Shannon Gan
Jobel Chan Jia Xuan (bel.tattooinks) is known for creating cute, sticker-like tattoo designs despite sporting mostly fierce and bold tattoos on her upper body.
The 22-year-old said she has always liked “all things cute and pink” since she was young. “It makes me really happy after every tattoo piece is done on each client,” said Ms Chan, who loves tattooing Sanrio characters like Hello Kitty, My Melody and Gudetama.
Ms Chan relies on Instagram and word of mouth to reach out to more customers. Being featured on GirlStyle Singapore has brought her more business.
She has also received many messages on Instagram, asking how much she’s selling her “stickers” for. She said she had to explain that the “stickers” are in fact permanent tattoos.
Before becoming a tattoo artist, Ms Chan was a beauty advisor at Sephora for more than three years.
But when Covid-19 broke out, her income dropped. She decided to quit and looked for a new career path.
She eventually approached Rain Wu, who previously did a tattoo on her back. He offered her an apprenticeship at his studio, Tattoo World SG.
When Ms Chan told her friends about her new career move, they “weren’t supportive at all”, saying “it is really, really hard” and that she “wouldn’t make it”.
Her parents were worried about her career switch too, but both supported her decision.
Ms Chan completed her six-month apprenticeship and has been tattooing for about a year, but she still considers herself an apprentice.
“You’ll never finish learning everything about tattooing because everyday, you’re learning something new.”
Proofread By: Darrius Chua and Effa Serena