spring

Posted on by

Another blog post to boost the ol’ SEO thingie!

I have been working between Bristol, Bicester and some midlands placements but I soon am to be guesting in Wales more often to try and find a more permanent tattoo studio to have as a base! then I will be in Bicester and Bristol once a month each too!

Guest spots at the moment just don’t get booked up as they used to (no surprise in this current climate!)

But this has left me with a really amazing “problem” to try and figure out. With more spare time than ever what does a girl do to try and make the world a better place whilst also earning some money?

If anyone has any ideas I’d be super thrilled to hear

I’ve been litter picking, volunteering and wwoofing but I can’t help but feel there is something more I could be doing right now to help the world. I will never give up being a tattoo artist, but having more time to work on designs and put intention into every piece has made me realise that I love this way of working. I feel like I have way more time and energy to give to my clients and definitely prefer working this way.

I want to practice more intentional spiritual tattooing, in more of a natural environment. I hope to one day have a cabin in the woods style private studio for me and a friend who both follow the Wu Wei…until that time though I shall keep finishing off all the unfinished work I have out there and trying to figure out what my part to play in the universe is.

Once again I’m going to type a bunch of words for the algorithm lol. Tattoos, tattoo artist, tattoo studio Bicester, Bristol, Ceregigion, Wales, Powys, art, Oxford, London. Sorry if anyone actually reads this haha

Hannah

xx

Freedom is just around the corner

Posted on by

Hey everyone, another fairly pointless update to try and push my website up the google rankings lol! Not much to report since the last one!

As the world slowly decides the systems we have built have lead to nothing but our own suffering it feels like we are in now in a kind of death rattle for capitalism and the illusion of democracy! It is, a funny old time.

Tattooing has certainly become more quiet in the last few months, and I’m not surprised- it is a luxury. The first things to take a downturn when the recession hits!

I’ve seen some tattooists online doing videos, saying why getting tattooed is important and even videos which imply that you should be spending money on tattoos over other things. I think this is kinda bollocks tbh. It is not a necessity and although we would all LOVE to be getting tattooed left right and centre -it’s just not a priority for most people who are struggling right now. Including myself.

A few years ago I decided to take a step back from tattooing full time to build some skills which i felt could be of benefit to humanity and nature, I am still trying to build that skill base, whilst at the same time continue to tattoo as much as I feasibly can.. Earning less money would have been a problem in Bristol but luckily i got a van and decided to live in that to avoid having to pay astronomical rent “for a year” whilst i did these other things. After 1 year I didn’t like the thought of going back- the rest is history!

Trying to live as cheaply as possible is actually pretty great but this has meant that getting tattooed, unless its for swaps right now is out of the window. Which is unfortunate as I have a lot ( a LOT) of unfinished work!

Because of this, I was thinking of doing pay what you can afford tattoo days a couple of days a month for people who need to get work finished but are in a similar situation. If you are maybe the one human who ever sees this blog and you need stuff finishing and you think it’s worth a shot email me!

hannahcalavera@hotmail.co.uk

Oh also as usual I split my time

at least once a month in Bristol, and once a month in Bicester, Oxfordshire.

Lots more travel dates and places on my travel page though!

Tattoos and nature

Posted on by

Hello

long time no blog!

I spent January with a friend doing art at an artist retreat at glorious Mud and Wool in Wales, and since then have been marooned in Bicester whilst Dick Van-Dyke awaits a needed (but very spenny) repair! Luckily the lovely ladies at Allyours tattoo have welcomed me with open arms into their lovely tattoo studio to get back to the craft! It’s been really lovely to chill and not travel for a little bit though!

I have added more dates, locations and tattoo studios to my travel page and all are available to book in at now. Thankyou to all my clients who have been super patient with me over the last few years since I have been pursuing my bushcraft dream but I shall definitely be knuckling down and making it a priority to finish off everybody’s tattoos!

I have also decided to spend some time making some tattoo flash of my special interests in the esoteric, nature, welsh folklore, aliens and psychedelica!

I’m just going to type out some of the places I will be guesting for SEO purposes lol

Daventry, Leicester, Bicester, Oxford, Wales, Ceredigion, Aberystwyth, Wiltshire,

the free life

Posted on by

Hey there, whoever reads this!

I have spent since March living in the van, travelling and guesting, initially I had only planned for a year of that but I’ve been loving it so much I think I’m going to do at least another year, if not longer. I wish I had done this years ago, and couldn’t recommend it to anyone else highly enough!

I have just updated my travel page to reflect some changes, and will be sorting out next years sechedule over Christmas!

I am hoping to split next year between tattooing, doing an intensive Bushcraft and survival course, and hopefully testing my new skills in Chainsaw and forest planting as well! I will be tattooing at least two weeks a month so will have plenty of space! If you have a request for me to come visit your area let me know and I’ll try and arrange a guest spot near you!

I will also be doing regular spots in Bristol, Oxfordshire, Northamptonshire, Cornwall and Wales but also hope to make it up to Scotland for a while too if I can!

Anyone who wishes to keep up with my adventures, I made an instagram for vanlife @hanbearvanbear

Hannah x

Whispering no more

Posted on by

Hey all you lovely folk, hope you are doing well! Thought I’d update as everyone is v curious to see what’s going on! The short version is that unfortunately due to a variety of factors it became apparent very late last year that I could no longer afford to run Whispering Weeds and had to shut up shop. Bit of a downer, but when life gives you lemons, throw a lemon party! I decided to use this opportunity to do what I haven’t been able to do for a while and travel, guest spot and visit people for the rest of this year.

I’m currently in the process of moving house into a campervan so if any of you have emailed in the last few weeks that’s why I havent been replying! I will be travelling round the UK this year, including many guest spots in Bristol and the South west! To see if I will be coming near you please go look at my TRAVEL PAGE!

If you see a guest spot that is near you email me with the location as the header and you will get a reply asap!

Sorry to all of you who got moved, will be getting in contact to reschedule everyone now that I’ve got the majority of my life stuff shifted! I will not be leaving anyone with unfinished tattoos, so don’t fret! I just need a bit more time this year to smell the sweet roses of life and get out of city living/slog mode.

Oh also,Whispering Weeds is now Tengu Tattoo! Go check it out 🙂

love and thanks to you all

Hanbear

x

Art, tattoos and holiday blues

Posted on by

Hey everyone! I just got back off a much needed holiday so thought i’d post a couple of things as I realised I dont think I ever uploaded these to the website!

I made a couple of very high quality art prints once lockdown was over and put them on my Bigcartel!

I made this first one as a loving tribute to my mum, she and I love these cute puffy lads. We call them Timothy’s and enjoy their pink shirts. They are for sale at the studio and on my bigcartel.

mourning dove= Timothy

I also made this sockeye salmon print as a tribute to CANADA in general after my trip there. Wanna go back reallly bad!

journey home frought with perilous bears

the third is a print that is not a ridiculous quality of print but it does make it a lot more affordable, if, like the rest of the country you too are not feeling as flush as our “government” seem to be. Foxy lady in tribute to my new home, which is overrun by little ginger friends. Loving the wildlife in this corner of Bristol. I’ve seen Jays AND a badger too amongst all the usual suspects 😀

golden hour fox

Also I made a snail fantasy for me and Bry’s charity day! All profits go to st Mungos of Bristol. A fantastic charity that has done no end of good, if you hate snails we would love it if you would consider them as a worthy charity for the next time you mae a donation to anything. You can still catch some of the photos from the charity day on Bryoni’s Insta!

snail FANTASY

I’d also love to do more snail/banana slug tattoos! Anyway- all of these will be available on my bigcartel until I replace them in a couple of months!

thanks for looking everyone! I’m going to try to update my tattoo portfolio on here as I haven’t done it in a while but in the meantime have a look on my instagram!

H xx

Back into the groove

Posted on by

So after 3 years of absolute butts the studio is finally going how it should!

Bryoni and I are having a fantastic time at Whispering Weeds and it’s back to being the slice of tattoo heaven it always should have been!

I am back totally on top of designing and emails so will be opening my books on MAY 17th for September-December dates! New work welcomed and encouraged! I’m a little proud of myself for getting through the events of the last couple of years and also having finally cleared my backlog. I’ll be so jazzed to see all your new requests!!

Oh we also have an amazing aesthetics practicioner joining us, in the beautiful Lunar Aesthetics Bristol. Go check our their Instagram if you havent already!

thankyou

Hannah x

Prints fah sale

Posted on by

Hey everyone! I managed to do a really exciting thing and made a bigcartel shop

IT CAN BE FOUND HERE

I am selling all my cat prints, and to get around bigcartel fees I have uploaded a bunch of smaller photos. I’ll post bigger versions here now so you can inspect them properly!

If you would like to buy some but pay with paypal email me with the prints you want hannahcalavera@hotmail.co.uk and I can sort it out that way too! Also all prints will be available at the studio in Bristol if you’d rather see and buy them IRL

I also have this A3 leggy boi print for sale

And this tiger

and these two as well!

Anyway! I hope your lockdowns aren’t going too badly. I hope we will be allowed to work again soon but I’m not holding out! Therefore everyone who was rescheduled will only be rebooked once we get a definite date to go back to work!

Hannah x

Lockdown 2 Electric Boogaloo

Posted on by

Hey everyone, so with second lockdown announced and everything I thought I would make a BigCartel page to try and make a bit of money while Boris and co tell us that we can’t work! Personally I think its pretty gross that for people who are not at risk, choosing to visit a close to sterile tattoo studio is not allowed. Food for thought.

ANYWAY

Here is my BIG CARTEL! Cat wizard prints are up in time for christmas so please, if like me you are sacking off the high st and Amazon to support local businesses, take a look!

FOR THOSE BOOKED IN NOVEMBER 5th-end of lockdown

Your appointment is automatically postponed! I have written down all your names and numbers and as soon as Boris announces Tattoo studios can open I will be phoning everyone in blocks of 10 to get everyone rebooked in in order. There’s probably 2 things to keep in mind here

1) if the last lockdown is anything to go by, tattoo shops will probably not be in the first wave of businesses allowed to resume working. Last time hairdressers, pubs AND gyms were all allowed to reopen before tattoo studios. Which I think, is not only unfair but really dumb. So if you are booked in in December, try not to be too disappointed if you have to settle for getting your tattoo in the new year!

2) I am currently booked up till February, so anyone getting postponed may well have to get tattooed Feb/March time. I’m really sorry but it is a lot of work to get that amount of people rebooked anyway without having to rearrange all the people who didnt have to get postponed. Again it’s not that fair but sadly thats how this year is goin!

Last thing I promise- This winter ALL our mental health is going to be fucked- mine included. Pick up some nice hobbies, take vitamin d, meditate/listen to nice music, eat well, get out and do some nature walking, talk to people about how you are. Please please reach out if you are feeling hopeless, and remember that other people are going to be struggling too so be kind. You never know what someone has been through before you talk to them.

Thankyou all for reading, I love you. Stay safe but more importantly stay sane <3

COVID

Posted on by

Hey guys, what a year so far eh? SO I finally got round to updating my website instead of sitting on my bum watching cookery shows and eating crisps. We’ve been down the studio like eager beavers making it all plagueproof and lovely! Here is all the information you’ll need to get tattooed during these crazy times at Whispering Weeds!

COVID MEASURES


Obviously things have changed a little because of corona, but getting tattooed will still probably be quite similar. These are the things which are different now
• I’m sorry but you will not be able to bring friends or family to appointments anymore, we have to limit footfall in the studio at this time. Don’t worry we are very friendly!
• Please come to your appointment on time, not early as there is nowhere to wait now!
• You will have to bring your own mask to the appointment
• At the door please use the hand sanitiser provided before you come in
• Please bring lunch with you as we would like to limit the ins and outs at the studio! I am sorry but you won’t be able to eat inside until further notice.
• We will not be able to tattoo the side of your neck, face, upper chest or front of your shoulders whilst Covid is still prevalent.
• If you have felt unwell or in contact with someone who has been unwell in the last 14 days we will reschedule with no loss to your deposit. Please let us know if you have had a reoccurring cough, loss of taste or sense of smell or high temperature.

These are the things we are going to be doing
• We have taken all the WHO and Barbicide COVID related courses online
• We will be wearing masks
• Staggering appointment times so people don’t arrive at the same time
• We will only have two tattooists in the shop at a time, this means we can get a 2-4 metre distances between people.
• Extra cleaning
• Limiting to one client each per day


Thanks for reading! I shall hopefully be updating this site more aaaand also Whispering Weeds will be getting it’s own website very soon!
Love to you all, hope you are not just surviving but thriving in one way or another!!


Hannah
xxx