The Day I Decided to Leave My Comfort Zone
There was a moment about three years ago when I looked around my station in Helsinki and realized something uncomfortable: I was getting too comfortable. My bookings were consistent, my clients were loyal, and my routine was dialed in. On paper, everything was perfect. But creatively, I felt like I was running on autopilot.
That restlessness is what pushed me to reach out to a studio in Amsterdam for my first guest spot. I remember packing my machines, my inks, my setup kit, and feeling this weird mix of excitement and dread. What if nobody books me? What if the studio's vibe doesn't work for me? What if I'm just not good enough outside my own bubble?
Turns out, that discomfort was exactly what I needed.
What Being a Guest Artist Actually Looks Like
People sometimes romanticize the guest artist life. They picture you jetting between cool cities, tattooing in trendy studios, living some kind of nomadic creative dream. And honestly, parts of it are like that. But the behind-the-scenes reality involves a lot of logistics that nobody talks about.
Before I even step into a guest studio, weeks of preparation have already happened. I announce the dates on my social media, usually two to three months in advance. I coordinate with the host studio on their booking process — some handle it through their own system, others let me manage it directly. I plan my flash sheets and design availability around what I know the local clientele tends to gravitate toward. I sort out accommodation, which in cities like Amsterdam and Berlin can be its own adventure.
The hardest part of guest work isn't the tattooing. It's the constant rebuilding — of your setup, your rhythm, your trust with new people.
When I arrive at a studio, I have maybe thirty minutes to set up my station and make it feel like mine. Every studio is laid out differently. The lighting is different. The chair or bed is at a different height. The energy of the room is completely different. You learn to adapt fast or you struggle. There's no time to ease into it — my first client is usually booked within the hour.
Building a Client Base in Three Cities
One of the biggest challenges of working across Helsinki, Amsterdam, and Berlin is building a client base in each city. In Helsinki, I have years of relationships. People know me, they trust me, they refer their friends. But in Amsterdam? In Berlin? I started from zero.
Social media has been the lifeline. Instagram especially. I post my work consistently, I share stories from guest spots, and I make it very clear when and where I'll be available. Over time, people in each city started to recognize my name and my style. Some clients have become regulars who book me every time I visit. That feels incredible — to know that someone in a different country is waiting for you to come back so they can continue a piece or start something new.
But it takes time. My first guest spot in Berlin, I had maybe three bookings across five days. I spent the rest of the time drawing, exploring the city, and networking with local artists. Now, my Berlin trips book out within days of announcing them. That didn't happen overnight. It happened because I kept showing up.
Why Helsinki, Amsterdam, and Berlin
People always ask why these three cities specifically. The honest answer is that it wasn't some grand strategic plan. It started organically.
Helsinki is home. It's where I built my foundation, where my main studio is, where I feel most grounded. The Finnish tattoo scene is smaller but incredibly tight-knit. People here are thoughtful about their tattoos. They do their research, they come prepared, and they tend to want clean, intentional work. That suits my fineline and black-and-grey style perfectly.
Amsterdam came first as a guest city because I had a connection there — a fellow artist I'd met at a convention who invited me to work out of their studio for a week. That one week turned into a regular thing. Amsterdam's tattoo culture is vibrant and international. The city attracts people from all over Europe, so on any given day I might tattoo someone from Portugal, someone from Sweden, and someone from the Netherlands, all with completely different ideas and references. That diversity keeps me sharp.
Berlin happened because it felt inevitable. If you're a tattoo artist in Europe and you're not spending time in Berlin, you're missing something. The city has this raw, underground creative energy that seeps into everything. The tattoo scene there is massive and incredibly varied — from traditional to experimental to everything in between. Working in Berlin pushes me outside my usual aesthetic boundaries, and I always come back to Helsinki with fresh ideas.
How Each City's Tattoo Culture Is Different
What fascinates me most about working across these three cities is how different the tattoo culture is in each one, even though they're all in Europe and relatively close to each other.
In Helsinki, there's a strong appreciation for minimalism. Clients here often want smaller, more delicate pieces. Clean lines, negative space, thoughtful placement. There's a very Nordic sensibility to it — nothing excessive, everything with purpose. Consultations tend to be calm and measured. People take their time deciding.
Amsterdam is louder, in the best way. Clients come in with big ideas, bold concepts, and a willingness to experiment. There's a freedom in the Amsterdam tattoo scene that I think reflects the city's broader culture. People are less precious about rules and more interested in what feels right. I've done some of my most creative collaborative pieces with Amsterdam clients because they're open to my input in a way that feels genuinely exciting.
Berlin is its own beast entirely. The tattoo culture there is deeply embedded in the city's identity — its history of counterculture, its art scene, its nightlife. Clients in Berlin tend to want pieces that feel raw and authentic. There's less interest in perfection and more interest in expression. That's taught me a lot about loosening my grip on control and letting the art breathe.
The Creative Benefits of Fresh Environments
There's a concept in psychology called "cognitive flexibility" — the ability to shift your thinking when your environment changes. I didn't know the term when I started guest working, but I felt it immediately.
When you're in your home studio, surrounded by the same walls, the same music, the same faces, your brain settles into patterns. You develop a style and a process, and those become your default. That's not a bad thing — consistency is part of what makes a good tattoo artist. But if that's all you have, your work can start to feel repetitive.
Every time I walk into a different studio in a different city, something shifts. The new environment forces my brain to wake up. I notice things I wouldn't notice at home. I try approaches I wouldn't try in my usual setting. Sometimes it's as simple as seeing how another artist holds their machine or stretches the skin, and it sparks a new idea in my own process.
Travel doesn't just change where you work. It changes how you think about your work.
I genuinely believe that my best growth as an artist has come from these guest spots. Not from watching tutorials or studying flash sheets — from physically being in a new place, surrounded by different artists and different clients, and having to adapt in real time.
The Challenges Nobody Warns You About
I'd be lying if I said it was all creative breakthroughs and cultural enrichment. Guest working is exhausting in ways that are hard to explain until you've done it.
There's the physical toll of traveling with equipment. There's the mental strain of being away from your home base and your routine. There's the pressure of knowing that every guest spot is essentially an audition — you're representing yourself in someone else's space, and your work has to speak for itself immediately.
And then there's the loneliness. I love meeting new people in every city, but there are nights in Berlin or Amsterdam where I'm alone in an Airbnb, tired from a long day of tattooing, missing my friends and my own bed. That's real. It's part of the deal.
But every time I think about scaling back, I remember what my work felt like before I started doing this. I remember that creative autopilot. And I book the next trip.
What Comes Next
I don't know if I'll always work across three cities. Maybe it'll become four someday — I've been eyeing London and Barcelona. Maybe at some point I'll settle more permanently in one place. But right now, this rhythm of moving between Helsinki, Amsterdam, and Berlin feels right. Each city gives me something the others can't, and together they make me a better artist than I'd ever be staying in one place.
If you're a tattoo artist reading this and you've been thinking about doing your first guest spot — do it. Reach out to a studio you admire, show them your portfolio, and ask. The worst they can say is no. And if they say yes, you'll step into a version of yourself you didn't know was there.
And if you're someone who's been wanting to get tattooed by me in Amsterdam or Berlin — keep an eye on my Instagram. The next dates are coming soon.