Seattle Artist PingPing Opens Geometric Tattoo Studio After Industry Shutdown

PingPing, the Seattle tattoo artist who goes by @inkprick, opened NieU in 2020 while tattoo studios across the world were closing their doors. The decision came at a moment when conventions disappeared overnight and shops shuttered, and the industry’s future felt unclear.

At opening the space was deliberately spare: the studio was described as raw and unfinished, the walls were bare, and tools sat half unpacked. PingPing later said, “There was no promise of stability,” she says. “Financially, it was a real risk. Emotionally, it felt heavy. I remember standing there wondering if I was being brave or reckless.” She added, “I knew if I waited for perfect timing, I might never begin.”

The studio’s name was chosen with intention. The feature explains that “Nie” comes from the Chinese character 涅, historically associated with black dye and the act of marking, and that paired with “You” it is pronounced like “new,” reflecting renewal and fresh beginnings. That etymology underpins the studio’s stated mission: “I didn’t open NieU to compete or to prove something. I opened it because I wanted to build a space where tattooing could be done honestly.”

The profile frames the opening against both pandemic disruption and a male-dominated industry, noting that NieU “wasn’t built on inherited traffic or industry momentum.” The piece reports that “every part of it was created intentionally, from how artists are supported to how work moves through the space,” presenting NieU as a practice assembled from purpose rather than convenience.

Operational details beyond the feature’s summary were not provided in the excerpt, but the published profile preserves the core strategy: build deliberately, center support for artists, and let the work define the studio’s reputation. The account leaves clear the financial and emotional stakes in starting a new studio in a year when many peers closed their doors.

Inked Magazine ran the feature on March 5, 2026, credited to Inked Mag Staff, and the newsletter version included collateral lines such as “PingPing created NieU Studio,” “Next Steps: Sync an Email Add-On,” and the symbol “Δ,” among standard newsletter headers like “Inked newsletter” and “Inkedmag.” The piece’s framing line reads: “Against the odds of COVID and a male-dominated industry, one Seattle artist opened a studio and let the work speak.”

PingPing’s move to open NieU in 2020 is presented as a conscious bet on renewal and craft: a bare room, unpacked tools, and a stated refusal to wait for perfect timing, with the studio named and shaped around the intention to let honest tattooing lead.