Poor Service

I appointed Thys to design my tattoo and it was a process that perpetuated itself into poor service & inevitable failure.

My brief was: a surrealist collage consisting of octopus tentacles, raven wings, scorpion legs, ink, and lightning, inter alia.

Thys told me that he did not read the brief that I sent them and does not like reading or reading books. But the brief was requested of me. So I am not sure how those two seemingly competing points: 1.) info being requested of me and then 2.) info not being read – are reconciled. I do not think that leads to a healthy “collaborative process” which they told me they encourage. It was an experience like chappie bubble-gum: brightly wrapped and flavourful in the beginning, but rapidly descends into tastelessness. Even so, I explained everything that I wanted, face-to-face in a meeting, and it was still not adhered to. I am as yet unaware of how to communicate with another human being beyond writing and talking. I have not yet tried performance art.

I paid 1.4k for a 1-hour “Fitting Appointment”. Here I hoped to hit the ground running, see some cool sketches, & even just hear some compelling ideas. I was presented with a half-traced wing of some bird – clearly inappropriate RE the brief. I had to spend an hour of my time explaining, demonstrating, and coming up with all the ideas. In the end, this too was pointless because the final design wasn’t according to the brief at all.

After 5 months the design was still nowhere. I could not continue. The design was far too literal, obvious, shallow, and unsophisticated – for my taste & standard. In the end, what was presented to me I felt was kinda like commercial pop music: Rihanna, Katy Perry, Jay-Z, etc. – easily liked by and popular amongst large and unrefined audiences, devoid of anything deep & inspirational, in my opinion.

The design suffered many unsolicited liberties: it had a random gigantic eyeball, and the raven wings were completely omitted (which I never asked for), the scorpion legs & lightning were ignored; I stated that I wanted specific lines drawn on specific parts of my body (also ignored). It was not a collage. It was not Surrealism. It seemed like a picture-stamp of a cuddly pet. After 5 months, to still be talking about basic fundamentals of the brief is not what I’m used to, in my fields of Architecture & Curatorial Design, and in my experience of collaborating with many other artists.

When I enquired why they had added elements, that I had explicitly stated that I do not want, they told me “it’s no big deal” – but after 5 months, and them trying so many times, yeah it kinda is. They also told me that it’s a “design process” but no client of mine would ever accept this. Again, it’s worth stating: sure, this may work for others, but as far as my experience and this review goes: no.

When I complained about it, they said they weren’t going to read anything else I sent them either (my emails explaining the situation). So they were happy to ignore my brief and blame the problem on me, let the clock run, make their own decisions, and then charge me for it.

When I asked for my 3.5k refund, they told me that they “don’t work for free” which, on paper, naturally I accept (as would anyone), but not for 5 months spent guessing and not reading what I had sent & ignoring what I had asked for. I was accused of changing my mind, which none of the information I sent reflects – which was unsettling. Even more bizarre was the fact they asked me for a brief – which was never changed, not once – proven by the fact of the dated info I sent them.

On a call with them, enquiring why I could not receive a refund, I was called names, the owner swore on the phone, was rude, & profane. When I asked her to please remain professional, she just said no, and then yelled at me some more. Personally, I remained controlled, elegant & cultivated in the manner of conducting myself – but that could just be me.

Not the studio for me.