ST. PAUL, Minn.–On a shelf in his Arcade Street
tattoo shop, Don Nolan keeps a folder of all the tattoos he’s given to
St. Paul cops and firefighters over the years.

It is a testament
not only to the fraternity of the men and women who risk their lives
every day but also to Nolan’s standing in the tattoo industry. When new
cops want a tattoo of the archangel St. Michael, the patron saint of
police, they go to Nolan’s Acme Tattoo.

Despite his 55 years of
experience, Nolan said, he was not consulted about a proposal at the
state Legislature that would, for the first time, regulate the tattoo
industry. He and other local tattoo artists are raising questions about
the legislation, arguing it should be delayed for a year to put a
better proposal together.

“It needs a lot of work, and the important things aren’t there,” Nolan said.

Tattoo
artists say the legislation is a classic example of government
overreaching into an industry that, by and large, does a good job
regulating itself.

The artists stress they aren’t against
regulations, but they question several provisions, including rules
establishing how far apart tattoo chairs are set, mandating that sinks
be located in the tattooing area, prescribing the kinds of lids on
garbage cans, requiring self-closing doors on bathrooms and setting the
candlepower and location of light bulbs.

“Sinks are not even in surgery rooms,” said Tanika Nolan, Don Nolan’s wife and a 19-year tattoo artist.

“Gases come up from them, and they’re dirty.”

As
at any reputable tattoo parlor, the Nolans sterilize their equipment in
an autoclave. They even go a step further, using special UV lights to
sanitize surface areas in their shop.

Several cities regulate
tattoo parlors, including Minneapolis and St. Paul. Officials in both
cities say the industry does not generate a significant number of
complaints, most being about minors getting tattoos without their
parents’ consent, which already is against state law.

But the proposed regulations go much farther.

Some
tattoo artists–at least the best of them–exhibit an almost pathological
obsession with cleanliness and sterilization and exhibit a constant
awareness that their mistakes are permanent.

Count Jeff Hunstiger, proprietor of Jeff’s Tattoo in St. Cloud, in that class.

A
former medical equipment inspector, Hunstiger has been tattooing for
years and said he also was not consulted on the proposed regulations.
He calls sinks a “biohazard” that don’t belong near a tattoo station,
and he questioned other provisions, such as one requiring tattoo
artists to wear a “disposable barrier” such as a surgical apron while
tattooing.

“We’re not working in an emergency room,” said
Hunstiger, whose desire to run a tight ship even has him drug-testing
his employees. “We don’t have people spraying on us.”

But a
broader concern for Hunstiger is that the proposed regulations are so
onerous they would force more tattoo artists underground, where
conditions are less likely to be sanitary. He said it’s already a
problem, with people offering tattoos out of their basements or at rock
concerts.

“This is a college town, so you can guess what’s going on,” Hunstiger said.

Sen.
Yvonne Prettner-Solon, DFL-Duluth, said the legislation is patterned
after several local regulations, including those in Hennepin County,
Minneapolis and Anoka County. While the proposal still is under
consideration for inclusion in the final health and human services
omnibus bill, she is not sure it will pass because of some of the
questions raised.

Prettner-Solon said tattoo artists were
consulted and that some thought the bill should be stricter. Having
extra sinks and other requirements are for the safety of the patrons,
she said.

“That all has to do with hygiene,” Prettner-Solon said.

She
also said the proposal would improve the state’s blood supply. With the
new regulations, blood banks would remove a prohibition on accepting
blood from anyone who has had a tattoo within the past year,
Prettner-Solon said.

But artists say there are other bones of
contention. Tanika Nolan questions the provision that would license
tattoo artists themselves, not just establishments. There are no tattoo
schools, so the provision requires that artists apprentice for 200
hours before obtaining a license.

To Nolan, that’s not enough.

“You can’t learn tattooing in five weeks,” Nolan said.

Moreover,
she regards the provision as anti-competitive. Why would a tattoo
artist ever take a fledgling pupil–and, in five weeks, future
competition–under her wing?


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