Lismore tattoo artist Stevi Lee Alver had her first tattoo done at the age of 17. It was a tribal dolphin tattoo that she’s a bit embarrassed about now.

She’s seen a lot of ink since then and these days, she’s proud of the Patti Smith tattoo on her forearm.

This week, Stevi Lee opened the doors to her own tattoo and piercing shop in Goonellabah - The Ink Atelier. With a few years of experience working in different tattoo shops already under her belt, Stevi Lee is ready to bring creativity, art and tattooing to Lismore.

“I always loved drawing and I started tattooing about five years ago,” Stevi Lee said. “When I was growing up, my dad was covered in tattoos.

“I tattooed myself for a while, but most of my work is done by Kate Witter in Kyogle, who I used to work for at K.T Tattoos. She’s been a great mentor to me and does great work.

“Before that, I worked in Byron and Tweed with experienced tattoo artists.”

Stevi Lee's Patti Smith tattoo, as inked by her mentor Katie in Kyogle.

Nursing to tattooing

Before Stevi Lee followed her path of being a tattoo artist, she spent 13 years working as a nurse in Lismore.

“I wanted a change away from that,” she said.

“What I find is that my nursing experience and knowledge gives me more confidence as a tattoo artist.

“I know what I’m doing with regards to hygiene and understand the epidemiology of skin and how the body works. I know how to handle skin and reactions.”

From doing cover-ups of unwanted tribal tattoos to giving people their first-ever tattoos, Stevi Lee’s work involves hours of creativity and focus.

Common tattoos

So, what are the most common tattoos that people ask for?

“Not have many people say ‘give me anything’,” she said. “I’ve had a couple of people say that, but I tell them to take a couple of days to think about it - I don’t want to be help responsible for your bad decisions.

Byron

“When I was working in Byron, the most common tattoos were one line waves and palm trees.

Tweed

“In Tweed Heads, simple, minimalist roses on girls were the most common tattoos asked for.

Kyogle

“In Kyogle, it could be anything – you never knew what you would do. Some of the boys wanted things like lions.

Lismore

“It will be interesting to see what people in Lismore want – it could be wild and varied.”

Where did the shop name come from?

“I had the name The Ink Atelier in my head for a long time,” she said. “Atelier is French for ‘art space’.

“Gertrude Stein is one of my favourite poets and I wanted to be a writer and get into independent publishing – and the name ties back to writing as well as creating.”

The Ink Atelier difference

With a couple of other tattoo shops already open in Lismore, Steve Lee said she wants her tattoo shop to offer a difference.

“I want my shop to be a creative collaborative space to create things as well as tattoo - and have little poetry evenings and art workshops,” she said.

“Lismore has a lot of potential for creative ventures as well as support from the community for the sort of community activities that will happen in this shop.”

Contact

Stevi Lee said she is already booked up with customers until mid-December, but if you want to make an appointment with her, she is open Tuesday to Saturday and can be contacted via Facebook at Stevi-Lee Alver Tattoos or on Instagram @the.ink.atelier.

The Ink Atelier is located at 405 Ballina Road (where the hairdresser used to be).

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