Built by a software marketer and his tattoo-artist brother, for every artist who has lost a client to a slow reply.
Twenty-some years ago I built my brother John's first tattoo studio website. That website accidentally started my career. I went on to spend 15 years running marketing for software companies, and the whole time I stayed John's one-man marketing department on the side.
Which meant I got to watch both worlds up close. The software companies I worked for had huge budgets and entire teams making sure no customer ever slipped through a crack. John had an Instagram inbox he couldn't check with a machine in his hand, deposits coming through Venmo, and a schedule that lived in his head. Great artist. Losing clients anyway.
A tattoo calendar shows the appointments that made it through booking. It cannot show every request that stalled before confirmation. We want to help artists keep track of those conversations and give clients a clear next step.
Apprentice is what I wish I could have handed John twenty years ago. Booking, deposits, follow-ups, and client messages in one place, built so it runs itself while you work. You shouldn't need a marketing department. You just need the reply to go out.
Fewer ghosted clients. Deposits that actually land. More time on the art.
Jason Howie
Founder, Apprentice
Founder & CEO
Jason spent 15 years running marketing for software companies. The whole time, he was also his brother's one-man marketing department on the side.
He built John's first studio website more than twenty years ago and has watched the same problem ever since: great work, real demand, and clients lost to a slow reply. He started Apprentice so artists get the follow-through a marketing team would give them, without needing one.
Owner, Frequency Tattoo Company
John has been tattooing since 2005. He worked in shops across the Philadelphia area before opening Frequency Tattoo Company in East Falls in 2014, and he's run it ever since. He works in traditional American, black and grey portraiture, and fine line, with one rule for every piece: treat it as a collaboration, listen more than you talk, and never rush.
Every Apprentice feature started as a real problem at his front desk: an Instagram inbox he couldn't check with a machine in his hand, deposits scattered across apps, and a schedule that lived in his head. He runs his shop on Apprentice today, and what breaks for him decides what gets built next.
Bring your DMs, Calendly, and spreadsheets into one app in 5 minutes. Free to start. No credit card required.
