Tattoos are almost always loaded with meaning. Sometimes it’s the design itself, sometimes it’s the moment you got it, sometimes it’s just the version of you that existed back then.
I met a guy once who was covered in tattoos and I started doing that annoying thing of asking what each one meant. Some had proper stories behind them. One of them, he said, didn’t mean anything however represented a really difficult time in his life. He said it served as a reminder, and kept him grounded. That kind of stuck with me.
A tattoo isn’t just a drawing. It’s a reminder of who you were. And even though we’re all pretty quick to cringe at old photos of ourselves, that person is still you. A tattoo kind of forces you to acknowledge that. There’s meaning in the design, sure, but there’s also meaning in the fact that it’s permanent.
stain. comes from a totally different place.
stain. is built on the idea that it doesn’t have to last forever. It’s more of a “fuck it, why not?” decision. It lasts a couple of weeks. You do it because you like it. Because you feel like it. That’s kind of the whole point.
No one really asks what a stain means. And if they do, the honest answer is: it doesn’t. Or at least, it doesn’t have to. You did it because you liked it.
That’s what makes it fun. It takes the pressure off. It makes space for impulse, for trying things, for not overthinking everything.
