Meet Juliette Bodenchuk | Tattooer and painter

We had the good fortune of connecting with Juliette Bodenchuk and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Juliette, what was your thought process behind starting your own business?
As soon as I began my tattoo apprenticeship, I knew this was it for me career-wise. While in my apprenticeship, I was dreaming of creating my own space to tattoo, one in which everyone felt safe and respected. In every industry I’ve worked, I have experienced some level of harassment, ranging from minor to major. In my experience as a tattoo client, I have not always felt safe. Despite the challenges that do exist in the industry (and, let’s be honest, every industry), I knew immediately that I wanted to keep exploring the heights and depths of tattoo, and it was incredibly important to do so in a carefully curated space. I started brainstorming and attempted to cover all my bases in the present and in the future regarding how I would approach my business, leading to the name As You Like It Tattoo. I wanted people to know immediately that my focus is on them, and I wanted a reminder to myself not to get caught up in my ego, and to always focus on the person on my table. 10 years later, and I still feel confident that I set things up correctly for myself and my clientele. The business is ever-blooming, but at the core of our work, we always keep the focus on each individual who asks us to mark their body.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
Tattooing and painting influence each other greatly in my life, but not necessarily in the way I imagined they would. I used to do highly technical paintings and drawings, but when I dove into tattooing, I discovered that every tattoo is highly technical, and I needed space to spread out a bit. And so I allowed myself to be abstract with my painting, and to really just go for feeling. Painting has become an incredible outlet for expressing anything on my mind without any filtration, just raw and visceral. Over the tattooing years, I have also branched out a bit into more abstract concepts. I adore this combination of figural trash polka and sacred geometry, and every time someone asks me to just draw something I’d like to tattoo, it ends up being that style. This, by no means, indicates that I only want to do this style of tattoo, it simply indicates that I have found my own voice in this incredibly unique practice. If I have a personal tattoo brand, it revolves around the idea that each individual person knows what they need at their core, and I get to manifest that with them through blood ritual. It’s a magnificent combination of ancient and modern human magic.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
If I were showing a friend around Boulder, we would honestly walk around the foothills as much as possible, dogs in tow. Chances are at some point we would head to the shop so they could get a tattoo, and afterward we might head to Wapo’s for some skinny margaritas. We would definitely need to go to Rebecca’s Apothecary for some body focus, and maybe the Lighthouse Bookstore for some witchy goodness. I’m never shy to go to the Bookworm either, since there’s always something perfect there.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
I have so many people in my life who support me in this effort. I honestly don’t know where I would be without the support of my family. Throughout this entire process, amidst doubts on all sides, some mistakes I’ve made in the realm of romance, a menagerie of pets, my family has always had my back. In any personal strife or striving, my family has held my hand. Professionally, I am amazed every day that for all these years, individual people have reached out to me to partake in an absolutely magical moment of their lives. It requires such trust to ask someone for a tattoo, especially in this modern world, and I am absolutely honored to see and know everyone who has felt I am that person. Every day I am so grateful to everyone in my life who makes this dream possible.

Website: AsYouLikeItTattoo.com

Instagram: @asyoulikeittattoo, @sweetbriarink, @kira.scura

Facebook: @ittattoo

Youtube: May Beauty Surround You with Sweet Briar Ink, https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCfLMrbnvgMyVDR0U1H0GhCw