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The Expert Edit features interviews with specialists about the products they swear by in their chosen field. For the latest installment, we spoke to NYC tattoo artist TrudyLines about her daily essentials, from skin-care to tech gadgets she can’t live without.
As an avid tattoo collector, it was always a dream of mine to visit the renowned Bang Bang NYC, where some of the most esteemed artists work. TrudyLines is one of them. When I had the opportunity to work with her at the Soho shop on a paw print tattoo back in 2020, I was immediately on board, and Trudy and I have been connected ever since.
Trudy’s attention to detail is astounding (she’s been tattooing since college and has been mentored by some of the biggest names in the industry) and she loves collaborating with her clients. “As an artist, you often sit in front of a blank canvas, and it’s really up to you what you create. Working with people who put so much trust in you is different,” Trudy tells PS. “Yes, I am the artist, but my clients are the ones who wear my art permanently, hopefully for the rest of their lives.”
Hailing from Austria, Trudy’s greatest accomplishment thus far is making it in New York. “Being able to be here, surrounded by so many humble and inspiring people, I know that the sky is the limit — or rather, let’s say there is literally no limit. I’ll confirm when I sit on the moon and don’t know how I got there,” she says.
“Yes, I am the artist, but my clients are the ones who wear my art permanently, hopefully for the rest of their lives.”
Moving to the US has also led Trudy to venture into entrepreneurship. “The amazing life here also has its downside,” she says. “People live at such a fast pace; core values are pushed to the back, and there’s a lack of mindfulness about other people and the limited resources Mother Earth provides us. Out of a natural habit, I created #BottleNo30, a nonprofit project to reduce single-use plastic consumption while funding reforestation projects and providing clean and safe water in areas with less access.”
Trudy’s been able to tie both careers together, having recently hosted a Safe Water for Mathare fundraiser at Spring Place where she invited fellow artists to provide free flash tattoos and participate in a live auction. The goal was to raise money to build a sustainable structure alongside the local community that will sustainably provide clean water to over 15,000 people in Mathare, Kenya, where #BottleNo30 is currently working on its third project. But the work is ongoing — Trudy has produced the world’s first carbon negative reusable water bottle that’s shoppable in three of her ethereal art prints on the site.
Aside from that water bottle, Trudy has a whole lineup of daily essentials that she uses as a hardworking artist in NYC, all of which she was willing to share with PS. She also offered some advice for anyone aspiring to be a tattoo artist: “Get out of your comfort zone and try. Take risks, work hard, and be open. Sometimes we steer too hard in one direction without giving room for life to show us the way.”
Ahead, shop the products that keep Trudy on track with her routine, despite her busy schedule.
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TrudyLines is an NYC-based tattoo artist and entrepreneur. She is the founder of #BottleNo30, a nonprofit that aims to reduce plastic consumption and provide clean drinking water to communities in need.