Permanent Behavior: Collective Ownership + Bodily Autonomy Through Stick-and-Poke

Sophia Blum, also known as Pio Poke, is a master of the stick-and-poke (or hand poke) method of tattooing. With a handheld needle, she creates detailed textile designs and images of feathers, arrows, birds and botanicals. On top of being a skilled artist, she's in the business of changing the industry — after recognizing unfair labor practices within traditional tattoo parlors, where owners get the lion's share of the the revenue and workers make a small percentage, Blum organized with other artists and formed Thorns Tattoo, a worker-owned studio. This week, we talk with Pio Poke about manually making her mark, as well as the importance of workers' rights and bodily autonomy. Read the episode transcript here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices