BEING TRUE
Tru Tattoo parlor, with an all-woman staff of artists, continues to grow
Girls get it done. That’s why Amber Lynn, owner of Tru Tattoo shop, decided to open a business with an allwoman lineup of tattoo artists. When Lynn was younger, she wasn’t sure what she wanted to do with her life. A recovering addict of four years, she knew she wanted to give back to her community, but she didn’t know how to do that.
Lynn was getting a tattoo one day and talking about her art when someone gave her the idea to start an apprenticeship in tattooing.
“It’s hard to land a tattoo apprenticeship, especially as a girl,” Lynn said. “It felt like it was fate to have that happen to me.”
As an avid tattoo fan and an up-andcoming apprentice, Lynn realized there was a lack of female tattoo artists.
“I was tired of seeing so many tattoo shops being so male-dominated.” Lynn said. “I felt like there wasn’t really a space for women in the tattoo world.”
That’s when Lynn got the idea to make that space herself.
Tru Tattoo opened in August. She originally rented a studio on Zuni and Gibson SE and spent a year there building up clientele and finding the right female tattoo artists to join her. That’s when Madi Schlegel joined the Tru Tattoo team.
Schlegel is one of Tru Tattoo’s artists who came on board, and she has no plans of leaving anytime soon.
Schlegel first got into tattooing at the age of 17, which is when she purchased a tattoo gun off of Amazon and started experimenting on faux skin, and then herself.
“I started tattooing myself, which was probably not the best idea,” Schlegel said.
Once she had a taste of the tattooing world, she decided to try for an apprenticeship and found one at another local shop. Although Schlegel found the experience fruitful, she was looking for something different.
“It was just me and my mentor. I wanted to be around people closer to my age, people I could hang out with in and out of work,” she said.
Schlegel took a break from tattooing for a time to pursue home health care, but she wanted to get back in the tattoo world.
Schlegel saw a post from Lynn’s sister, Angelina Trujillo, who Schlegel had gone to high school with. She decided to ask to continue her apprenticeship with Lynn.
“Apprenticeships depend on the mentor. Some people do it for a year and others will apprentice for 10 years. A lot of people think you have to go through the ringer to get licensed, but that wasn’t the case with Amber,” Schlegel said. “She allowed me to be self-sufficient and take the reigns in my career. I was doing well and getting returning clients with tattoos that had healed beautifully.”
Schlegel said she is still learning and growing at Tru Tattoo.
“We always talk about how we are learning. Tattooing is ever evolving. I still feel like I’m an apprentice, and I think it should stay like that,” she said.
Since her time with Lynn, Schlegel said the shop has grown in skills and community.
“The collective has grown so much, and the girls have become my best friends. I feel respected, understood and taken care of. Spending time at the shop is like working with your best friends,” Schlegel said. “All I have been able to do
is grow. The environment is amazing, I can’t imagine being without them.”
A year after starting in the first location, Lynn found a building at 3500 San Mateo NE. Although it needed major renovations, she said it was the right place for Tru Tattoo.
Lynn was willing to make the jump and put in the work to freshen up the building.
“I’m impulsive and sometimes it’s been a bad thing, but this time it worked out for me,” she said. “We spent a month straight putting in 12-hour days to gut the place up and get it ready for business.”
Schlegel said the work the women have put into the shop was grueling. However, it was worth it, she said.
“We pulled together and fixed the shop. We can decorate it as we please now,” Schlegel said. “I knew when I wanted a new space, I wanted it to reflect my personality. We all threw our own flair in and made the shop what it is.”
The tattoo parlor has recently started expanding its services.
Trujillo, Lynn’s sister, started offering nail services.
The shop also grooms eyelashes, and Lynn hopes to add a hairstylist.
“We really want the shop to be a one-stop shop for everyone who comes in,” Lynn said. “You can get your nails done, lashes done, get a tattoo and leave feeling like a brand new person.”
As an ode to her history of substance abuse, Lynn also is adept at covering gang tattoos and scars. She also has a portfolio of tattoos designed for recovering addicts.
“I like giving people the chance to move past that stage in their life,” Lynn said.
When Lynn is not tattooing, she is going to school to become a substance counselor.
“I want to give back to my community. I’m proud of my journey and want to give other people hope,” she said.
Schlegel said everyone is welcome at Tru Tattoo.
“Even though we’re all girls, our shop is for everyone,” she said. “All races, all genders. We want everybody to feel comfortable and safe. We love meeting people and we love making art.”