketch ideas on paper but I immediately fell in love with the process of putting ink to skin. Not long after, friends started asking for tattoos and I realized it was a pretty good side hustle to my restaurant work.
Looking back, I understand why it’s best to have an Art Practice when you find tattoo. Cause eventually your tattoo skills are going to outpace your artistic skills and you’re gonna be stressed out trying to be “creative”. That’s what happened to me anyway. That collision of creativity and production is not a happy place to be. It is far better to always be creating, and drawing and thinking about the things you want to make/draw/tattoo. I have spent a lot of time since I started Tattooing navigating my desire to be a better technical drawer while also exploring the looseness of creativity/ developing a style. That is why it is called a Practice; because you have to give it attention often, and you’re never truly finished.
Now I try to draw as often as I can and am constantly inspired by all media, people, shapes and flavors. It gets easier to be creative, I promise!! But I still have to remind myself of this everyday.
A lot has changed over the last year and half. If you got tattooed by me in Colorado or New Mexico, maybe you know that I have relocated to LA. Since moving at the end of 2021, I have built my clientele by doing guest spots around LA at amazing studios with artists that I admire; a lot of them self-taught Tattooers themselves. Shout out to Puchica and Jelly, my most frequented homes before my studio. The community here in LA of DIY Tattooers and artists has been very welcoming. I feel that I am surrounded by cool people doing cool stuff who are open to sharing and supporting, and that rules!
Now here I am, the same hustle mindset-DIY-Capricorn-get-it-doneness but under the title of “self- employed”, which still sounds funny to me. I recently signed a lease on a pink painted studio in East LA and have spent the last several weeks getting it stocked and vibed-out for future guests and clients. I am very proud of the space and it brings me great joy to unlock the door and step inside. Just me and my Tattoo world.
In conclusion…
What I am hoping to do here in this Newsletter is engage more with you! I want to share things with exactly the people who want to know most-subscribers.
By subscribing to this monthly message from me you will get the booking link when my books open, early access to non-repeatable flash designs, first news of raffles or giveaways, special deals on pop-ups and dibs on travel dates/ the ability to pre-save a spot if these dates fill up.
Thank you to everyone who has supported me over the years and to anyone who gets a tattoo in the future!
And for making it this far in the newsletter:
Enter my giveaway for a free tattoo here! Drawing will happen on July 21st and can be redeemed at any point in the future.
Upcoming Frankly Tattoo Events July and August
7/22- Flash Day at my studio in LA to celebrate the new space!
I am having a flash day at my new studio on Saturday July 22nd from 9 am to 5pm! The designs available all range from $75-$150 and are each about 1”. The sign-up list is now live, but I havent announced it on IG yet. For subscribers only, you can follow the link below to claim a spot. I will not be repeating any of these designs for the Flash Day, so if you like one click here !
NEW MEXICO SUMMER TRIP Yay! Im coming home for an overdue visit and I will be tattooing! Flash or Custom, except for the pop-up which is flash only!
7/28-7/30 Santa fe, NM - I will be tattooing at my childhood home just north of Santa fe
8/5 Luna & Luz Pop-up in ABQ, NM- off the Old Town Plaza, I did a super fun pop-up here last December. We will be joined by the baking delights of @abqcrumb so come for some snacks. Tattoo Flash sheet coming soon…
8/3, 8/4, 8/6 Corrales, NM- Tattooing at my Partner’s family home where I have a nice studio above the Barn
link for first dibs on these dates!
Cool thing that I love lately: CRANIOSACRAL MASSAGE!! It has really been helping with the pain I’ve begun to experience in my shoulders and elbow from tattooing. It takes a lot of vulnerability and openness to receive as you are working with your own mind to relax your body. Under the skilled hands of your practitioner, your knots and tight muscles begin to loosen after being lulled into submission by gentle and supportive motion, versus a typical deep tissue massage. It calms my nervous system immensely and I’m super grateful to have it in my life. If you live in LA hit up Alena Grae, she works wonders.
Also, this boxed Gnocchi is outta this world and i can’t get enough. ok, bye!
