Some Swifties opting for permanent souvenirs with Taylor-themed tats
Posted December 6, 2024 5:26 pm.
Last Updated December 9, 2024 11:13 am.
After the friendship bracelets are traded, after the hoodies and t-shirts are folded and put away, Taylor Swift fans may find themselves asking, Is It Over Now?
Some Swifties have thought ahead and have found a permanent way to show their devotion that will last long after the Eras Tour wraps up Sunday.
1130 NewsRadio has spoken to some local tattoo artists that are offering Taylor-themed flash designs, and they say they’re incredibly busy.
Gray Lantern Tattoos in New Westminster is one of several studios putting on Swiftie-themed events over the weekend, and artist Paul Bevin says he’s never seen anything like it.
“I’ve been tattooing 17 years, and I’ve never seen a buzz like this around an event,” he said. “It’s legitimately the wildest I’ve seen.”
Bevin’s business partner, Faye Basravi, is the one doing the actual tattooing, and when all is said and done, he’s estimating Basravi will tattoo more than 150 fans by Taylor Swift’s birthday next week. He said they had to shuffle things around a bit after Basravi managed to get last-minute tickets herself for Friday night’s show, but they plan to tattoo all day for the rest of the weekend and into next week.
He says they have had dozens of people from out of town lining up to get inked.
“It’s been absolutely crazy, where people have been coming in from, and how far they’ve come, how some of them are here for two days,” he said.
“People are staying as far away as like Chilliwack and Hope overnight. So it’s just, yeah, incredible.”
Bevin says they’ve seen mother-daughter combos, sisters, and whole families getting tattooed together, and they’ve all been giving Basravi friendship bracelets. He says, the most popular designs so far are a snake from the Reputation era and the phrase ‘Long Live’.
He says some people have been getting the shape of the Eras Tour Stage as a tattoo, which he says speaks to the significance of the tour itself.
Artist Jen van Houten of Thousand Sunny Studio on Pender Street is offering themed tattoos including red lipstick, paper airplanes, a “Karma” cat and a slithering snake — all knowing references for true Swifties — at all-day promotions Friday and Saturday.
Customers will have to choose from pre-made designs to maintain a tight schedule, allowing just 20-30 minutes for each tattoo.
Van Houten says she wants to provide fans with an indelible memento of the shows.
“Taylor Swift has created such a huge community among so many different people,” she said.
Van Houten, a Swift fan herself, said she might make the promotion available on Sunday, depending on demand.
She said a tattoo was another way to bring Swift fans together.
“And that’s the fun part about tattoos is you can you walk down the street, and you see something on somebody and recognize it, and stop them and you talk to them, and it creates kind of a sense of community.”
With files from Brieanna Charlebois, The Canadian Press.
