How Canvas & Skin works
This page explains, in plain language, how we source and verify what you see. For the founding sponsor's specific terms, see our sponsorship policy.
How candidates are found
We look for artists, studios, galleries, and events through official sites, official professional social accounts, Virginia and municipal government sources, convention and event organizer pages, arts organizations, and established local journalism. Aggregators and review sites (Google, Yelp, Reddit, Facebook groups) can point us toward a candidate worth researching, but never establish a fact on their own.
How claims are verified
We verify individual claims, not entire people or businesses. Every fact — a specialty, a booking status, an affiliation — carries its own cited source and a last-checked date. There is no single 'Verified' badge that implies we've inspected or certified an artist or studio overall.
What “verified” applies to
“Verified” describes a specific claim with a qualifying, first-party source — never the person or business as a whole, and never their skill, safety practices, or licensing status.
How frequently information is rechecked
Recheck intervals vary by how quickly a fact tends to change: roughly every 30 days for booking and walk-in status, 60 days for hours and contact links, 90 days for current studio affiliations, and up to a year for static facts. A stale claim is shown with its real last-checked date rather than assumed to still be true.
How sponsorship works
Inkcredible Tattoo is our founding sponsor and receives clear disclosure, a normal fully-sourced studio profile, and recognition — never a ranking boost, exclusive category ownership, or a lighter verification standard. See our full sponsorship policy.
How corrections are handled
Anyone can submit a correction. We review it against available sources and update or explain our decision — we don't accept a correction that conflicts with documented evidence just because it's a more flattering version of events.
How artists request inclusion
Through our submission form. Basic inclusion is free. We still apply the same sourcing standard to a self-submitted profile as to one we found independently.
How artists request removal
Any artist or studio can request removal from the directory at any time, sponsor or not, and we honor that promptly.
Why we don't rank artists
Artistic quality and style fit are subjective and personal. A ranking would imply an authority over taste that we don't have and don't want — and it would create exactly the kind of pay-to-win incentive this directory exists to avoid.
Why style and artistic compatibility are personal choices
We describe what a style generally means and what an artist has said about their own work. Which artist and style are right for you is a personal decision we're not positioned to make for you.
Why inclusion is not an endorsement or safety guarantee
We source and cite claims carefully, but we don't inspect studios, verify licenses in person, or guarantee outcomes. Confirm current regulatory and licensing standing with official Virginia and municipal sources.
What our license status labels mean
Tattooing and permanent cosmetic tattooing in Virginia are regulated by the Board for Barbers and Cosmetology (part of DPOR) under 18VAC41-50 and Code of Virginia Title 54.1, Chapter 7 — the license types shown here (Tattooer, Permanent Cosmetic Tattooer, Master Permanent Cosmetic Tattooer, Guest Tattooer, Tattoo Parlor, Event Tattoo Parlor, Permanent Cosmetic Tattoo Salon) are the state's own, not ours. We never use a single generic "Licensed and verified" badge. Instead you'll see one of nine precise labels — "Active license confirmed," "License status not checked," "License could not be confidently matched," and so on — each describing only what we ourselves confirmed against the Board's own public license lookup, as of the date shown. "License status not checked" is the default for most artists and studios in this directory; it is not a warning sign, just an honest gap. A license being active never implies current studio affiliation, and a business listing an artist never implies that artist is licensed — those are separate claims with separate evidence. See LICENSE_VERIFICATION.md in the project repository for the full methodology.