Frequently Asked Questions

As we are a private studio we are flexible with our days to try to fit in with clients. Please note we operate by appointment only and our schedules are:

Lara:
Monday - Friday: 10:00-16:00
Saturday: by request
Sunday: closed

Andy:
Monday - Saturday: 11:00-17:00
Sunday: closed

Please complete our booking form - click here.
This has all of the relevant information that we need and will make our response to you quicker.

Alternatively email us at lhptattoos@gmail.com or connect via our socials @lhptattoos or our FB page. If using one of the alternative methods please provide us with:

-what you would like to have tattooed,
-any reference images,
-size in cms of the piece,
-where it is going,
-specific artist and
-where it is going on your body.

We are a custom studio and each artist has their own creative style. It is important at the time of enquiry to let us know in detail what you would like tattooed and any specific elements you wish to include. We both work in our own individual style and love to create pieces using our personal style. On rare occasions we may not be the best fit to undertake your tattoo and may refer you to someone we feel is better suited to meet your requirements.

Once you have made a booking if you make any changes to idea or style, let us know as soon as you can. A lot of time behind the scenes goes into creating each tattoo. Your idea change could result in us not being able to do your tattoo or alternatively having to completely redesign the tattoo. This in turn could lead to a design charge.

You can usually expect to receive a reply back from us within 48 business hours. Please do be patient as sometime we have unforeseen incidents which may delay our response. If you have send a DM in Facebook or Instagram, some messages can go to the spam folder so it can be advisable to email.

Yes we do require a deposit to make a booking. All deposits are non refundable and non transferable. Deposits will be forfeited if:

-you change your mind on wanting a tattoo
-do not show for an appointment
-you cancel within 2 weeks notice

If a deposit is forfeited and you have further bookings, you’ll need to pay another deposit to proceed with future bookings.

All deposit amounts come off the final session of the tattoo being completed. This covers the artists time in designing your tattoo and shows commitment to you finishing the piece.

The deposit amount is set based on the the piece being designed and tattooed.

We are able to offer gift vouchers, however we will require to know what the person is wanting to have done to see if this is a piece one of the artists is able to take on. We know this can spoil the element of surprise but it is important for us to know as some pieces we may be unable to do.

We are able to offer consults. We begin all consults via email to gain all of the information that we need and to see if it is a piece that we can take on. If needed we are then able to arrange a phone or Zoom consult to discuss the ideas further. 

We are unable to do a phone or Zoom consult without all of the relevant information (see how to make a booking). Consults are free of charge and arranged at a time mutually agreed with between you and the artist requested. 

We do not currently offer in person consults at this time we have found Zoom consults to be best so we can see you face to face and screen share information. This saves on time and fuel for both the client and artist and have found since Covid this works really well.

Generally we do not charge a design fee as this is incorporated into the total cost of your tattoo. We may charge a fee if you have requested any dramatic change of design and the fee will reflect time spent redesigning to meet your requirements. 

The fee depends on the scale of the tattoo and the artist can provide you with this information. The artist usually will do a consult via email and if needed via Zoom or phone. 

It is important therefore to give as much information and reference as possible to ensure that the artist is on the same page as you. It is important to allow the artist to see your vision and create something that is going to flow well with the body part it is going on and to encompass all that you would like in the piece. 

This then gives you something truely unique and tailored to you. We will not directly copy another artists work. We design all of our work chronologically as per our calendar. Each artist has different timeframes on their client being able to view the design. 

It is usually nearer to the appointment and in some cases may not be until the night before. When messaging your artist will be able to give you an idea of when you can expect to view the design. As we have usually had an extensive consult prior to the tattoo it is very unusual that a tattoo needs to be redesigned completely. 

We are always happy to do small amendments to the design.

Yes we are able to tattoo over some scars and stretch marks. 

We view these on an individual basis to evaluate if the scar tissue needs longer to settle down. Please feel free to send through images of any scar tissue you wish to be covered along with how old the scar tissue is and we can then advise you from there.

Yes we are able to do cover ups.  

We evaluate these on an individual basis. In some cases we do suggest it is best to lighten the tattoo to enable you to have more scope with what can cover the existing piece. 

If you do need any laser removal we can recommend https://www.sacredlaser.co.nz/ If you would like to have a cover up done please send through images of your existing tattoo taken by someone else in a neutral position.  

Please provide information as to what you would like done, think more of what you would like if the tattoo is there not what you feel will cover it.

If you are flexible with your ideas and will let the artists have a bit more free rein you will be surprised what can be done.  Andrew specialises in cover ups and is always happy to try help cover a piece especially if he has free rein.

We have a studio policy of not tattoo hands, necks, fingers, genitals or faces.

If a client has had extensive work from us we may consider tattooing one of these areas for them. We have a right to refuse any area of the body and do not have to give a reason.

We will not tattoo any other artists designs nor will we finish another artists incomplete tattoo.  If there is a particular artist that you admire (illustrator, painter etc) we may consider with express permission directly from them to us to do the piece.  

Please be aware we are a custom studio so do tend to design our own pieces so we may still choose not to do this for you or to design your own version.

We will not tattoo any gang related, racist, homophobic or transphobic imagery under any circumstances.

We are unable to tattoo people who are pregnant or breastfeeding.

With breastfeeding you can ask your health care provider when it will be safe for you to get tattooed. They are best equiped to provide you with this information.  We are unable to tattoo anyone who is on blood thinners. 

We are unable to tattoo anyone under the influence of drugs or alcohol.  We are unable to tattoo anyone under the age of 16.  Those 16 and over we may consider tattooing on an individual basis depending on what you wish to have tattooed and the area.  

You will be required to bring your parent or guardian to the tattoo session to sign the consent form. They will be required to provide ID for both themselves and the person getting tattooed..

This can either be a drivers license, passport or kiwi access card. If they are your guardian they will need to provide legal documentation to be copied and attached to the form.

We are a small private studio and pride ourselves on giving a calm and relaxing environment.  

We therefore ask clients to come alone to their sessions. We do not have the space in the studio and it is not fair on the other artist/client who maybe in on the day you are getting tattoo if there is another person in the studio. 

Support people are welcome to come and drop you off and pick you up and are welcome to see the stencil once it has been applied. They just are unable to stay with you while you are getting tattooed.

We are a boutique private studio based in Eyrewell Forest. This is a 20 minute drive from the northern corridor motorway taking the tram RD exit.

We are sorry but we do not offer this service at this time. Clients are welcome to pre pay prior to the session. Please be aware that any funds paid are non refundable.

All of our artists take your safety and our safety very seriously. 

For us the hygiene is as important to us as doing you an amazing piece of art. We therefore ensure that our blood borne pathogen knowledge is up to date. All artist take a yearly refresher course so have fully up to date BBP certificates. 

We sanitise the studio daily using hospital grade disinfectant. This even includes the door handles and switches. If the artist is doing more than one session per day the tattoo surfaces (bench, station, arm rest etc) is cleaned after each client using the hospital grade disinfectant. 

We wear full PPE during the tattoo process. Full PPE consist of nitrile gloves, arm sleeves and aprons. This is to help to minimise any cross contamination during the tattoo process. In some cases the artist may have to rest on the area being tattooed to stretch the skin for example, this means it is a clean surface leaning on the area. 

We try to use as much fully disposable equipment as possible which is then disposed of either in the medical waste or sharps. Items such as the tattoo station, bench or arm rests are non disposable but we do wrap these with cling film which in turn is disposed of in the medical waste. The equipment is then cleaned using hospital grade disinfectant. Tattoo grips and push rods are also non disposable. We clean these after each client using brushes and pipe cleaners, they are then placed in an ultra sonic cleaner and are rinsed off. These are then individually bagged up and placed into our autoclave. We have a category B autoclave these are considered to be the best for sterilising tattoo equipment. To ensure our autoclave is at its most efficient we have it serviced yearly. 

All of our medical waste and sharps waste is collected and disposed of by a medical waste professional. The needles which we exclusively use are needle cartridges. These are single use only. The needles are in individual sealed packets, these are sealed and sterilised at the time of manufacture. 

We open the packets once the client is here and dispose of all needles in the sharps container at the end of the clients session. We do our best to minimise any cross contamination. Your safety is our priority!

On the rare occasion that we have a cancellation, we often look to fill the space from the Clients we hold on our cancellation list. 

If you would like to have us to keep you on our list, please let us know when you book your tattoo in the booking form.
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