The planner's quick reference.
Everything you need to scope, sell, and execute a live tattoo activation. Send this page to your client, your venue, or your boss. Save it for the deck.
The numbers your producer will ask about first
Standard activation footprint. We scale up or down based on guest count, design complexity, and timeline.
50–500
Sweet spot per artist station is 60–80 tattoos over a 4-hour event. Larger formats scale with crew.
4 people
1 artist, 1 assistant, 1 check-in host, 1 event coordinator. The standard unit. Add stations for scale.
10×10 ft
Minimum per station. Needs a handwashing sink or restroom within 50 ft. We adapt to tighter venues.
1–2 hours
Load-in, sterile station setup, and a full rehearsal before doors. Tear-down takes about 45 minutes.
4-hr min
Standard event window. Shorter windows priced accordingly. We staff for the full window plus setup.
2–3 weeks
Standard activations. Large or permitted events need 30–60 days for health department filing.
Turn-key, but read it anyway
Everything in the crew, the gear, the paperwork, and the liability. If your venue or legal team asks, here's the list.
Licensed, BBP-certified artists
Every artist is Bloodborne Pathogen trained, holds an active state license, and is event-trained. We do not send solo artists. The standard 4-person crew covers one station; we scale by adding stations.
All equipment, single-use disposables
Chairs, tables, lighting, machines, power, sterile barriers, ink, and sharps disposal. 100% single-use consumables. No autoclaved tubes. We load in, run the activation, and remove every piece of biohazard waste with us.
Waivers, COIs, permitting
Digital waiver system with ID verification and health screening. Custom COI naming your company, the host, and the venue as additional insureds. Full health-department permitting for cities that require it.
On-site coordinator, your single point of contact
One coordinator manages load-in, the queue, the venue interface, and the run-of-show. They work directly with your producer or event lead. You're never chasing four phone numbers.
The packet to send to your venue and legal
Everything below is downloadable. Send it ahead of the call. Most planners attach these to the venue walkthrough notes.
Sample Contract
Standard activation agreement with payment terms, deliverables, and cancellation terms. Mark up and send back.
COI Request Form
The form your venue's insurance team will ask for. Fill in the additional-insured names and send it to us.
Sample Waiver
Digital waiver text — ID upload, health screening, consent language. Review for any venue-specific changes.
Insurance Certificate
Sample COI: $2M per occurrence, $4M general aggregate, with additional-insured language. We issue yours on booking.
Run-of-Show Template
Hour-by-hour schedule template: load-in, setup, doors, peak, wind-down, tear-down. Adapt to your event.
Payment Terms
50% deposit on signing, 50% on event day. ACH, wire, or card. Net-30 available for agencies on retainer.
Common formats agencies bring us in for
If any of these sound like the brief in your inbox, we're probably the right call.
Agency holiday party, 200 guests, 4-hour window
Publisher brand activation, 150 guests, 3-hour window
Brand anniversary or launch party, 300+ guests
Book a 30-min call or send the brief.
If you have a date, a guest count, and a city, we can scope it on the call. If you have a deck, send it to hello@tattoopopups.com and we’ll come back with a proposal within 24 hours.