10 questions with tattoo artist Beatroce

2 hours ago
7 min read

Our series of 10 questions with tattoo artists where we like to pay tribute to beloved tattoo veterans of our trade. Many old friends and some new ones! Thank you Bea for letting TattooNews catch up with you!

Italian-Canadian Tattooer Beatroce

Your Name and / or artist name if applicable: Beatrice/Bea/Beatroce

Years tattooing: Started my apprenticeship as a tattooer while also working the counter at the shop of my mentor in 2008. By 2010 I was officially tattooing

Years working in tattooing: 18

PLACE OF BUSINESS: New Moon Tattoo

Your Instagram: @beatroce_tat2

Your Website: https://www.newmoontattoo.com/

1- How old were you when you got your first tattoo? Where did you get tattooed and who did it?

I was very drawn to tattoos from an early age and started asking my parents if I could

get one at the age of 13. My parents were very much not on board with it, thinking

that tattoos were only for sailors, people that have been in jail or circus women. I had

to patiently wait for another 5 years, spent sketching what my first tattoo would be.

On the day of my 18th birthday I was at “Admiral Tattoo” in Marina di Massa, Italy,

getting my very first tattoo by Guido Lenzetti, one of the only 4 artists present at the

time in that little stretch of small towns. It was love at first poke! Since that first one

everytime I had a little bit of extra money I would head to Guido to get something

else! I was doing art school at that time and I knew my future was in some kind of

art/craft but I was still unsure at the time what the medium would be. That first tattoo

cleared all doubts, that was the kind of art I wanted to pursue!

2- Did you have an apprenticeship? If yes, by whom and where? How long was it?

And so I set out to get an apprenticeship. I started asking Guido at first but he had just taken on an apprentice. I proceeded to walk into the other few tattoo shops present at the time in my area asking if they would be willing to teach me something if I worked for free cleaning the shop. At the time the few artists (all men) that were around thought a young girl like me had nothing to do in their world and shooed me off. I kept looking, going further away from my hometown and with some younger artist, hopeful in a positive outcome but alas the answer was always NO. Demoralized I looked into other ventures and ended up working in all inclusive resorts around the world from my 19 to 24. I would spend 6/7months working abroad and then back home for 2/4 weeks. In those weeks back home I would start doing the rounds of the shops again, new ones would pop up but the answer remained the same and I kept being unsuccessful in achieving the dream.

In 2007 Italy passed a law trying to regulate the tattoo industry and as a result tattooers now had to attend a course and get a diploma in order to be able to work in tattoo shops. New people in the industry had to take a more extensive course while seasoned tattooers that had their businesses for years had to take either a short version of it or teach at one.

As soon as I learned about this I signed myself up and was lucky to be accepted to the very first trial course and to have Adriano Dell'Alpi as the “tattoo teacher”.

I had been around tattoo shops enough to know that this was not necessarily the way to go about it, but I figured maybe it might help getting me in. And in fact it did. Part of the course was taking a 160h stage in a tattoo shop. Off I go again knocking on shops’ doors, this time just asking if I could stick around for those hours, get my signatures and never bug them again. That's how Max Della Santina (MAX TATTOO VIAREGGIO) finally cracked. He was one of the original few tattooers of the area , taught by Gian Maurizio Fercioni. Max would be seeing me come by at least a couple of times a year since I was 18 to ask for an apprenticeship. Once the 160h were up I finished my exam and told him that as promised I would not bug him anymore and go my way, however he would end up keeping me on and that's when the real apprenticeship finally happened!

I apprenticeship under him for 2 years, cleaning, working desk, dealing with orders and health regulations that were constantly changing, effectively learning how to run a shop and practicing tattooing every night on fruit or the pig's skin that my dad "lovingly" procured for me from the butcher. Or maybe it was to dissuade me. After the 2 years and change under his wing I felt the need to interact with more artists and see more shops and so I did. I was jumping around the different shops as more of a guest artist rather than a resident.

3- What are the top 3 things you like to tattoo?

I do like many things and depending on the specific period I might be more into some things than others. Some of the staples that I like tattooing are all things nerdy, but especially if fantasy/dark/goth inspired or the totally opposite and silly/punny, FOOD! I love food, eating food, talking about it and drawing/tattooing it and the third subject matter that I will never get bored of are animals.

4- Do you like travelling and tattooing? Which conventions, guest spots were your favorites?

I do enjoy travelling and tattooing even if I have to admit that with age, the comforts of home/shop start having a certain allure that I wouldn’t have felt years ago. In my years of tattooing, I moved around a lot, worked in many different shops, different countries and different cities. After a nomad life, I'm feeling like it might be time to set roots.

Some of the conventions that I've enjoyed the most are NIX and ARTTATTOOMONTREAL.

One of my regulars guest spots was at LUCKY 13 in Toronto were I used to work when I lived there and I do often guest spot at a few different shops while I'm back in Italy visiting (NOA TATTOO, TRUE LOVE TATTOO, ALEX TATTOO)

5- Who are some people you have collected from? Tattoo pilgrimages, have you ever travelled to get tattooed or have been tattooed at a convention? How far have you gone to get tattooed?

I've never been shy to travel to get the tattoo I want by the artist I want and have always kept eyes open at nearby conventions to see if the artist that I was interested to collect from were attending. Especially when in Italy I found myself travelling more since at the time there weren't that many shops and of a certain quality where I lived.

Dimitri HK did my left sleeve, I booked it at the Milano tattoo convention of 2010? . I went to France a year later to start it at his shop during two infinite back to back sessions and we then finished it the month after when he was attending the Milano tattoo convention with other 2 long sessions.

I travelled to Milano to get both my feet done by Marco Galdo (Trafficanti D'Arte)

Got my first tattoo on Canadian soil going to Hamilton to Bryce Huffman,

I was very happy to collect from Alisha Harding during NIX 2018.

Got tattooed by Antony Flemming at the Montreal convention in 2022.

6- What was your last tattoo? Do you still get tattooed?

I'm still getting tattooed and I'm planning on stopping only when I don't have any more bare skin...and who knows I might just have to start it over!

I'm currently going to Montreal monthly to get my back piece done by Mermaid sketches.

7- One of your favorite machines, current or past?

I sold most of my machines when I moved from Italy but one of the ones I had no doubt about keeping is my very first machine, the Sunskin blacksun. I also kept some other Sunskins like the Primus, my first rotary hybrid and the Ronnie Star that I had to ask a friend studying in the UK to buy for me as the options in Italy were limited at the time.

My new passions though are the Neumas by Carson Hill, especially the Marco. I find it kind of ironic since my mentor used to be obsessed with the very first Neuma, which was the very first (and last) pneumatic machine.

8- Where can we see and get tattooed by you this year? (Shop, guest spot, convention, etc.)

In 2026 you can find me at New Moon Tattoos. Conventions plans for the year still need to be done but most likely I will be attending NIX and ARTTATTOOMONTREAL.

As for guest spots I don't have anything planned at the moment.

9- Other than tattooing is there any other type of art you like to do?

I've always really enjoyed creating with my hands. One of my other passions has been sewing since a young age. I have some remnants of rat stuffies, tombstone through pillows and leather purses that I made some time ago and are for sale either at the shop or on my IG BeatroceCraftyCorner. There's a bunch of unfinished paintings in my drawers and a desire to learn pottery, but at this moment my main focus is tattooing and that is where I pour my energy and creativity.

10- What are your interests outside of tattooing?

My list of interests is infinite and ever shifting. Some of the constant in the past few years have been gardening, outdoor activities like kayaking, biking and cross country skiing and smashing a lot of things in RPG video games. Critical Role has also been an obsession over the last couple of years.