Imprint happiness in your heart

 

By Carmen Sou

 

 

How do you feel about tattoos? Do you think tattoo wearers are scary and to be avoided? .

 

People might connect tattoo wearers to some negative stereotypes, such as "bad", "abnormal", "underworld" etc. But do you ever wonder what’s the meaning behind their tattoos?

 

Happiness happens in a small shop

 

Immersed in such a gaming metropolis, the younger generation could easily get stable jobs with considerable salaries in Macao, compared to other Asian cities. Though it might be a desirable path for many, there was a young lady who decided to quit her stable job, strived bravely for her dream to be a tattooist in a little attic located in Rua Da Barca.

 

It is difficult to deal with people’s stereotype

 

“If being a tattooist is something that I want to try, I don’t want to be regretful someday when I get old,” said Helen Lo, a 25-year-old tattooist and tattoo shop “More Ink” owner.

 

Graduated from Jinan University in Guangzhou with a major in advertising, Lo has a great appetite for drawing. However, in Macao, with a less diverse economy, she could not find a job related to her specialization and interest.

 

After working in a casino as a Public Relations (PR) person for a year, Lo realized that she could not follow the work and rest cycle, and she aspired to draw and express herself in the form of old school tattoos.

 

Lo’s dream is never easy to achieve in Macao as tattoo wearers might still be regarded as a sign of evil and disgrace.

 

Unlike a job in the gaming and tourism industry, Lo’s tattooist dream seems to be in a dispensable industry due to Macao people’s resistance to tattoo culture.

 

Besides, with a population of less than 600,000, the market in Macao is small. Small tattoo shops can neither compete with neighboring tattoo parlors in Hong Kong and Zhuhai, nor can they win the hearts of local tattoo lovers as they might consider tattooists in local tattoo shops not professional enough.

 

Finally she has her happiness

 

Lo totally fell in love with tattoo after getting her first one on her 18-year-old birthday. Shortly afterwards, she had her second, third …

 

Lo loves drawing so much that, suddenly an idea struck her, “Why not try to do it myself?” Then she started her favorite business in a home-alike tattoo studio in the beginning of 2014.

 

Starting up a business might seem unattainable to some people in Macao as there are so many factors they need to consider, such as an office space, rental payments, utility costs, etc. However, Lo believes that everyone can be a dream catcher with a determination to persevere.

 

Lo said, in an affirmative tone, “I am the kind of money maker who earns only what I need and spend only what I need. When I am still young, when I am still free from the worry of my living or supporting a family, I need to try out something that I really want.”

 

Lo’s style is also very well embodied in the interior design of her shop. Every corner of her shop is dressed in edgy colors and patterns. Rebel t-shirts, quirky dolls, and of course her own intensive tattoo designs are all hung on the wall so that it makes customers feel like they are in a provocative , blatant and yet sweet and funny rock-and-roll wonderland.

 

“My greatest happiness is given by my customers,” said Lo. “When they love my design, style, and place a lot of trust in me to work on their skin, I really feel happy and satisfied.”

 

According to Lo, most of her customers are female, aged between 18 and 30 up. To prevent young customers from  regretting after having a tattoo, she has established a rule that she would only help customers who are at least 18-year-old. “I will give them a warm reminder not to get a tattoo because of the trend as it will be an unremovable mark on your body forever,” Lo emphasized.

 

Lo continued, “I realized that the world is very big and it’s waiting for me to explore. I shouldn’t hang on to the past forever as every experience is a lesson to me.” Since then, she continued to put her life lessons on her own body.