Emily Preston
Lead artist and founder. Ornamental blackwork, fine line, and a strong opinion about what will still look good in ten years.
Licensed artist · Bloodborne pathogens certified · Public liability and treatment risk insured
Tattooing is not what I do. It is part of who I am.
I have drawn for as long as I can remember, across almost every medium I could get my hands on. Tattooing was the one that stuck, because it is the only one where the work leaves with the person.
My entry into the industry was built on mentorship, obsession, and an endless amount of practice. I was fortunate enough to learn directly under my own tattoo artist and the studio owner, soaking up their technique, and perfecting my craft on fake skin. When the time came for my first tattoo on real skin, my stepdad and little sister were my very first human canvases, followed by supportive family and friends who helped me build my confidence behind the machine. After earning my license and putting in the work alongside artists I deeply respected, I officially opened my books to the public.
What that means for you is that nothing about this is casual. I have had to be deliberate about every step, and I bring the same care to a small piece of lettering as I do to a full thigh.
Ornamental, with weight in the line
Fine, but not so fine it disappears. The signature is line weight played against itself.
Varying line weight
Thick and thin against each other. It gives a piece structure and stops it flattening out as it ages.
Everything is outlined
An outline is what holds a tattoo together over decades. It is not a style choice, it is longevity.
Design-led shading
Whip, dotwork and stipple, chosen for the design rather than applied by habit.
Mainly blackwork
Black is the material. Small colour accents on request, if the design genuinely calls for one.
Your subject, her hand
Emily will translate any subject into her style rather than talk you into a different subject.
Drawn in Procreate
Designed digitally, sent to you before the day, and adjusted until you are happy with it.
What Emily will not do
Being told no by an artist is a good sign. It means they would rather lose the booking than put out work they are not proud of.
Realism is a different craft and a different set of hands. Emily will not tattoo it, and she will tell you that in the first message rather than take the booking and hope.
Fine detail packed into a tiny space will blur within a few years. Emily will advise going a little bigger so it still looks sharp in ten. She will not simply refuse, she will explain the trade-off and let you decide.
A full sleeve is a long-term commitment on both sides and is not something the studio is taking on. Larger single pieces, up to a full thigh or a back piece, are very welcome.
Qualified, licensed and insured
Bloodborne pathogens and health and safety certified. Public liability and treatment risk insurance in place. Piercing training planned for a later stage.
What her clients say
Every review below is from a client who sat with Emily at her previous studio. The studio is new. The hands are not.
“I have had two separate tattoos by Emily and I am thrilled with the results. A very talented artist with an eye for detail.”
“Emily took my idea and elevated it into something even better than I imagined.”
“Really attentive and friendly, on top of it being a brilliant tattoo at a good price.”
Talk to Emily before you commit
Fifteen free minutes to see whether she is the right artist for what you have in mind. She will say so if she is not.
No obligation and no deposit taken on a design chat. Fifteen minutes, in person or on a call, to talk through the idea and what it would take.
The signature is weight, not thinness
Fine line does not mean fine everywhere. It means knowing where to be fine. Drag the contrast up and watch the same motif go from flat to structured.
At zero every line carries the same weight and the shape flattens out. Push it and the heavy lines start doing the structural work, which is what stops a piece dissolving as it ages.
This is the single thing Emily pushes back on most. Not to make a design less delicate, but to make it still delicate in ten years.
Line weight contrast
Every line at one weight. Legible today, and the first thing to close up as it ages.