A labor of love, The Helm was born from a dream to create a tattooing space that extends beyond the traditional confines of what a shop can or should be. The Helm is a Covid baby, established by Katie Gray in 2020 amidst the Covid19 pandemic. From its inquisition, the foundation has been laid on cultivating a space that is welcoming, inclusive and to our best efforts; calming. It’s inquisition was inspired by a strong belief in community and the importance of creating a safe space that facilitates both personal and artistic growth.
The Helm’s founder, Katie, has spent over 12 years in tattooing, and has been a practicing artist for over 20 years. While having the opportunity to be a full time crew member at New York Adorned (NYC), Blackheart (SF) and ATAK (SF) among others, Katie has also maintained a personal fine art practice, showing her work on both coasts in solo and group shows. Her Tattooing career has spanned domestically as well internationally. She also holds a BA from UC Santa Cruz and an MFA in Sculpture from California College of the Arts. Tattooing however plays a central role in Katie’s artistic practice as a modality that transcends the elite spheres of fine art and engages in the everyday of our life and culture.
From many years working bicoastal, internationally and guesting at a multitude of shops, Katie has taken pieces from all parts of her travels to provide a well curated experience for the clients as well as crew at The Helm. When you visit the shop you’ll find The Helm is adorned with individual works of art collected from some of the most influential people currently working the intermediate space within tattooing and contemporary art making. The works chosen focus on uplifting and supporting voices in tattooing who historically may have been suppressed or simply overlooked, as well as other inspirational and notable artists.
The crew at The Helm have been hand picked not only for their artistic talents, but for their professionalism within the practice of tattooing. We also keep a full time guest list open for artists both domestic and abroad.
The Helm contains a few collaborative retail lines with LGBTQIA+, womxn, BIPOC, POC craftspeople and are very much open to future collaborations.
Please check out our website for inquiries.
