Birds of a Feather: An Afternoon at Tailorbird Tattoo

It’s 2pm, a bustling Friday at Tailorbird Tattoo. A former dentist’s office in South Minneapolis, it’s a small waiting room and three chairs, established by queer artists looking to a curate a more welcoming, inclusive space. The shop is on the eve of its 4th anniversary when we stop in to watch them work. // Photo by Brookleyn Kascel

“Tailorbirds are super cool,” says Alli Shelly. “They actually custom-fit their nests. They take a leaf, fold it around, and actually kind of rivet it, and almost sew it. It’s custom to their body. We’re tailoring tattoos to your body, not just slapping them on like stickers.” // Photo by Brooklyn Kascel

“Welcoming, inclusive, focused on the art, and the interaction with the client,” Ariel Cafarelli describes the shop. “Acknowledging the intimacy of the experience, and so a lot of attention on making a good experience for people.” Ariel specializes in birds and botanicals—here, she works on African violets surrounded by edelweiss.
// Photo by Brooklyn Kascel

“We’re all nerds for something here, you know?” Each artist’s space reflects their personality—Shelly’s is covered with pictures of insects and Dolly Parton.
// Photo by Brooklyn Kascel

Lana Bosak inks a customer’s very first tattoo: a cluster of three stars that are familiar to fans of Harry Potter. // Photo by Brooklyn Kascel

“We talked about the dream shop. A place where we wouldn’t have to, not hide being queer, but dull it down.” Shelly says. “Not everyone that comes in here is queer, but our mission statement is posted on the wall out there. It’s who we are. We wanted this to be a different space.” // Photo by Brooklyn Kascel