Tattoo Booking & Project Inquiry

1. Describe the Tattoo Project
What do you want tattooed?
What should itrepresent?
New tattoo work, continuation, cover-up, restoration or larger staged tattoo project?
2. Exact Tattoo Placement
Specify:

• left/right;

• front/back;

• inner/outer;

• start point;

• end point;

• wraparound coverage.
   

3. Upload Clear Photographs
Natural daylight.
No filters.
Photographs taken by another person where possible.
Show:

• full body area;

• relevant front/side/rear views;

• existing tattoos;

• scars;

• stretch marks;

• moles;

• skin texture.

4. Measurements
Request:

• length;

• width;

• height;

• circumference where applicable. wrist,mid-forearm-elbow,bicep-tricep,ankle,calf,knee,thigh

Explain your masking-tape method.
 
Place masking tape directly along the intended tattoo boundary. Mark each endpoint, remove the tape, lay it flat on a table and measure it with a ruler or measuring tape.
This gives you actual skin-surface dimensions rather than guesses from a photograph.

5. Culture / Heritage
 
“Polynesian” or “tribal” is not one culture.
Ask which specific Polynesian or Pacific Island culture:
Tonga, Samoa, Hawai‘i, Māori/Aotearoa, Fiji, Marquesas Nuku Hiva, Fatu Hiva, Hiva Oa, Hawai'i, Niue, Uvea-mo-Futuna, Tokelau, Tuvalu, Rapanui-Easter Island, Tahiti, Micronesia; FSM Yap, Pohnpei, Kosrae, Chuuk, Marshall Islands, Palau , CNMI Saipan, Rota Island, Guam Chamorro, Melanesia; Papua New Guinea, West Papua, Solomon Islands Tikopia, Anuta, , Vanuatu, Kanak,, etc.
For Tongans:
Requirements; Kolo Tupu‘anga (town/village origin of Tongan parents),  Motu Tupu‘anga ( island origin of Tongan grandparents)  kainga-family names grandparental origins Ha‘a where known.

6. Client Story
Family, migration, genealogy, survival, children, ancestors, achievement, service, responsibility, etc.
7. Visual References
References communicate direction.
They are not instructions to copy another artist's tattoo.

8. Budget
 A realistic tattoo budget is required because it helps me determine the appropriate project scale, coverage, session structure and design direction.
Please state whether your budget is for:
one session
one full day
or
the complete project.

9. Pricing Guide  - General Tattoo Budget Ranges
$400–$800+
Small custom tattoo / approximately 2 – 4 inches / foundation cultural tattoo
$800–$1,500+
Palm-sized tattoo / approximately 4 – 6 inches / small lifetime-art composition
$1,500–$3,500+
Medium cultural tattoo / archive-based composition / sleeve-foundation starter
$3,500–$5,000+
Partial sleeve / approximately 3/4 sleeve / larger archive-based composition
$5,000–$8,500+
Full-sleeve foundation / chest panel / large leg section / back section / torso section
$8,500–$10,000+
Heavy-detail large-scale cultural tattoo / multi-session project
$10,000–$15,000+
Large-scale Legacy Archive Project / art collector / fine-art cultural composition
$15,000–$20,000+
Private Legacy Commission / executive / director / producer / professional athlete / art collector / private high-end project
$20,000+
Major body project / private travel / long-term collector or legacy commission
 These figures are planning ranges, not guaranteed fixed project prices.

 
7. Hourly & Project Rates
Unless another rate is stated on the written booking confirmation or invoice:
Standard Professional Rate — $400/hour
Elite Project Rate — $500–$600/hour
Super-Elite / Private Commission — $750/hour
 
 
Private Class, 1st Class, Business Class; Service Tattoo Clients, Celebrity, Executives, high profile clients, major commercial, licensing, private-travel and special art collector engagements may be negotiated individually.
The specific rate stated on the Client's invoice or booking confirmation controls.
 
Estimates Are Not Fixed Completion Prices
 
Unless an invoice expressly states “FIXED PROJECT PRICE,” a budget, quote, day rate or time estimate is not a guarantee that the entire tattoo will be completed within that amount or session.
Large tattoos may require multiple separately billable tattoo procedures.
Time can be affected by:

• body anatomy;

• total surface area;

• design complexity;

• cover-up requirements;

• scar tissue;

• stretch marks;

• skin condition;

• swelling;

• bleeding;

• movement;

• pain tolerance;

• placement difficulty;

• breaks;

• design changes; and

• skin response.

9. Half-Day & Full-Day Sessions
Half-Day Session
 
Approximately 4 hours of reserved appointment time.
Full-Day Session
 
Approximately 8 hours of reserved appointment time.
Reserved time may include:
consultation, measurements, shaving, preparation, stencil/freehand mapping, placement adjustment, tattooing, necessary breaks, cleaning, photography/documentation, dressing/wrapping and aftercare.
 
A full-day appointment does not guarantee eight uninterrupted hours of active needle-on-skin tattooing.
Skin response, swelling, bleeding, safety, Client tolerance and Artist judgment determine how long active tattooing can responsibly continue.

10. Booking Retainer — Normally 30%
This is the central commercial rule.
 A booking retainer ordinarily equal to 30% of the quoted tattoo-service investment is required to reserve appointment time unless the invoice or written booking confirmation states another amount.
The booking retainer is applied toward the tattoo-service balance.
The booking retainer is not the same thing as:

• consultation fee;

• studio/booth/facility fee;

• travel expense payment;

• airfare;

• accommodation;

• payment-processing cost;

• financing cost; or

• other separately disclosed third-party expenses.

What the Retainer Authorizes
It may authorize:

• scheduling;

• administration;

• intake review;

• photo review;

• measurement review;

• cultural research;

• archive research;

• heritage research;

• design development;

• body-flow planning; and

• appointment preparation.

 
As professional work is actually performed, the corresponding portion of the retainer becomes earned.
Client-specific third-party expenses become earned when purchased, reserved or otherwise nonrecoverable, subject to applicable law.

11. Consultation Fee vs. Booking Retainer
Consultation fees and booking retainers are separate charges unless expressly stated otherwise.
When offered in writing, all or part of a paid consultation fee may be credited toward the Client's booking retainer if the Client books within the stated eligibility period.

12. No Payment = No Confirmed Appointment
Submitting an inquiry, discussing potential dates, receiving a quote, having a consultation or seeing an open date on the Artist's calendar does not reserve an appointment.
An appointment becomes confirmed only after all required booking amounts have been received and written confirmation has been issued.
Depending on location, confirmation may require:
Booking Retainer
+ Facility Fee
+ Travel Expense Payment
+ applicable payment-processing or financing costs
No required payment = No confirmed appointment.

13. Los Angeles — Client Travels to Artist
King ‘Afa is based in the Los Angeles area.
When a Client chooses to travel to Los Angeles to receive tattoo services, the Client is responsible for the Client's personal travel expenses unless expressly agreed otherwise in writing.
These may include:

• round-trip airfare;

• LAX transportation;

• rideshare/taxi/rental vehicle;

• Los Angeles traffic and travel time;

• lodging;

• meals;

• parking;

• baggage; and

• other personal travel expenses.

 
Client travel expenses are separate from the tattoo-service charge and do not reduce the tattoo price.
 
14. Lakimii Tattoo — West Los Angeles
Half-Day
Approximately 4-hour reserved appointment:
$300 facility / booth fee per tattoo session
Full-Day
Approximately 8-hour reserved appointment:
30% of the tattoo-service charge for that session
Example:
Tattoo service: $4,000
Lakimii 30% facility fee: $1,200
Total before other applicable charges: $5,200
 
The Lakimii Tattoo facility fee is separate from the tattoo-service balance and booking retainer unless expressly included in writing.
 
15. San Jose / Bay Area — Unlimited Ink Tattoo

Unlimited Ink Tattoo - Facility Fee 
$100 per booked tattoo session/day
Artist Travel to San Jose
San Jose is a travel appointment for King ‘Afa.
Travel expenses may include:

• round-trip airfare from LAX to SJC or SFO;

• transportation from Artist's home/base to LAX;

• transportation from SJC or SFO to San Jose;

• transportation to and from Unlimited Ink Tattoo;

• return transportation to the airport;

• hotel/accommodation;

• checked tattoo-equipment baggage;

• airline baggage charges;

• local transportation;

• meals where included;

• supplies purchased for the destination; and

• other reasonable trip-specific costs.

Shared Travel Expenses
 
When several Clients are scheduled during the same San Jose/Bay Area travel period, shared Artist travel expenses may be reasonably allocated among the confirmed Client bookings.
Each Client's applicable amount will be disclosed before payment.
These travel amounts are separate from the tattoo-service fee unless expressly bundled in writing.
 
16. Why San Jose and Los Angeles Cost Differently
Use this comparison.
Los Angeles
Client travels to Artist.
Client pays Client's: airfare + transportation + hotel + meals + parking + personal travel expenses.
San Jose
Artist travels toward Client.
 
The San Jose bookings must support Artist's:
airfare + ground transport + accommodation + professional equipment movement + studio costs + travel logistics.
 
The location price difference is based upon actual service-delivery logistics, not an arbitrary surcharge.


10. Consultation
Initial screening
Up to approximately 10 minutes.
Professional consultation
$150 / 30 minutes
$300 / 60 minutes
Detailed professional planning begins through the formal consultation/booking process.

11. Location Choice

Where would you like to be tattooed?
☐ Los Angeles / West LA
☐ San Jose / Bay Area
☐ Salt Lake City / Utah
☐ Hawai‘i
☐ Other travel destination
☐ I am willing to travel to Los Angeles
This will immediately clarify the economics.

12. LOS ANGELES OPTION
 
If you travel to Los Angeles, you are responsible for your own airfare, hotel, meals, transportation, airport transfers, parking and personal travel expenses.
Those expenses are separate from my tattoo-service fee.

Lakimii Tattoo Fees
Half day / approximately 4 hours: $300 facility fee per day
Full day / approximately 8-hour reserved appointment: 30% facility fee based on that session's tattoo-service charge.

13. SAN JOSE OPTION
Unlimited Ink Tattoo
$100 booth/facility fee per booked tattoo day/sessions
San Jose is a travel appointment for me.
Confirmed San Jose bookings may share the actual cost of:
LAX–SJC/SFO round-trip airfare, transportation to/from LAX, Bay Area airport/studio transport, accommodation, checked professional equipment, baggage and other disclosed travel logistics.

14. SALT LAKE CITY OPTION
 
Salt Lake City appointments may include an allocated studio/facility expense based upon the Fala-O-NiuVakai.com Tattoo  guest-studio schedule.
The current studio workspace cost to Artist is $350 per reserved week.
Your applicable amount will be disclosed before payment.

15. BOOKING RETAINER

30% Booking Retainer Required
 
The booking retainer is normally 30% of the quoted tattoo-service investment.
It is applied toward the tattoo-service balance.

Facility fees and travel expenses are separate unless expressly included on the invoice.

16. APPOINTMENT CONFIRMATION
Availability does not equal confirmation.
Your appointment is confirmed only after:

1. your project has been accepted;

2. the required booking amount has been received; and

3. written confirmation has been issued.

No required payment = No confirmed appointment.

17. FINANCING
Financing May Be Available
Klarna, Affirm, Afterpay or other approved providers may be available for eligible purchases.
 
Approval, APR, payment schedule, term, fees and eligibility are determined by the financing provider.
Review the provider's final terms before accepting financing.
Financing does not change the Studio's booking, facility, travel or cancellation policies.

What you are paying for.

Tattooing is a professional service, not a retail product. Your investment covers consultation, cultural research, design development, body measurement and placement mapping, sterile setup, and my execution time, pacing, and professional judgment.