Gold Winner Lydia K.

Silver Winner Amber Thorpe, Adept Tattoos

Bronze Winner Andy Ferrier, Utility

There’s a lot to consider when getting inked, after all it’s a purchase that’s going to stay with you forever. That’s why, when you find a great artist you follow her to the ends of the earth---or at least to the north end. After parting ways with Utility earlier this year, that’s exactly what Lydia K. realized. “It’s kind of funny, kind of underground, odd. I’m very busy,” she says. “It’s really nice to know I still have customers after leaving Utility. I don’t advertise and don’t have a website---word of mouth really works for me. Most are referrals and repeat customers. I don’t rely on walk-ins like other shops.” Lydia K. works by appointment in an independent, yet-to-be-named private studio on art from her favourite genre, American traditional, to geometric patterns and everything in between.