Nickel City Gritty: Loti Henna Studio
And welcome back to the first Nickel City Gritty interview of 2021! Well, actually, this was the second to last interview of 2020, but life happened and I didn’t have the chance to transcribe that final two that I had done last year (bad Lindsay) but I’m doing it now!
Over the summer I had met up with Lauren of Loti Henna Studio at her new space in Hamburg. I’ve gotten henna a few times before at Renaissance festivals (don’t judge me) but it was so fun to actually be in a studio space specifically designed for henna tattoos. If you aren’t familiar, henna is a paste that is applied to the skin and after it dries, it leaves a dark stain behind. It’s such a beautiful art form and I was honored to have Lauren give me a henna tattoo that day. And honestly I actually wanted to turn it into a real tattoo because it was that beautiful.
This is Nickel City Gritty, and this is Lauren of Loti Henna Studio.
How did you start doing henna?
When I was a kid I was first introduced to it through a craft store. I found it and fell in love and I’ve always loved drawing. As I got older I started working at a tattoo shop and started doing henna for them there. Eventually I left that position to do another job that was a little better paying at the time coming out of college and everything. I just was so miserable there so I saved up enough money to quit. I know it sounds terrible *laughs* but I had to get out of there. I just felt so suffocated! I needed to do something creative, so I just found a part time job to get some cash flow and eventually I started doing smaller-scale festivals. I started to think that maybe I could turn this hobby into a business, so I started doing more festivals and events and it just kind of tumbled from there. 2016 is when I started by DBA and then the first two years it was mostly part time, but over the last two years I’ve really transitioned it to a full time business. I opened up my own space because I wanted somewhere that people could come and get henna and have a full experience. Going to festivals is great and all, but it’s just nice to have a home base. It’s been working out great for one on on appointments.
If you could describe your personal style, how would you do it?
This is probably going to sound super cliche, but I guess a little more boho! I like flowy stuff and more of a freestyle spirit sort of thing. I guess I don’t necessarily conform to a certain specific style, it’s just whatever I feel comfortable in. Basically whatever makes me feel good!
If you could only eat three foods for the rest of your life, what would they be?
Oohhh this is a tough one. I do try to avoid certain foods now, but those are always the best foods *laughs* French fries…I love french fries. I have to do a dessert, I have a major sweet tooth, so probably chocolate cake. And I should probably throw something healthy in there! I love nectarines, so how about that!
What was the best thing that happened to you last week?
Gosh, I can’t even remember what happened yesterday! I think maybe just taking henna appointments? It feels good to be back in and working for once. I’ve been shut down for so many months that it’s nice to get back into it. It feels so rewarding when people reach out to me and want me to do henna for them. It just makes me feel so special, and I know that sounds super corny and stuff but I love it.
What topic could you spend hours talking about?
Oh boy. Probably my job, and it sounds so sad, but this is my life! It’s everything I do, it’s what I live and breathe, and I basically do this 24/7 sometimes. I’m very passionate about it because I love to help people experience different forms of art and I love sharing something different with people. Especially in this area, not a lot of people know about henna still, so I love sharing this with others and having them experience something new.
What is your spirit animal?
Probably an elephant. I love elephants and I’m not quite sure why. If you stare at them long enough they look so bizarre. It’s such a massive strong creature but they are also gentle giants, too.
What’s on your playlist? What do you like to listen to?
I do a lot of trip hop, I like some mellow stuff as background music while I’m here at the studio, so it’s not your typical elevator music. I really don’t have a specific artist, but I love 90’s and early 2000’s jams!
What are some small things that make your day better?
Just the little things- like I just got a text this morning because I was kind of nervous about this, like I’ve never really done an interview, and my boyfriend sent me a little good luck text and it was so sweet. So just little things like that! But also something like a great cup of coffee makes me feel really good. I love the taste of coffee.
If you could meet anyone, living or dead, who would it be?
This is tough. A lot of people have certain idols that they love and look up to, and I have people that I enjoy watching but I feel like I’m not necessarily that type of person who will idolize someone. I would have to say that, my grandparents died when I was really young, and I always wished that I could have a closer bond to my grandma. I have little memories of her, but it would be nice to see her again and chat with her now that I’m older vs. just going there to her house to jump in the pool.
If you could learn to do anything, what would it be?
Cleaning windows properly *laughs* I just had this issue! No matter what I try to do I always get the streaks. But more seriously, I’d actually love to learn how to dance and/or sing. I don’t have any rhythm whatsoever, so if someone could just zap me with the ability to do that, it would be magnificent.
What is a movie you can watch over and over again and not get sick of it?
Forest Gump. I love that movie so much.
What’s one of your favorite childhood memories?
I used to have an Easy Bake Oven, and I just remember when my grandpa’s birthday came around I made eight little cakes, and I made it into a little tiny tiered cake for him. I love baking and I think that might be where it originated from! We were really family oriented when I was younger.
What do you want to be when you grow up?
This sounds very simple, and it’s not necessarily a job, but I just want to be a good human. I feel like, especially now days, the world is just filled with so much hate, and it’s just so sad that we can’t be nice to each other. And with everything going on, I don’t know why it’s just so difficult for people to just be nice. So I just want to be a good human with good morals. We just need to be kind and respect each other.