Neon pink signs sit in the windows of Heartbreaker Tattoo & Artist Co-op, which is a vivid space itself with bright pink and teal walls adorned with paintings, tie-dyed shirts and various other artistic creations.
Ilia Lyons and her husband, Aaron, opened Heartbreaker Tattoo & Artist Co-op in December and celebrated the venue's grand opening at the end of January.
Ilia Lyons says she long dreamed of opening a tie-dye shop, but also loves tattoos and decided to create a space that showcases an array of art from regional artists. Heartbreaker Tattoo & Artist Co-op, located in a corner space at 830 W. Sprague Ave., currently has five tattoo artists and one piercer on staff, and a total of 16 co-op members who sell their work in the shop.
"It's local artists and they are able to have their works for sale in this retail space," Lyons says. "They have the option to come in and work in the co-op and that affects their commission percentage, but I also have some artists who don't live in town and they just have their things here in the shop. It's very flexible, and I hope it gives everybody the opportunity to do what they want with their time here."
The co-op consists of artists who work across a range of media, such as painting, tie dye, beadwork and printmaking.
"We have [Emma Claire who] makes handmade journals," Lyons says. "She uses traditional bookbinding techniques, and she has a woodworking shop so she makes all the tools by hand that you need to make the books. It's all done by hand, and it just blows my mind."
Another of the shop's artists is Trevon Walton, an artist who creates abstract fluid paintings from blacklight reactive paint. Lyons says there are blacklights hung in the shop so that at night the whole space glows.
"We aren't picky about who we take," Lyons says about the co-op's members. "As long as we have physical space here in the shop and we can work together to fit it, we'll get it in here and we'll figure out how to work with you instead of it being exclusive in any way. We try to include everybody."
Heartbreaker Tattoo & Artist Co-op has already begun participating in Spokane's First Friday showcase, including hosting live art demonstrations.
OEnone Shore, one of the co-op's painters, held a live painting session during January's event. Her art, displayed on the studio's back wall, illustrates fantastical and whimsical scenes using bright colors.
"A lot of what I paint is fantasy landscapes, just somewhere that I envision in my head that is like the perfect place," Shore says. "Like, I want to hang out right there in this beautiful grassy hill sunset watching the dragons fly by. It's all just very wishful, whimsical and colorful fantasy."
Lyons says Heartbreaker's future First Friday events will continue to include live artist demonstrations, as well as some tattoo and piercing deals.
On Valentine's Day, Heartbreaker Tattoo & Artist Co-op is running a couples flash tattoo sale and co-op artist Iris Everbloom will be drawing live caricatures all day.
Lyons also says that a few of their artists, like mandala painter Jacqueline Schofield, are hoping to start teaching classes in the coming months.
Heartbreaker also sells physical art by some of its tattoo artists. Moreover, some co-op artists have even become interested in learning how to tattoo.
"One of the goals I had for the shop as well was to highlight and elevate tattooing as a legitimate art form," Lyons says. "We have this artist co-op and a lot of people consider that art but don't necessarily consider [tattooing] to be art and it fully is."
Overall, Lyons hopes that Heartbreaker Tattoo & Artists Co-op inspires people to be creative while also continuing to support the broader arts community in Spokane.
"We have just so many artists here in this town," she says. "Anything we can do to band together and have some fun is just great." ♦
Heartbreaker Tattoo & Artist Co-op • 830 W. Sprague Ave. • Open Wed-Sun 10 am-6 pm • heartbreakerspokane.com • 509-990-7234
