DEC 20 2024

Howdy fartners, I wanted to wish you happy holidays and a happy new year. Reminder that books are open and will remain open for new projects into the forseeable future. I don’t have too much of an update, just wanted to round the new year with an entry. Please remember to support small businesses during this time of year and get your loved ones some handmade and local gifts! And donate to our local cat sanctuaries, of course. I plan to have some new flash pieces in the next few months. Thank you for the great year and I hope to see you in the shop soon!

JULY 16 2024

Morning (it’s night). Books are open for new client requested work and I plan on keeping them open for the foreseeable future. The tattoo industry went through a big boom from 2020-2023 and it’s beginning to slow back down and return to how it was pre-covid. When things were crazy, a lot of tattooers started opening and closing books in order to handle the insane amount of requests we were getting. Now that it’s calming down you should see more tattooers booking indefinitely just like ye olde days.
This swing in demand has a lot to do with the economy. It’s tight for everyone and completely understandable if a tattoo isn’t in the budget right now. But if you can, please support your local small businesses! Since it is a little slow, now is actually a good time to book a tattoo and get in quickly. Byeeeee

MAY 21 2024

Howdy fartners. I should be opening books for new projects in the next few months. I’ll update here on the website and on my Instagram as well. I am hoping to have some new designs available, including some Lord of the Rings pieces and an assortment of hand-sized pieces.

After vending at the Bellevue Ren Faire, I’m looking at attending more local events to sell my prints and stickers in the future. I’ll post my events to my home page. I’m also looking into opening an online store for prints and stickers before the end of the year.

I’ve been feeling a little burnt out lately so I haven’t been very active on any socials and I’ve been taking some time off work. I won’t be around much this summer so I can get out and enjoy life.

That’s about it. See ya.

August 25 2023

Hey y’all. I just released 14 new available pieces to the Highlights section of my Instagram. These are all larger sized fairytale themed pieces custom drawn by myself that are available for booking and, as of now, can be started by October.

I know a lot of my designs lately have been bigger, I’m going to be working on some smaller single appointment sized Halloween themed pieces for the upcoming season. In order to offer a good amount of designs, some these these will probably be in various stages of rendering.

I also plan to do a Halloween flash event this year on October 31st (this is something I had planned for last year but I ended up getting sick and having to cancel). I will have more info coming out as we get into October, but basically I will have a sheet some non-exclusive one hour sized cat-themed Halloween pieces. I’ll be adding a self-scheduling app to this website for people to choose their design and a time spot. I’ll probably do this over two days (Oct 31st and Nov 1st).

If you come in to the shop you’ll find a new little piggy bank for donations to the Felius Cat Cafe and Rescue. Don’t feel pressured to donate but it’s there if you're able! Remember to support your local businesses and non-profits 💕

August 9 2023

Hey friends. Just sharing some info about my current booking situation.

I plan to open books one more time before the end of the year. I will only be taking on a small amount of projects that catch my fancy.

It might be noticeable that I am not opening books very often and am taking on less and less client requested work. I’m doing this so I can focus on designing as many pre-drawn “flash” designs as I can. If you’re looking to get some of my work, picking one of my available flash designs is an almost guaranteed way to get on my books.

My available designs (I’ve been struggling lately with how to refer to these pieces. Usually when people think of “flash” they think of something smaller, which a lot of my recent flash is not. I’ve mostly been referring to these larger flash designs as “available designs”, “available flash” “pre-drawn designs” etc.) are fully designed by myself and created completely from scratch. These pieces experiment a lot with space, shape, composition, and peculiar subject matters. My goal lately has been to come up with truly unique designs at a large scale that you will not see anywhere else in town.

I guess I wanted to explain what exactly I’m trying to do with my schedule, as I’ve had a lot of inquiries about why my books haven’t been open all year, as well as explain a little more about what exactly these large scale pieces are. I’ve kind of been caught off guard by how many people don’t know that I draw these things and that they’re not just photos I found on the internet.

Anyway, that’s really all I have right now. I regularly post designs and the design process to my Instagram stories if you’re interested.

February 5 2023

Hello everyone, Happy New Year (I’m very late to be making a new year post).

2022 was a successful year for me in a lot of ways, but specifically in regards to creating, selling, and tattooing so many original pre-drawn/flash designs, ranging from palm-sized to full backs. I would like to continue this success into 2023. My goal for this year is to continue focusing on pre-drawn designs, specifically bigger ones. I have quite a few full arms and back pieces designed/being designed that I would liked to get scheduled for the second half of this year. These bigger pieces, past and future, are passion projects and where my heart truly lies in my career. To me, these pieces show me at my best and embody my style and artistic expression more than anything else.

These pieces are difficult to sell. They are a very big commitment to ask of a client, monetarily, temporally, and physically. I’m truly grateful when someone gives me the opportunity to fully realize one of these projects. As I start to post these bigger pieces for sale, I would really appreciate any sharing to people you may know or places on the internet that would be interested in them, if not yourself.

As I focus more on these large pre-drawn pieces, I will be taking less and smaller client-requested work. I will still be opening books a few times throughout this year for these projects, but spots will be limited and projects selected by my preference.

My goals with this are to put more pieces distinct and recognizable to me as an artist out into the Omaha tattoo community, and to slim down my schedule. As counter-intuitive as that sounds, I believe a shorter schedule is more sustainable for both me and clients, and also allows me more free-time to continue making more pre-drawn pieces.

DEPOSITS

I would like to discuss deposits quick. I’m not changing any of my policies, rather solidifying some rules I’ve had in the past. When I do open my books, I state that deposits must be sent within 2 weeks of my response email to you in order to secure your appointment date and time. If I don’t receive it within this time, your penciled-in spot goes away and will not be saved for you.

I state this rule in my “books open” posts that I make to my Instagram stories and feed, but it has not been included formally on my website, submission form, or in any emails. I will be updating my deposit information in the aforementioned places for clarity.

I hate to update my policies and make it seem like I’m making rules up as I go along, so I wanted to be clear on why you will see these terms of service change. Cat’s Claw is a one-woman show; I handle all my own emails, scheduling, socials, designs, and tattoos. Because of that, I’m constantly working to provide the most clear and concise information about how I operate to weed out questions, response time, and potential confusion.

And to end this newsletter- I will be doing a free tattoo raffle in May for Cat’s Claw’s second birthday. It will be a like, share, comment thing on Instagram so keep a lookout for it.

Have a great day and I will see you soon.

October 12 2022

Hey friends. I hope you like the new website. I have a few updates to put out.

Books will be opening in November for custom work. I’m unsure at the moment of when and how many projects I plan to take.

I have flash that I will be dropping in the next week or so. A lot of these pieces are Halloween/autumn themed. Unfortunately I didn’t have the foresight to save space to get these scheduled around Halloween so they will be scheduled in December. I also have some bigger pieces like outer arms and back leg pieces. These will be posted on my Instagram stories.

I plan to have a small flash day on November 5th. I’ll have a sheet of smaller 1-hour pieces for people to choose from and a calendar available here on the website for people to book their appointment. There will be 8-10 availabilities. This is my attempt at doing something similar to a walk-in day but without having clients show up and wait hours in the shop. If it goes well I would like to do small flash days maybe once a month.

My username on Instagram is officially changed to @whitneytiedeman.

On the topic of Instagram- I’ve been feeling some major fatigue with social media lately. It’s a difficult feeling to navigate when you have a business that relies so heavily on things like Instagram. Over the next few months I may be a little absent from IG specifically and if you would like to contact me, email is probably the best option. I will still check IG a couple times a day from my computer but my ultimate goal is to cut my time on the app significantly and utilize my website more for news, flash drops, and communication. I may set up an email list for newsletters in the future.

September 12 2022

Hey everyone. I have a few updates.

I am pausing priority bookings for the time being. I have some injuries in my hands and I would like to limit my workload to try and get them to heal.

I expect books to be opening for custom projects in November. I plan to be taking less of these than I have in the past.

I will be having a flash drop in the next couple weeks, these will be posted on my Instagram. I book my flash at anytime; books do not have to be open. A lot of these will be Halloween themed and bigger pieces. Appointments will be booked in the beginning of 2023.

I’m working on some visual rebranding. My website will be changing quite a bit, and I may be changing some usernames and tags. I plan to redo my logos and incorporate some colors into everything. The shop’s name will not be changing.

If you haven’t already, please go turn on notifications for my Instagram page to stay up to date with my flash and books. I really appreciate any engagement on my IG as the platform tries to push Reels.

That’s about it. Thanks everyone!

June 3 2022

Hello friends. My books for autumn are now closed, my next available months will be winter and into 2023.

I plan to make myself available for priority booking as soon as I’m done answering emails. I have more info about that under my FAQ section under “scheduling”.

Thank you once again for the continued support and I look forward to working with y’all in the autumn!

June 1 2022

Hello everyone! Booking is currently open for new custom projects. These will be scheduled in August-October 2022. I plan to take 80-100 projects and will close books once I receive enough inquiries to fill these months.

Please fill out the BOOKING or FLASH form on this website respectively and keep an eye on your email for a response.

Check out the latest post on my Instagram for more information on how open books work.

Can’t wait to work with y’all!

May 23 2022

BOOKING-
Hey friends! I am announcing that my books will be opening June 1st. These bookings will be for autumn months, starting in August.

I don’t have any major changes about my booking process to announce. Just like before, I will be uploading information and instructions to my Instagram and here on my website when they are officially open.

I plan to have books open for a week, but if things get as busy as they were last time, I might have to cut it short. I plan to fill my schedule up until the end of the year; I would assume that will be about 90-100 projects.

CANCELLATIONS-
I want it to be said that I will be enforcing my 48 hour cancellation policy more strictly from now on. Please check out my FAQ for info on how my deposits and rescheduling works. Please be sure you are financially stable before putting down deposit money.

As a side note, my FAQ section has also been updated and organized a little better.

PRIORITY BOOKING-
I also want to preemptively announce that I will begin allowing priority booking AFTER this next round of booking. If you have been on my website in the last week, you may have seen a priority booking form up that is no longer there. I decided to postpone taking these kinds of projects for the moment, as I will be out of the shop for part of this week and unavailable to get anyone in quickly before open books.

I have posted information about priority booking to my FAQ under the “scheduling” section if you would like to know what it’s about.

SUNBURNS-
It’s getting warm out! Please be sure you are protecting all your tattoos with sunblock, especially if they are color. If you have an upcoming appointment in the summer, please be careful to not burn the area where you are getting tattooed. If you come in with a sunburn or any sort of peeling skin from a healed sunburn, I will reschedule you! Sunburns pose a high risk of infection and improper healing if tattooed.

February 8 2022

Hello everyone! First, I want to thank everyone so much. The amount of requests I have received in only two days was more than I was expecting all week. I feel very fortunate and humbled that I have so many people willing to wear my work.

Due to the overwhelming amount of emails I received, I have decided to shut my books down early for custom requests.

Everyone so far has had such great ideas, I’m having a hard time saying no to any of them. I was originally going to only schedule around 50 projects but I believe I’m going to aim for 70-80 now.

I will still take requests for predrawn designs at this time.

February 6 2022

Hello friends! Books are open. Please follow the instructions under the BOOKING or FLASH tab and fill out the form accordingly.

January 10 2022

Hello friends! Books will be opening February 6-12. Here’s some info on how it will go and some changes I’m making. I will make one more reminder post to Instagram the week prior, then post further instructions to Instagram the day of.

These new appointments will be scheduled for March-June 2022. I estimate taking 40-50 projects, but that might vary depending on the kinds of projects that are requested. I will not be able to book everyone. Based off of the amount of requests I received last time I opened books, I believe I will have a ratio of accepting 1 in 4 projects.

I will no longer be taking any watercolor or smooth black and gray realism projects. What you see on my Instagram and website are good representations of what I would like to continue doing. I will also not be taking anything small, as in a tattoo that could be done in 30 minutes or less.

Like in many industries right now, supply costs have been going up and demand is soaring, so I will be raising my prices in order to keep the business viable for myself.

After the week is over and books close, I will begin replying to all requests. It may take me a few weeks to finish all replies.

I will be uploading 40+ predrawn flash pieces the day books open, including some bigger pieces like sleeves and backs. I will prioritize scheduling these first, then fill up any leftover spots in my schedule with custom requests.

Below is a list of things I would also like to do that won’t be predrawn. I’ll be adding to this.

-Faberge eggs
-Your childhood home
-Pumpkins you (or a loved one) have carved
-Your favorite Christmas ornament
-Your (or a loved one’s) favorite nick-nack
-Your pet in a hat
-8-bit sprites
-Nintendo handhelds
-Gates of Argonath (one on each calf or shin)

ANYTHING FROM THE FOLLOWING-
-Ghibli
-Lord of the Rings
-Over the Garden Wall
-Gravity Falls
-Mandalorian / Book of Fett
-Rick and Morty
-Treasure Planet
-Pixar
-Nintendo

October 20 2021

Hello everyone! I have an announcement related to booking.

I will be opening my books for new projects Feb 6-12 2022. Watch my Instagram or this NEWS page around this time for further instructions.

These new appointments will be scheduled in March-June 2022.

I estimate on taking 40-50 projects.

I will post more details as we get closer to the beginning of the new year.

Have a good day!

October 5 2021

Hey everyone! I have some minor updates.

I now have a booking form that is specific to flash work. In the past I have let people book these through Instagram DMs, but I was running into the same problem I’ve had in the past with this- buried messages and profiles without proper names. I will now be directing everyone who would like to book a flash piece to this form so I can keep track of logistical stuff on my end.

I removed my black and gray realism portfolio from the website. I’ve recently made the decision that I’m no longer going to be taking any black and gray projects, specifically realism, in the foreseeable future. Lately I’ve been deeply considering what kind of work I enjoy doing and would like to concentrate on, and I decided realism is not something I’m interested in honing at the moment. My portfolios on here as well as what you see on my Instagram are good representations of the styles I will be focusing on. No existing appointments will be affected by this decision and I will continue to take the utmost care and consideration with the remaining black and gray realism pieces I have on the books.

I have previously said my books would be opening at the end of 2021, I have decided to push that back to the beginning of 2022. At the moment, my plan is to take on 20-30 custom projects for Spring 2022. I will also be posting a list of things I would enjoy doing as well as more flash in various stages of rendering. I most likely will not be taking on many small tattoos, and will be turning down any lettering, watercolor, and realism.

I look forward to 2022 and will be pushing to evolve my work more than ever. I can’t thank my supporters enough, thank you so much for being involved in my creative journey.

Best wishes!

August 25 2021

Hey everyone! I have a small website update I wanted to acknowledge-

I have decided to disable my booking form while my books are closed. I’m doing this to help alleviate any confusion clients may have on how my booking works.

If you sent me a booking form while my books were closed, I did not hold on to it. This is for the sake of organization and fairness to other clients who are waiting patiently for books to reopen. I tried to include a disclaimer on the booking page stating any forms sent out of season would not be kept, but I was still receiving them regularly enough to make me decide to just take the form down.

I open my books every 2-3 months and schedule around 2 months at a time. I announce here under this NEWS tab when they open and close and also post my booking status to my Instagram @wtieds. I open and close books for time management purposes (Cat’s Claw is a one man band) and to keep my schedule from getting booked so far in the future that it becomes unrealistic for most people to plan for. I hope this is understandable.

Best wishes!

August 3 2021

Hi everyone! Few updates-

My giveaway is now over and a winner has been selected.

My schedule is currently full until the end of 2021. I will not be booking anything new until the end of October, and those bookings will be placed in Feb-Mar 2022.

Kyle and I will be having our windows decaled by Tyler Wegener (@wagssignco) during the second week of August. We are super excited to have him!

I appreciate everyone's support, I could never do this without such amazing clients!

Best wishes!

July 13 2021

Hello everyone! I will make posts here whenever there are any major changes at Cat's Claw Tattoo. Here's some basic info-

I am appointment only. I don't necessarily have any set hours- I like to work around my clients' schedules.

My books are currently closed and I am not accepting any new projects. I plan to open them at the end of July. I will post here when they open.

I currently have a tattoo giveaway going on- check out my Instagram @wtieds for more information on it.

Best wishes!