The studio

Two artists, one room, and a drawer full of studies.

Wye Ink is Nell Harrowby and Joss Marden, working a flight of stairs above Rutland Square. One chair, one appointment, and a door that stays shut while you are in it.

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Prices and process

Pressed studies on handmade paper — the kind of reference a botanical piece starts from.

How it came about

A shop front felt wrong, so we took the floor above it

Nell and Joss met doing guest spots in Sheffield and spent two years agreeing about the same thing: the worst part of a tattoo is the bit where you feel rushed. A high street studio with a flash wall and a bell on the door makes that unavoidable.

So in 2019 we took a room above Rutland Square instead, put one chair in it, and stopped taking walk-ins altogether. Everything since has followed from that single decision — the free consultations, the fortnight of drawing time, the kettle, the fact that nobody is ever waiting for your chair.

Opened 2019, above the square

Artists Two, one chair

Walk-ins None, by design

Consultations Free, thirty minutes

Sessions a day One, sometimes two

Flash designs Not a single one

Portfolios, side by side

Pick the hand, then the piece

Most people arrive knowing what they want on their skin and not who should draw it. These are the two of us, with recent work listed plainly: what it was, where it sat, which needle, and how long it took.

Fine-line botanical

Nell Harrowby

Nell draws plants the way a botanist would press them: stem, leaf, seed head, nothing straightened out to look prettier than it grew. Single needle throughout, so the line stays as thin on your arm as it is on the paper.

Recent pieces

Hellebore and seed head Inner forearm · 3RL · 4 hours

Cow parsley spray, five stems Ribs · 3RL · 5 hours

Sweet cicely, three sprigs Ankle · 3RL · 90 minutes

Rowan, leaf and berry Upper arm · 5RL · 3 hours

Best for: first tattoos, small botanical work, anything you want people to have to lean in to see.

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Blackwork

Joss Marden

Joss draws in weight rather than line: solid fills, carved pattern, and the shapes left empty between them. Every piece is drawn onto a photograph of your arm first, because a band that works flat rarely works round.

Recent pieces

Filled band, fern in negative space Bicep · 11RM · 6 hours

Blackwork moth, wings open Sternum · 9RM and 23RM · 5 hours

Chevron cuff, solid Wrist · 7RM · 2 hours

Half sleeve, pattern drawn to the arm Two sessions · 11 hours total

Best for: bold work, cover-ups we have seen in person, and anyone who wants one strong shape rather than ten small ones.

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One drawing, one person

Nothing here is drawn twice. If you see a piece you like, we will draw you a different one that sits the same way.

What the room is like

Up one flight, and then it is just quiet

A chair by the window, a kettle that gets used more than the till, and a door that stays shut for the length of your appointment.

— One appointment at a time, so the room is never shared with a stranger.

— Tea, water and biscuits before we start — eating first makes a long session easier.

— Breaks whenever you ask, and a stop whenever you need one. Unfinished is fine.

— One flight of stairs and no lift, which we would rather tell you now than on the day.

— Everything single-use, opened in front of you, and we are happy to talk you through it.

Being straight with you

Things we do not do

Not rules for their own sake — every one of these exists because saying yes to it has gone badly for somebody.

— No walk-ins, and no flash wall to pick from on the day.

— We will not copy another artist's drawing. Bring it as a reference and we will draw you your own.

— No tattooing anyone under eighteen. Photo ID every time, no exceptions, no arguments.

— Hands, throats and faces are not first tattoos. Ask us again when you have a few.

— No tattooing anyone who has been drinking, and no tattooing over a sunburn.

— Cover-ups only after we have seen the piece in person — photographs lie about ink density.

Come and have a cup of tea about it

Thirty minutes, free, no obligation to book anything at the end of it. Bring the idea, however half-formed.

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Read the aftercare first