My name is Chiara Jazmyn Stirling. I was born on October 12, 2001, in San Luis Obispo, California. I grew up in Thousand Oaks, California, and have always been interested in all kinds of art.
I started hand-poke tattooing on myself and friends when I was in high school in 2018/2019, but then took a break for a few years while continuing to work on art in many forms. In 2022, I was given an opportunity to start hand-poking at a studio located in the Arts District of Los Angeles. At the time, I had a completed portfolio showcasing the different styles I was interested in practicing, and I already knew how to hand-poke, which felt like enough to begin my career in tattooing.
I was making the commute from Thousand Oaks to Los Angeles and back multiple times a week. Eventually, I taught myself how to use a machine and began practicing on myself. While tattooing different types of designs on my own skin, I fell in love with my current style—blackwork—and decided that would be the direction I pursued.
After about a year of machine tattooing, my friend and studio mate, Ziggy Skye Rioux, and I decided to move locations and start our own private studio, The Carousel. Since then, I’ve moved to Los Angeles and have continued to grow as an artist—at this point completing 500+ tattoos—and expanding my business into a larger space in a historic building in East Hollywood, California.
After losing Ziggy when we changed studio spaces, two of my artist friends, Sarah Poff and Lottie Hubbard Jimenez, joined me and helped keep The Carousel thriving. The studio environment we’ve created for guests has been described in so many wonderful ways—comforting, safe, and deeply supportive—which makes us incredibly proud.
Tattooing has always been my dream job, and I’m lucky to be able to do what I love every day. Thank you so much to everyone who has ever gotten tattooed by me, followed my page, supported my artwork, or is simply taking the time to read this now. I love you all <3