Katie Haertling
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Meet The Tattoo Artist: Katie Haertling, The Inked Huntress

The Inked Huntress is one of the newer tattoo studios in Fargo-Moorhead, and with that, comes new perspectives, more experience, and a few more needles too.

Owner and artist, Katie Haertling, had always wanted a career where she could help people. At 16, she witnessed someone get a memorial tattoo and realized the connection that was created between art and emotion. Now that she understood that tattooing can help people too, she knew what she wanted to do.

After working hard to break into a tough industry, Katie finished her apprenticeship and began her journey that has led to the creation of The Inked Huntress. Along the way, she learned the importance of kindness and understanding in the artistic development process. The Inked Huntress is celebrating its one-year anniversary this March.

“I had a three-hour epiphany where I said, ‘F*** it. I’m going to go ahead and I’m going to create my own space.’ And everything else fell together. I had no plan. I went into it gung-ho, and then I immediately thought of Eden because I’d worked with her previously, and I adore her. She was my first go-to, and then the rest of the crew kind of came together and molded into exactly what I wanted without me doing anything. I just wanted to create an environment that everybody can grow in and feel good about.”

Katie has worked in studios across the Midwest, and while it might not be surprising after hearing stories of FargoMoorhead’s tattoo community, Katie said this:

“I will say, Fargo is the most female-dominated part of the industry I’ve ever seen.”

The Inked Huntress

1002 Main Ave, Fargo
701-850-8763
the-inked-huntress-tattoo-studio.business.site

Styles

“I am like a renaissance woman when it comes to tattoos. I came up at the very end of the era where you couldn’t really specialize, you had to be sufficient at everything. Now this industry is wonderful because you get the opportunity to do what you want. I really do love black and gray fine line. Being able to get my hands on anything that presents a fun challenge or is unique, I’m definitely down for. I do a lot of cover-ups and reworks. I don’t hate doing cover-ups, and there’s a very fulfilling part of it, but it’s also one of the most nerve-wracking things. It’s great to see somebody who was previously super insecure about something be very happy. I would say it’s easier to tell you what I don’t like doing. I don’t do watercolor, landscape or tribal. Other than that, I’m pretty much an open book,
challenge accepted.”

-Katie Haertling

Written by Geneva Nodland

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