As a collective we are committed to anti-capitalism, meaning no one person owns the

business and profits off the labor of others. Responsibility for the business is distributed

across the collective and decisions are made on a collective basis rather than by any one

person. Owners bear slightly more financial responsibility— if for some reason the

business can’t pay rent, owners will legally have to pay the difference, but they don’t

have any more decision making power in the day to day running of the collective. Each

artist pays a set percentage to the shop rather than booth rent and that money goes to

pay for rent, supplies, and shop costs. There are no profits; any extra money is invested

back into the collective or donated to mutual aid. Being part of the collective means

committing to being in consistent relationship with the other collective members and

running the business for the good of all of us rather than for profits.

Business ownership is not split evenly among collective members. There are currently

four owners, and the Native owner holds 50% of the shares with the other 50% split

between the three white owners. Apprentices and more recently hired artists have the

option to buy in as owners after spending a set amount of time with us and we aim to

keep the business ownership in majority BIPOC hands as more owners join.

We are not all Native. There are three Native artists who work here: Nipinet is Michif and

Anishinaabe, a descendant of the Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa and an enrolled

citizen of the Manitoba Métis Federation; Lucia is Anishinaabe, an enrolled member of

the Bad River Band of Lake Superior Chippewa; and Caitlin is Anishinaabe and Oneida,

an enrolled member of the Bad River Band of Lake Superior Chippewa and a descendant

of the Oneida Nation of Wisconsin. Of our non-native members, Harlowe is Togolese and

Glory is Black. Bear, Mar, and Ari are white.

Each artist offers 1-2 free tattoo slots per month for BIPOC community members. BIPOC slots are available not based on need, but rather on a desire to make tattooing more accessible and give back to the community as a gesture of solidarity or as reparations, depending on the artist. Free tattoo slots account for up to 3-4 hours of tattoo time. To apply for a free tattoo slot, follow your chosen artist’s standard booking practice. Please use the how to book link below for more information about general booking practices of our artists.

Red Clover’s hourly rates are a sliding scale based on the standard prices of artists around the Wisconsin area. It is meant to make up for the high cost of living in Madison while still keeping tattoos affordable for clients. Each artist will quote you an hourly range and, at the end of your session, offer you a range of prices to choose from.

More generally, sliding scale is offered for people facing discrimination due to social factors such as race, gender/GNB, class, disability, etc. as a means to try and provide access to a positive, affirming tattoo experience to a broader range of clients and budgets. Sliding scale offers artists the ability to keep our work inclusive and accessible to the people while allowing us the means to earn a living wage. The goal of the scale is to acknowledge and work to circumvent the basic fact that personal truths such as one’s skin, gender, disability, family economic status, etc. can and do act as access barriers to some basic life necessities, experiences, and thus overall healing and health.

Where you fall on the sliding scale is based on the honor system and for you to determine, but here is a basic set of guidelines:

Does my race, caste, class, gender/GNB, income level, education level, physical or mental disability status limit or hinder my access to employment, money, stable housing, child care, health care, utilities, food security, physical safety, family or community support?

Am I a home/property owner?

Am I a beneficiary of passive income from the labor of people I rent to or employees who work under me? (ex: I am a landlord or for-profit business owner)

Have I received a free college education? (ex: schooling expenses were purchased by my parents or a relative)

Do I own multiple marketable or liquid assets? (ex: boat, car, motorcycle, house, vacation house)

Am I able to receive monetary support from close relatives, or am I the beneficiary of a trust fund, college fund, or otherwise related fund not of my labor (ex: I do not need to crowdsource or rely on mutual aid should I face a financial emergency)

Am I at an increased risk or under threat of public violence, at an increased risk or under threat of police interaction, court processes, jail, or psychiatric imprisonment due to one or more of the aforementioned social factors?

Am I at risk of losing my autonomy or rights via anti-human legislation?

This is not an exhaustive list, so please use your own judgment to decide.

For proper sanitation, tattooing requires either the use of an autoclave or a number of disposable products. Due to the amount of energy associated with autoclave usage, we are a fully disposable shop. Whenever possible, we make a conscious effort to source biodegradable and/or compostable versions of these items. The majority of our disposable tattoo supplies are from Good Judy Eco Supply.

The current biodegradable products we use are:

Biodegradable nitrile gloves

Compostable ink caps

Compostable wheat razors

Biodegradable cord co

All of the garbage bags we use are made from recycled plastic as well, and we filter our own distilled water to help reduce the amount of plastic waste associated with bottled water.

The main entrance to the building is on Brearly Street. There is a second entrance in the parking lot on the side closer to Willy. There are no steps to get into the building at either entrance. RCTC does not have its own entrance, and you will need to walk down a hallway to find our studio. There are no stairs here, either, as the entire building is on street level. Both doors to the outside have accessible push buttons for those with mobility aids.

Suite number and further information on how to get in will be provided before your appointment. We are a private studio and ask that you do not come if you do not have an appointment.

Bathrooms:

There are two sets of bathrooms that are shared with the entire building. Each of the 4 bathrooms has an ADA accessible stall. While bathrooms have gendered labels (part of building code), both us and the building staff encourage everyone to use whichever bathroom is preferred. Doors into the bathroom are not automatic. Red Clover still will have a stock of period products in the shop for those who need them, just ask!

Parking:

The parking lot is primarily for employees, with 4 visitor spaces towards the entry driveway. If available you are welcome to use these spaces! We also have two parking passes that we will have available for those who need a shorter walk. Please make arrangements with your artist if you are requesting a parking pass in advance, so we can guarantee we have one for you the day of your appointment. There is usually plenty of street parking available on Main street and Brearly as well. The closest paid parking garage is the S Livingston St garage.

Bus routes:

The closest bus stop is S Ingersoll & E Washington which can be accessed through the A and B lines. Stop numbers are 1650 for west bound trips and 1199 for east bound trips.

The next closest stop taking the C line bus is at Jenifer & S Brearly. Stop numbers are 1190 for west bound trips and 1959 for east bound trips.

In Shop info:

The space for Red Clover itself has the shop’s name on the door. The space has a double set of doors, with the door on the right side having a handle and pulls outward into the hallway. The left side door has no handle but can be opened for easier entry into the space. There are no steps into the space or inside the shop as well.

Masks

We are still requiring everyone to wear masks inside the shop space. As this is a multi business building, masks can not be required in the building hallways/bathrooms/other businesses in the space. Please bring a mask with you if at all possible, though we will have a minimal stash of masks available.

Testing

We ask that you take a rapid COVID test in the 24 hours before your appointment and do not come in if it is positive. COVID is often asymptomatic and you may not be aware that you are sick.

Rescheduling

Each artist has slightly different policies for handling reschedules, but our general rule is if you are sick, reschedule your appointment. Some of our artists and potentially the other clients in the space are disabled or immunocompromised and what may be an easy cold for you could be devastating to someone else. Our artists will also reschedule with you if they are sick or not feeling well for any reason.

Space considerations

We have multiple air filters running throughout the shop at all times, and the sanitizer we use is hospital-grade.

The most common allergens that we use and the substitutions we can provide are as follows:

Witch hazel is used for skin prep, but we can replace it with isopropyl alcohol. It is also an ingredient in green soap, so if you are allergic let us know and w e can replace green soap with castile soap.

Lanolin is found in A&D ointment, and we can substitute other ointments for you if necessary. Talk to your artist!

Adhesives are found in our saniderm & recoverderm bandages. We can always use a plastic wrap or meat pack bandage for you instead.

We do not use latex in this shop.

Some artists in the shop will burn incense, sage, and other plants as a part of their practices. If you have allergies or scent sensitives let your individual artist know when you are scheduling so that they are able to make the appropriate space accommodations for you.

All of the ink used at RCTC is vegan and made by reputable manufacturers. Tattoo ink ingredients are proprietary, so a complete ingredients list cannot be provided. However, material safety data sheets for these products are available online.

The brands of ink RCTC uses are:

● World Famous

● Solid (white and colors)

● Eternal

● Dynamic black

● Empire gray wash

● Intenze

Recovery Dermashield

Saniderm

The short answer is yes, the long answer is that it depends. Each individual artist in the shop has slightly different guest policies, please see your individual artist’s policies on bringing guests with you to your appointment. Communication is key, so if you want to bring someone with you just shoot your artist a message and ask.

Red Clover loves hosting guest artists! We have a dedicated guest station and provide all

disposable supplies and inks. Our shop cut for guest artists is sliding scale and we can

provide housing accommodations if needed. Guest artists need to abide by our covid

policies.

If you’re interested in guesting, send us an email at

admin@redclovertattoocollective.com