A safe space for ink: Sacramento LGBTQ+ and women-owned tattoo shop promotes community
When Maricelia Dominguez started tattooing, she could count the number of how many women artists were working in Sacramento County on one hand.
Tattooing wasn’t always a safe space for women and LGBTQ+ folks in the area. Dominguez, who is lesbian and Mexican American, heard countless of stories of abuse during her apprenticeship.
She heard of clients being ignored and having their tattoo ideas changed without their consent.
“When I was apprenticing and starting my career, I had such an influence on women and queer people coming in,” Dominguez said.
They felt unsafe. So, Dominguez, a south Sacramento born and raised artist, had an idea: Les Tattoos. A tattoo shop led by LGBTQ+ artists.
Les Tattoos, located on 2729 U St. in Newton Booth, creates a safe space for women and LGBTQ+ people interested in a tattoo.
The tattoo industry is primarily white male dominated, with 75% of artists in the United States identifying as male, according to CareerExplorer. Only 25% are women, with data not including non-binary or gender non-conforming artists. About 6% of artists identify as LGBTQ+.
“As I was paving my own way, I wanted to make sure that I was not only advocating for myself, but I was a very big advocate for: ‘We, us, together,’” Dominguez said. “A lot of the principles that Les Tattoos runs by is that, hey, if I’m eating, you’re eating. We’re taking care of each other.”
The beginning and future of Les Tattoos
In 2019, Les Tattoos opened as a small pop-up in the corner of Geometry Salon on 1714 16th St. in downtown. Then, six months in, the pandemic hit. Businesses across the world shut down, including Les Tattoos. For Dominguez, operating as an independent contractor unable to file for unemployment, how was this dream going to survive?
But when there’s a will, there’s a way.
Dominguez found other means to fund her business. She created and sold a painting a day, earning anywhere from $40 to $60. When they weren’t in operation during the pandemic, they received community support, including from Geometry, who let them operate for free.
Les Tattoos was going to live. Dominguez called it her “aha moment.”
“There are people out here not only wanting to step into this space, but also people who are willing to support and advocate for this space too,” Dominguez said.
Today, Les Tattoo has been in operation for five years and is the largest LGBTQ+ led tattoo shop in the West Coast, according to Dominguez. They have a team of six artists, and are in the process of hiring two more, she added.
Dominguez said she wants Les Tattoos wants to serve as a model to show people that they should feel safe in the environment they’re receiving their tattoo.
“You deserve to be heard and seen and advocate for yourself with any tattoo that you get, to any shop that you go to,” Dominguez said.
This story was originally published December 21, 2024 at 5:00 AM.
CORRECTION: This story has been updated to correct when Maricelia Dominguez began tattooing and correctly identify artist Alex Clark in a photo caption.
