Top 10 California Hand Poke Artists To Watch

Since we were born in California, we figured we'd like to keep it local and showcase some folks we especially like around here on the west coast rn. Enjoy these fire artists and their work! By Sarah Min

@All_theolives (Los Angeles, CA)

An original and adventurous take on handpoked art, Roni Haziza’s work is often characterized by dramatic Wild-west iconography and ornate fixtures. 

@Averykiyo (Los Angeles, CA)

Avery Osajima is a California-based stick-and-poke tattoo artist known for their delicate and detailed designs

@Vincepokes (San Diego)

Based in San Diego, CA, Vince specializes in visually [...]

2024-08-25T17:16:26-07:00
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How to use new second skin shield

second skin tattoo

 

Follow these instructions to put on the new second skin included in your kits!

  1. Clean and pat dry
  2. Peel off backing
  3. Apply to skin
  4. Peel off top layer
  5. Keep on for 24 - 48 hours, and no longer than 5 days
  6. At the time of removal, wash the skin with liquid unscented soap in warm water (no scrubbing).

Continue to get the most up to date protects in the industry in our DIY tattoo kits. As always, POKE SAFELY!

second skin for small tattoo

2024-07-29T16:13:29-07:00
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ALL About You, the new tattoo artist

Also, is it green like this where you live?

a foot with a dandelion tattoo steps in grass with white flowersWords and pictures By my friend Katie

My very first tattoo was one that I gave to myself, on the worn carpeting of the bedroom
that I grew up in. It was the result of an impulse purchase, a stick-and-poke kit that I found
online and bought on a whim. And on a hot summer’s day in between college semesters, with
nothing else to do, I quickly sketched out a design, put down some paper towels  and dove in with unfounded confidence. Having done very little research into technique, my tattoo began to take form with a sloppiness that could only be achieved by an impulsive amateur.

hand basket making at the beach with tattoo

 

While [...]

2024-04-08T23:35:33-07:00
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The best stick and poke tattoo kit for the planet

The stick and poke tattoo (aka hand poke tattoo) world has changed.

In just a few short years, we've seen a total seachange in opinion. Before 2020, major news sources (SF Chronicle, NY Times, VICE, NEWSWEEK) wrote about Stick and Poke Tattoo Kit® as a fun but dangerous gimmick product. People mocked the idea that people could tattoo at home - and on themselves (even though it's literally one of the oldest practices in the world).

"It's not safe!" the public decried. "You'll get diseases!" and, "You can't do your own tattoo,  it's HARD!" But hundreds of thousands of people tried it at home during the pandemic. The world saw that DIY hand poke tattooing can be a safe, easy and rewarding art form.

Fast forward to 2023.

We've now sold over 50,000 kits and there are many hand poke tattoo kits to choose from [...]

2024-01-16T12:04:31-08:00
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8 years of great reviews

I'm going to be honest about this one. We've had a few bad reviews. It's always about shipping, and it's often out of our hands. The USPS is not a perfect machine! But they are unionized and our friends, so we support them.

The GOOD news is that the quality of our products gets 5 stars pretty much every time. Don't believe me, check out our User Generated Content to check!

Our community is amazing. They share their joy and artistry with us and the world!  Thank you!

Thousands of customers have tagged us in their creations over the past 8 years. Facebook and Instagram host most of the body art created by our superior custom inks (vegan, small batch, made in the west coast USA). Thanks for adding to the community and giving people an idea of how they can also [...]

2023-02-09T12:06:34-08:00
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Tattooing with ashes: Q and A

Known as a "commemorative tattoo," using the cremation ashes of a loved one to be physically integrated as part of your tattoo has always intrigued me. I decided to share what I had found out - and then we can consider how this could be applied to hand poking at home.

A Commemorative Stick and Poke tattoo...

AW! What a sweet way to remind yourself of a beloved person or pet...by carrying them with you, always! Become ONE with the being you loved. When I think of my kitty passing, I would jump at the chance to keep her with me in this special way. Maybe the most mini paw print outline?

 

How do you make the ink?

From what I gather on the internets, making this highly custom ink is a booming business. Strangely connecting two unlikely bedfellows - funeral homes and tattoo [...]

2023-01-04T12:57:52-08:00
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What is the point of stick and poke?

The point of stick and poke tattoos...

We’ve come up with 5 reasons why you should give DIY tattooing a try.

  1. Stick and Pokes Won’t Break the Bank:

While we love machine tattoos and tattoo artists, a visit to the tattoo parlor can be expensive. On average machine tattooists in the US generally charge $150 an hour or more, and have minimum rates of $50-$100–no matter how small your design is. If you have a simple design in mind, a stick and poke may be the right option for you and your wallet. You can buy our basic kit for $46 and this will include all the materials you need to do several stick and poke tattoos on you and your friends.

stick and poke tattoo

Stick and pokes are a fun, low-cost way to [...]

2022-10-30T12:23:42-07:00
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How to stick and poke tattoo in 5 steps

At home hand poke tattooing is at once really easy AND really hard. It's both very safe AND can be dangerous! The Complexity! No wonder people want to know how to stick and poke tattoo.

Stick & Poke Tattoo Kit® provides the most detailed, up to date information on how to tattoo in a little 42 page booklet - that has been updated yearly since 2015!  We also have a bunch of helpful videos. Our photo gallery and Instagram feed (below) showcase the wide variety of art that can be accomplished with needle and ink in 30-60 minutes.

40,000ish successful tattoos have been created with our kits!

Sometimes you just need to read the whole process in a few steps, so here are the basic instructions on how to give yourself a stick and poke tattoo at home.

HOW TO STICK AND POKE TATTOO in FIVE STEPS

Step 1. Create the [...]

2022-09-12T22:36:44-07:00
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Toxic Inks No More! The EU ban may create safer inks

The EU is known for strict consumer protection, and coming from the US, honestly, it's refreshing. They just laid the law down to protect 1/4 of their citizens - the portion of Europeans likely to get a tattoo. In the US, we seem to be going the other way, allowing corporations to pollute and poison and sell consumer products that kill us and our animal friends. Take Glyphosate, AKA RoundUp. Monstanto/Bayer makes billions on this chemical because it's just so easy to kill weeds. They spend Billions making sure we continue to spray it all over the place and give ourselves and our neighbors cancer in the process....Ah, unchecked capitalism at it's best. My point is that if a growing tattoo industry has anything to say about it (or "pay about it" to congress), cadmium red pigment is [...]

2022-08-18T13:41:58-07:00
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How to use a carbon stencil

Recently, our stencil transfer paper supplier (vegan, made in the USA, premium brand) accidentally sent us green carbon paper stencil paper instead of our standard green freehand paper. This confused a lot of people, but it is also a great moment to learn about different stencil paper.

Sidenote: we use the "green" paper standard in all our kits because it transfers better on all skin tones, including those with deeper brown, red, and yellow undertones.

The good news with Carbon paper is that you get more of the inked part of transfer paper for your money - two sheets instead of one! (these are made for people who do tattoos regularly and just need more carbon colored paper.

The only catch is that another step is required involving using your own paper to transfer the image. Below, I show the additional steps required to get the most out of your stencil paper.

  1. Open [...]
2022-03-17T14:12:09-07:00
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