Today we’d like to introduce you to Hayley Moran.
Hi Hayley, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstories.
Here I am 20+ years into my professional tattooing career. I remember when I had the desire to become a tattoo artist, it was when my parents took me to our city’s first tattoo convention; The Inkdependence Bash, in 1995. I still have the flyer. When I realized you could have a career in an artistic endeavor that felt like THAT, I knew where I was going to set my focus. I was timid and still confident. My parents were going to sign for me to get my first tattoo – I was almost 15. So there I was, about to sit down in a chair – I had gotten the stencil put on and everything- and then the other guy told this guy to ask me how old I was. I said I was 16 – thinking that was gonna be fine. The legal age for getting a tattoo in North Carolina was and still is 18 years old. I couldn’t wait to be old enough- and looking around, I couldn’t help but notice tattoo artists were pretty much all guys at that time.
I made my way as an artist and entrepreneurial teen, doing portraits of people’s loved ones- children and pets, making hemp jewelry and practicing Mendhi body art; freehand designs with henna. Henna was the freelance gig that helped me land my first job at the tattoo studio where I started my apprenticeship. Mendhi was its own kind of messy form of custom life-styling and personal adornment. This ritual practice of decorating the body was intriguing from day one. In my first on-site job, I had forgotten all of my design books, so I freehanded everything. I went on to pursue my own booths at a few craft fairs and more interestingly worked for hire by East Coast Entertainment. They set me up for various events, anywhere from Chocolate Body Painting at The Ascot Inn to Henna Body Art in the Camel tent at Blockbuster Pavilion, to a private showing of The Dead Sea Scrolls at Discovery Place.
I got my first tattoo in my kitchen with my parent’s consent after our day of family fun at the Convention. Got tattooed the second time in England on an exchange trip during my senior year in high school. I needed the first one covered up and that one fixed when I was actually old enough to go get it done right. After one tattoo re-work that included an art conversation and another trip to England post-graduation, I started doing henna at the top tattoo studio here, Immortal Images in 1999. Back then, I strived to one day step into those “big boy shoes” as I watched my fellows pursue tattoo art as real professionals and create a life – and a good living for themselves – doing what they loved in an alternative industry that was nowhere close to mainstream at that time.
The tattoo industry has always been full of wild beasts of burden, patriarchal posturing, stern judgments, boasting, and dudes with bad attitudes. Today, I thrive by creating high-quality Custom Tattoo Art in what I believe to be the comfiest swanky joints you could ever get tattooed in. Understanding the multi-faceted healing nature of this ritual, I continually curate a compassionate experience for our clients with some of the most talented and co-creative artists you can find. I opened my own studio with my namesake at the most magical of addresses- 1111 Central Ave. – and am proud to support and develop an all-female staff within a kick-ass loving environment. It’s a bit of a mystery to find but it’s all happening underground in the heart of our city’s hip, happening, and hugely growing neighborhood, Plaza Midwood. Haylo Healing Arts Lounge was born in January 2015, I celebrate our Anniversary every year at the Spring Equinox~
I have worked alongside almost all the heavy hitters in the Patriarchy of Tattooing in our fine city and I am ever so grateful to be working and sharing my daily creative life with such talented and pleasant women. We are a bonded team with healing hearts and hands, with the intention toward self-discovery through self-expression, honoring the whole-istic spirit of this permanent intra-personal art. My mission and vision for these sacred endeavors is focused on both individuality and community. As the industry becomes oversaturated and continues to be riddled with abuse, we Actively Create a Tattoo Culture of Care and Radical Originality.
I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle free, but so far would you say the journey has been a fairly smooth road?
I’ve been very blessed. I have a drive that keeps me seeking and finding. I am not afraid to show up and show out, knowing my values and my own worth. I listen to my intuition and have strengthened my compass when it comes to the pursuit of an equitable exchange of energy within relationships both personal and professional.
My largest struggles have been contending with the death of my dad at the beginning of my apprenticeship and the death of my mother shortly after opening Haylo. The gravity of their love keeps me strong and the way they cheered me on to follow my heart and pursue my dream is foundational to my daily life.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
I am Haylo~ I have always been drawn to the bohemian textures of life, styled by the virtues of Freedom, Beauty, Truth, Peace, Love, and Rock’n’Roll! Tattooing is this magical and even meditative integration of myself as an artist and a unique culture of kindred spirits who seek to share this kind of special connection and practice in permanence.
2021 marked my 20th year as a professional in the transpersonal art of tattooing! Haylo Healing Arts Lounge opened her doors with a dream to invite Kindred Spirits into a kick-ass loving environment that honors comfort and compassion through the pain of this healing and revealing art. I get great joy in seeing how this communal practice over the years here in Charlotte has helped to create and continues to perpetuate something like unto a Vision Quest of intentional self-discovery and actualization through this particular kind of effort for self-expression. This spiritual, mental, and physical endeavor is a vital part of my lifelong pursuit of ever knowing more clearly who I am and what I stand for.
My specialty is realistic black and grey although I do have great fun with color and I will always pay attention to the connection and flow across the body. I am well known for my swirling movements and well-rounded abilities. I love tattooing fine-line detail and enjoy incorporating geometric as well as abstract elements in my art. I know how to make things visually go together no matter what they are and happily do a lot of freehand work by creating directly on the body.
I am the number one recommendation in the city for Mastectomy Tattooing. I offer scar beautification through permanent artistry: 3D Nipple and Areola Tattooing as well as Breast Adornments for a powerful renewal of self-confidence.
I am proud of my authenticity and unending efforts in personal growth. I am unique in my industry for my nurturing spirit and the real love and interest I have for the aspects of the work that include deep listening to understand my client’s needs, as well as the safe haven of support I provide for my artists. This year I am enriching my own skill set through mentoring licensed and aspiring tattoo artists in efforts to continuously empower women artists to develop, expand and succeed.
Can you talk to us a bit about happiness and what makes you happy?
The opportunity to connect with others and pursue music and art makes me happy.
When I play the drums I can’t help but smile. I feel really good when I am able to uplift others and I try to stay ever open to the magic of the moment. Reasons for happiness are far and wide though I am no stranger to grief. I know deep within, the value of gratitude and honoring both ebb and flow. As Above, So Below.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.haylostudiolounge.com
- Instagram: @haylostudiolounge
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/HayloHealingArtsLounge/
- Other: https://flametides.hearnow.com/
Image Credits
Hayley Moran + Lora Denton Photography
