The Wolf Den is a Safe Space for Tattoo and Art in Denver
In the back of a tattoo shop in Fort Meyers, Florida, Ryane Rose took a long look in the mirror.
Rose, who is nonbinary and uses they/them pronouns, had just excused themself in the middle of tattooing their first client.
“You’ve got this. You’re fine,” Rose says. “She’s not hurting.”
The tattoo—a full-color tiger butterfly—forged an indelible mark on Rose’s life. That was 2012. Now, 11 years later, they co-own The Wolf Den, an inclusive, femme-centered tattoo shop, with their wife Jess.
After returning from their tattoo apprenticeship in Florida, Rose began to tattoo at various shops in Denver, all centered around the cishet male experience. Before opening the Wolf Den in 2017, Rose knew of only one female tattoo artist in the area.
“There has to be a higher percentage,” they say. “There has to be a need for this.”
While Rose could offer their clients a small safe space, a reclining leather chair, they wanted a place where everyone could be themselves.
“I felt that my clients felt really uncomfortable in a classic ‘tattoo shop’, Rose says. “Something has to change. There was no other place for me to move to. So I think I just need to create my own. That inspired me to carve out this little space. I hope people will find me, and they feel safe here, and that I can employ artists needing a safe space to be.”
The artists at the Wolf Den are affectionately known as the Wolf Pack. In an extremely competitive industry where it’s common to see artists solely focus on themselves, Ryane strives to create a family mentality.
In a sit-down interview with OFM, Rose, their wife and co-owner of the shop Jess Rose, and tattoo artists Trinh Nguyen and Meghan Donohue discuss creating an inclusive, creative, flourishing tattoo community.
How did you get into tattooing?
Ryane: I went to school for international marketing and graphic design, which involves a lot of communication, connection, and designing from clients’ needs. I was poached by Apple to be a computer technician. I was making pretty good money. I was buying all the tattoos. On all my days off, I was like, “light it up.” A lot of my friends were like, “Why aren’t you a tattoo artist? You’re literally triaging things. You’re creating for clients. You’re connecting with them, and you get to create daily. It’s literally graphic design on human skin.” One of my friends had an uncle in the business that was in Tampa, and I went from there.
Trinh: I’ve been drawing my whole life, which led to painting. During the time that I was acquiring my fine art degree with a concentration in painting, I would say about halfway through that degree, I became obsessed with the idea of becoming a tattoo artist. It felt like it’d be the most full-circle journey in my evolution as an artist. When I was pursuing painting academically, I was exploring figurative things like painting bodies. It felt full circle because one day I’d be painting pictures on live bodies.
Meghan: I’ve been an artist my whole life in different realms and varieties. When I got into college, I studied studio art with a concentration in oil painting and psychology. Post-graduation, I really had no idea what kind of job was tailored to my strengths. It was so hard as a female artist to navigate what steps to go. I was exploring all options. It was around then that a lot of my friends wanted me to become a tattoo artist. They were really obsessed with the idea so that they could get free tattoos. They ended up planting the idea in my head. I started researching tattoo artists. I don’t smoke weed or cigarettes. I don’t like heavy metal music. How will I ever fit in? I started thinking about female tattoo shops. I don’t know if someone planted the idea in my head, but I just thought of Denver, Colorado. I google searched Colorado female tattoo shops, and the Wolf Den came up.
What was the first tattoo that you did?
Trinh: The way I was trained as an apprentice was the first tattoo that you do on human skin was on yourself. That was definitely memorable. The reason we were trained in that manner was so that we could learn how it feels to give a tattoo but also how it feels to receive—a very mutualistic experience where you get to feel both sides.
Meghan: Other than on myself, my first tattoo was a color test. For that client, she was nervous to get a full-color tattoo; she wasn’t sure how those colors would be perceived through her skin tone. It was a rainbow of dots. It seems really simple, but I was so nervous. Ryane accompanied me through the first appointment. They were there to talk to the client to answer those questions for me so I could focus on the technicality of the tattoo. It went great.
How much have you grown since starting in this industry?
Ryane: I’ve always loved Salvador Dali. He always puts spins on things. I artistically understood it, but I didn’t know how to transfer it onto my medium. That comes with time, patience, and learning opportunities that you present to yourself or that you’re open enough to listen to. It took years for me to perfect certain parts of my craft. I’m still so far from perfecting it now. I think that’s the beautiful thing. You’re never done. If you feel like you’re done, that’s a concern in my opinion because there’s always something to learn.
Meghan: I started in March 2022. I came in like I want to grind. I want to learn as much as possible. Ryane was really willing to teach all of it really efficiently. I took three months to do the lecture portion of our curriculum and practice on fake skin. I’m technically still in my apprenticeship. But Ryane calls me “Teen Wolf” now. The growth has been exponential. I don’t get too nervous anymore. I am nervous in the sense that I have the adrenaline going. It’s more like a soft confidence. It’s really a testament to Ryane. I know a lot of apprenticeships don’t feel that way where you can grow exponentially in a single year. Ryane was definitely more confident in me than I was in myself at times. That helped me grow so much faster and feel really good in this space.
What makes the Wolf Den different from other tattoo shops?
Trinh: The energy and culture definitely was the first thing that drew me in. I really like the way that the Wolf Den expresses itself and its sense of connection and appreciation to the community that the Wolf Den fosters. It very much intrigued me and inspired me to want to be a part of it. This is the shop I’ve felt the most at home and the most encouraged to express the truest parts of myself to the highest potential. The longer that I work here, the better version of myself I want to be. It’s such a positive experience and environment where everyone does really uplift each other.
Jess: I never thought my life would lead to co-owning a tattoo shop. Being an outsider, I could recognize what Ryane was doing. I knew that there were a lot of opportunities to create a different kind of space to make people feel welcome and comfortable. I really love that we’ve been able to find a tiny wolf pack of artists that have become family. We have very mindful artists that all have their own creative goals. I think that we as queer owners are really trying to not only change the tattoo industry and create an environment that’s not your typical walk-in tattoo shop, but also it’s a way to be leaders in the community to provide a successful business that is queer owned.
The Wolf Den isn’t only a shop. It also serves as a gallery. Can you explain how it works?
Ryane: I always had this idea to be able to support all mediums. That’s what tattooing is.
As a tattoo artist, you get way more exposure, in my opinion, unless you’re a full-time artist outside of tattooing. We wanted to create a platform for other artists in the city to have exposure every day. We have so many clients walking through the door that they get that one-to-one interaction on our walls. And also we get to throw a free gallery so that everyone in our community can celebrate them. I’ve always dreamt of that. We were able to build a partition that splits the shop in half. It makes it a little more intimate.
Jess: Every two months we have an art exhibit. I curate the gallery and find the artists. That’s been kind of a newer venture. It’s been a really great way to open the doors to the community.
Photos courtesy of Wolf Den
