Custom Ink

Growing up in California’s Central Valley, tattoos were the purview of outsiders – gangsters, drifters, bikers, and punks. Aside from the mystique of the craft – a craft which was, at the time, virtually impenetrable – the outsider legacy of tattoo fascinated him.

Throughout the ‘90s, he soaked up what he could about the insular world of tattooing. He read tattoo magazines, visited the shops, and talked to gangsters and ex-cons who tattooed and had tattoos. At the time, the trade was undergoing a revolution; fresh talent was flooding in from the art and graffiti worlds, pushing the craft forward with new ideas and new possibilities in perspective and style. The old guard, who loved to tell you “that’s not possible”, was being challenged by a new breed of artists who dared to find out through experimentation.

In the ‘00s, tattoo culture began to rediscover its ceremonial legacies, and large scale blackwork came back to the craft. These new forms built on the ethics of ‘90s, and the sharing of ideas through social media brought about a global tattoo renaissance. In 2009, inspired by the explosion in innovation, Emmanuel traded in his henna business for a tattoo apprenticeship. He began tattooing professionally in 2010 and spent his first decade working in custom shops in Portland’s east side.

In 2022, he opened Tumbleweed Tattoo - a private, off-street studio dedicated to providing a conscious and collaborative tattoo experience. Here, Emmanuel strives to meet each client where they are in their tattoo journey. While specializing in form-fitting black and grey ornament, he embraces a wide range of projects, including covers and reworks.

Emmanuel Hele is a lifelong student of tattoocraft. From his early days building needles, tuning coil machines and doing whatever project walked through the door, through his first forays into dotwork and freehand, into the ever-changing digital matrix of the 2020s, he is committed to evolving with the craft and creating a safe, healthy, informed, and intentional space for transformation.

Books are open. If you would like to find out more, please reach out!

Also available for commissions in other mediums.