Zen Tattoo

There is no window to walk past and no flash on the wall. A private studio runs on enquiries, a portfolio, an agreed design and a deposit, with the exact address arriving once the booking is confirmed. That last part unsettles people who have only used street shops, and it is standard practice rather than a sign of anything strange.

The work at Zen Tattoo runs to fine line, floral, brush-stroke calligraphy and Asian styles including Baybayin script and Chinese stamp designs. That pairing is specific enough to be the whole reason someone seeks out a studio like this. Script work in a writing system you actually read matters, and so does calligraphy that behaves like calligraphy rather than a font, because the point of a brush stroke is that it changes weight along its length.

Sexsmith and Hazelbridge is the northern end of the Golden Village, in the West Cambie pocket where Aberdeen, the Capstan towers and the Sexsmith warehouse blocks all run together. Two Canada Line stations sit within a short walk, which is convenient for a session that might run several hours and leave you not especially keen on driving afterwards. Consultation and booking run through the studio's own site, so that is the place to start.