Event Details & Seminars

Our annual fall meetup and conference provides an opportunity to get together in person to connect and learn amongst peers who share your goals. The conference includes seminars/workshops during the day, and our signature Women's Industry Night networking event in the evening. 

Sunday November 10, 2024.  

Beautiful Vancouver Island, BC, Canada! This year we've chosen Nanaimo as our host city. 

(For help with travel plans, visit our travel page)

A full day of learning and socializing! 

During the day we'll be learning together from a variety of women led seminars in topics including; artistry, business, marketing, finances, and more! (Exact schedule will be announced soon) 

Lunch is included in your ticket! There will also be snacks, coffee and tea available throughout the day. 

There will be an evening break to go out for dinner with friends, or rest up before our signature event; Women's Industry Night. Our social evening includes a champagne toast, snacks, live music, and a professional photographer, as well as a cash bar. 

This event is for decorative tattoo artists working in a professional, licensed setting, including apprentices in mentorships with professional artists. (At this time, our event is not yet ready to accommodate cosmetic or paramedical tattoo artists.) 

This event centers the experiences of all women, cis and trans inclusive, and is welcome to non-binary folks and those who wish to support and learn from the women in their lives.    

 Because science! 

The synapsis in your brain fire differently when you're in a new environment. Because of that, when you join an in person event, your brain is primed for new thoughts and ideas, and ready to learn and remember more. Just like magic! 

Because psychology!  

Did you know you are 90% more likely to achieve a goal with a community behind you? When you say your goals out loud or tell them to another person, you become statistically more likely to accomplish them! Isn't that amazing? 

Because friendship! 

Gathering with your peers - people who understand you and your challenges, and who share your interests - for a full day of activities is like giving your new and existing friendships  a super boost. We call that 'the summer camp effect'.     

Doors open at 8:45am 

--Morning Seminars--

• 9:00-10:00am: Meag Stouck (Oil Painting)
• 10:15-10:45am: Doedy Reisler (Bookkeeping) 
• 11:00-11:45am: Samantha Rae (Scar Camouflage) 

12:00-1:00pm - Lunch Break   

--Afternoon Seminars--

• 1:00-1:45pm: Kara Dee Harrison (Boundaries and Balance) 
• 2:00-2:45pm: Sarah Dickinson (Email Marketing) 
• 3:00-3:45pm: Sidney Gulka (Stipple Shading and Technique) 
• 4:00-5:00pm: Open Discussion, Questions, and Sharing 

5:00-7:00pm: Dinner Break/Free Time

7:00-11:00pm: Women's Industry Night (Social/Networking Event)  

 Meag Stouck (Oil Painting)

For the last decade, Meag has been wowing Nanaimo with her signature tattoo style. The smooth blends and painterly qualities of her work are no mystery to those who follow her, as Meag frequently shares her paintings alongside her tattoo work.

Exploring new forms of art is not only excellent for your mental health and wellbeing, but strengthens your overall artistic ability and directly impacts your tattooing. Whether you’re an experienced painter or a novice, this seminar has something for you.

Meag’s favourite subjects are animals, and favourite medium is a water-mixable oil paint that uses a wet-on-wet technique to layer colours, which is great for capturing fur texture and smooth blends. Live demonstrations and special access to art supplies gives you the inspiration and tools to explore painting right away!

Meag will also be opening a private studio in Nanaimo this Fall, and is excited to offer more painting classes in the future.

Doedy Reisler (Bookkeeping & Accounting Tips) 

Do you dread tax season? Do you scramble every year to gather receipts for write offs? (What even are write offs anyway?)

If you wanna take the question marks out of bookkeeping and the terror out of tax season, Doedy’s seminar is for you. Even if you already have a good handle on your business’ finances, a little guidance from a professional can help you save more money and make your existing systems stronger.

Doedy brings her decades of experience and simplifies everything so you’ll not only know what you need to do, but also why you need to do those things, and how to save the most money while you’re at it.

You don’t need to go ‘cash only’ and live the pirate life, fearing taxes and the government. Your bookkeeper is a champion who represents you and protects you. Your secret weapon that legitimized and simplifies your business. Let Doedy be your champion.

Samantha Rae (Scar Camouflage) 

Every tattoo artist knows that magical feeling when working on perfect, well hydrated skin.  But how do we best approach our tattoos when the skin conditions are imperfect? How can we create wonderful, affirmative, body image altering artwork for our clients in these situations?

Sam brings her years of experience tattooing the most challenging conditions, and her specialized insight working with mastectomy clients, to this unique seminar. Sam will cover all types of scarring and imperfect conditions, including: accidents, self-harm scars, surgical scarring such as cesarians and top surgery, hypertrophic and keloid scarring, weight loss and stretch marks, acne scarring, skin graphs, and more.

You’ll learn to confidently assess and advise your clients. How soon can an area be tattooed after it’s initially healed? How do touch ups and aftercare differ? Are you more likely to have issues with blowout/fallout? What needles to use? Does voltage differ? All of your pressing questions answered!

And even if you are not yet ready, or would prefer not to offer these services, knowing how to discuss these topics with your clients and help direct them to the right artist for the situation, is vital to all artists.

Kara Dee Harrison (Better Boundaries and Life Balance for Artists)

Kara is on a mission to change the standards of service and care in the tattoo industry - for clients and artists alike. She believes that better client experiences stem from artist's taking better care of themselves. A rested artist with strong boundaries has more energy to give to their clients and their artwork. Better client experiences create smoother workdays, and just like magic, everyone is winning!

As a 'later in life' tattoo artist (beginning her apprenticeship in her 30s), Kara has been able to benefit from over a decade of management, customer service, and business experience prior to entering the tattoo industry. She loves to share her unconventional takes on; pricing, more time off, no drawing in the evening, and a streamlined booking process that filters out problem clients – before they become a problem.

If you ever find yourself frustrated by your clients, if you struggle with pricing or discount your tattoos, if you don’t take two-day weekends (drawing on your days off doesn’t count), if you don’t take time for yourself – and especially if you think that this is normal and expected in this industry – this seminar is for you.

Sarah Dickinson (Email Marketing - How to Break Up with the Algorithm)

You do a great tattoo, you take a flattering photo, you write a compelling caption and post to… crickets. We’ve all been there.

Instagram is no longer the amazing, free, appointment magnet it used to be, and turning yourself into a content creator is taking time away from tattooing! But learning a new social media platform? Paying for ads? What’s the alternative?

By building a newsletter that speaks directly to your best clients (instead of shouting into the void and hoping someone notices), you keep your most likely-to-book clients updated on openings, cancellations, and special events, like flash days - all without having to rely on the algorithm. It also gives you the opportunity to share who you are, so potential new clients will know what to expect when they walk into your studio for the first time.

Sarah will introduce you to the basics of email marketing; how it works, how to get started, and why it’s gonna be your new favourite marketing tool. This is a can’t miss seminar for anyone who wants to break up with the algorithm, once and for all.

Sidney Gulka (Stipple Shading and Technique)

With over a decade of experience, Sid has spent the last few years honing her tattoo skills in the finer line black and grey world. While her style is shifting out of the ultra fineline, she now uses her shading techniques to create dynamic, illustrative tattoos that bring contrast and texture to each piece.

This seminar will teach you the ins and outs of stippling. The different tools you can use, how the movement of your hand can create different textures and how to make the ultimate smooth blends, giving your piece contrast and dimension.

Sid believes we can all learn from each other as every tattoo artist does things a little different. She will be breaking down her method in a way that’s accessible to beginners and experienced artists alike.

Whether you're new to tattooing, have never tried stippling, or have stippling mastered, this seminar will have you excited to try Sid’s techniques. Additionally, our sponsor FYT Supplies has provided the exact cartridges that Sid uses so that you can try your new skills right away.

Open Discussion, Questions, and Sharing 

A moderated discussion where anyone can ask questions, or share their experiences and opinions on topics that effect us all. Want to ask a follow up question to one of the presenters? You can do that! Want to poll the audience on an important issue? Go for it! What about that hot button issue or burning question you haven't managed to get a good answer to? Oh yeah, those are welcome here too. 

Let's learn together!