'Pretty and more attractive to women': Artist opening a different kind of tattoo studio in Elgin

A new woman-owned tattoo studio opening soon in Elgin hopes to connect people to meaningful art, and not just on their bodies.

Amy Porter will open Alchemy Tattoo & Gallery at 107 E. Highland Ave. sometime in late March or early April. The space features an art gallery and will be different from what you might expect in a stereotypical tattoo studio.

“I wanted to create a space that was pretty and more attractive to women,” Porter said. “I feel like some studios can be a little intimidating.”

Porter is still working on the studio, which will open on the second floor of a 137-year-old building that also houses Red Poppy Bistro.

Last week, Porter was painting a mural in the lobby that leads to an exposed brick stairwell. That takes clients to a reception area where they can sip coffee or tea and browse the gallery, allowing them to relax before what can be a lengthy tattoo session.

Alchemy will have four tattoo artists, including Porter. Each artist will have a private room in which to work, unlike the open floor plan that many tattoo studios employ.

“I feel like most studios I've stepped into, there's not that sense of comfort,” Porter said. “People are, like, half-naked getting tattooed, and it's just not very inviting.”

Porter said having a private space for the client and artist will make the process more comfortable for both.

“Tattoos can be very personal and very private,” she said. “Sometimes getting tattooed is very cathartic for them. Some people getting memorial tattoos may cry, so it gives them privacy.

“That gives them a more immersive experience that really allows for that healing.”

Porter, 34, moved to Elgin in 2010 after growing up in Alsip.

“I always wanted to do something with art, but finding the direction I want to go has always been difficult,” she said.

Porter studied graphic design at Elgin Community College, ultimately finding it was not for her.

She moved to Elgin Artspace Lofts in 2014, which offers live/work apartments for artists while pursuing her painting career and getting into the Elgin art scene. She found Elgin to be very inviting.

“I did a few shows in Chicago, but I didn't like the crowd necessarily,” she said. “Out here, everyone is just so easy to get along with and so supporting and encouraging. There's a true sense of community that I've always wanted.”

Porter always had an interest in tattoos. She started doing some live painting shows at Funky Rooster Tattoo and Art Gallery in downtown Elgin, which led to an apprenticeship there in 2015.

After a couple of years there, Porter spent the next few years working at other studios and doing some tattoo conventions before deciding she was ready to open her own studio. She opened a small, one-room studio in Arlington Heights in 2020.

While she had some artwork on the wall, the new studio in Elgin allows her to “have a real gallery and give other artists opportunities like I was given.”

The plan initially is to have four gallery shows a year featuring local artists and to always have work on display for her clients to enjoy.

Porter said the path that led her from painting to tattooing has been emotionally rewarding.

“I didn't know that I would be able to connect with people in such a way through my art,” she said. “This is really the best artistic experience that I've ever had, because when I sell a painting, I don't have these deep conversations about what the art means to them. When I do a tattoo for someone, they come back and tell me how the tattoo has impacted them.”

“I really do create a bond with these people,” she said, “and it's beautiful.”