BOBIE-LEE DIXON
(bobie-lee.dixon@guardian.co.tt)
Tattoos may not be your thing—after all, they're not actually painless, and they're also costly and permanent. But you might like how they look and with the Carnival season upon us, embellishing the skin is not an anomaly.
Multi-skilled artistic designer Daychelle Morris began providing the customised temporary body branding service called Body Art by Daychelle.
Since 2012, the year she became a certified glitter tattoo artist, her clientele has grown extensively to include mas bands, band launches, graduations, bachelorette parties, corporate events, theme-styled fetes and even people who just wish to disguise unsightly scars from time to time.
With an array of designs to choose from, those who patronise Morris's service can get “glammed” up in glitter-based to plain pigment patterns. For the little more adventurous, she offers UV light reflective and holographic tattoos. And men are not left out as they enjoy tribal-type tattoos, which Morris said are difficult to distinguish from the real thing. Depending on the type of tattoo chosen, she revealed, it could last up to two weeks.
But art and accentuating beauty comes naturally for Morris, an established events coordinator, who left her job in the finance sector years ago to start a successful balloon décor business. She subsequently ventured into edible arrangements. “I have always had a flair for creative things. Anything I could turn into art, I would,” she says.
Asked how safe were these temporary tattoos, Morris said all materials are dermatologist tested and safe to use on human skin.
“We use cosmetic grade A glitter/pigments that are non-hypoallergenic and safe. We follow industry standards and best practices when it comes to application. We have done many events with children with no complaints," she says.
Morris said one of her fondest memories since providing the service was in 2013 when she was still very much “fresh” in the art but was endorsed by Oriana Sabga at Diva Spa Salon, for an event in commemoration of International Happiness Day.
“I have an amazing clientele, everyone is very awesome. But I regard that experience as one of my fondest because it was actually my first major event since becoming certified.”
Morris is not “stingy” about her craft though, with every new and successful venture, she tries to give back through what she calls “teaching another self-sustainability”. She does this through full and part-time courses which she provides.
“Working a nine to five was not cutting it for me, no matter how much I worked, the money was never enough to pay all the bills. I feel like so many people are trapped in the unfortunate cycle of 'work until you die'. They never really get to live or enjoy life and more importantly, they never get to use their gifts and talents and make them work for them.
"So no matter how busy it gets for me, I make the time to teach others what I know. Maybe they'd figure out what they really want to do later in life, but for now, I'm just giving them another avenue to gain more revenue and a chance at becoming self-sufficient. The world is big and there are endless possibilities when you have a skill.”
See more via the Facebook page Body Art by Daychelle