SPICY: Vision Update
Here’s the dill, I’m peppering in more clove-ly details, turning up the heat, and getting totally curried away.
Ahem. Sorry. The herbs and spices puns were just too fun to skip. On to the meat and potatoes. (Sorry, no recipes, I don’t cook, unless you count cooking up some mayhem…..super tame mayhem. I am, after all, a law-abiding cinnamon)
If you've been following along, you know that Reclamation & Relic started as a dream about expanding the tattoo studio into something bigger. An apothecary. A flex space. A place that felt different from anything else out there.
What I didn't fully anticipate was how much the vision would keep growing.
Here's where my head is at right now.
The proof of concept is real.
Everything I've built at Reclamation Tattoo, the sensory-sensitive environment, the trauma-informed modalities, the way I think about every single detail of a client's experience, it was always personal. I built it because I needed it. What I've learned from actually running it is that a lot of people need and appreciate it, and almost nowhere exists that offers it.
Adding some SPICe(Y)
SPICY started as a name for the community programming side of Reclamation & Relic. It's becoming something bigger than that.
The core idea: what if everything I've learned about creating safe, sensory-attuned, trauma-informed spaces for my tattoo clients could be taught? Formalized into workshops? Shared with other businesses, other practitioners, other industries?
Because here's the thing I keep coming back to: it's not that the world is full of people who want to exclude neurodivergent folks. It's that the obstacles simply never occurred to most neurotypical people. Nobody designed the loud waiting room to be cruel. They just... didn't think about it.
SPICY programming is about changing that. Teaching it. Making it repeatable and transferable, so that the shift doesn't stop here.
What that actually looks like.
We're still building the full picture, and honestly, I love that it keeps evolving. But here's a snapshot of what we're envisioning for programming:
Workshops for businesses and service providers on creating sensory-safe, trauma-informed environments
A sister shop network of vetted, recommended spaces across unrelated industries that our neurodivergent clients can trust
DIY apothecary classes: balms, skincare, botanicals, specifically useful for people with sensitivities who want to know exactly what's in their products
Art and craft courses, because hands-on creative work has real therapeutic value. I’m proof-positive of that.
Non-traditional offerings brought in by outside experts: everything from clothing alteration for the trans community to singing bowl sessions for anxiety management
Small business courses for neurodivergent owners on reaching their audiences, because I may as well put all that good marketing experience to work.
These are just some of the ideas that exist right now. I genuinely believe the possibilities are endless.
And yes, tattooing is still at the center of all of it.
Not just as a revenue stream. As the reason any of this exists.
Tattooing is my hyperfocus, my happy place, my purpose. But more than the art itself, it's the method. Watching someone walk in terrified and walk out transformed, whether that's covering a scar they've hidden for years or finally getting the piece they always wanted but thought they couldn't handle, that's what this is all about. The tattoo industry needs a cultural shift. So do a lot of industries. I want to be part of catalyzing that.
We're figuring it out in real time, and that's okay.
I'll be honest: the full scope isn't completely mapped out yet. It keeps getting bigger and more exciting. Crystal and I are building something we've never seen before, which means we're also making the blueprint as we go.
If you're neurodivergent, LGBTQIA+, a trauma survivor, or just someone who has ever walked into a space and immediately wanted to leave, this is being built for you. And if you're a practitioner, a business owner, or someone who wants to do better for that community, we want to talk to you too.
More updates coming. Stay weird.