If she had a time machine, she’d use it to meet the Beatles. In the meantime, she runs Pardon My French Tattoo Studio in Camberley (Surrey), and her exploration of ink is far from over.
Hi Tyler, as first thing let’s clarify: should I call you Tyler Walsh or Tyler Hill? Because following your Instagram accounts I’m starting to get a little bit confused…
Totally understandable! (laughs) My work account ‘tylerhilltattoo’ (IG: @tylerhilltattoo) was created when I started my apprenticeship nearly 10 years ago and ‘Hill’ is my maiden name. I’ve since married and taken the name ‘Walsh’ (IG: @ty4living). You know, ‘Tyler Walsh tattoo’ didn’t really have the same ring to it so I’ve kept my maiden name alive through my work!
Can you tell me a little about yourself as a tattoo artist at ‘Pardon My French Tattoo Studio’ in Camberley, Surrey?
I’ve been a Dotwork/Geometric artist for 8/9 years and work mostly on larger projects – although I do get the odd little piece in and love them just as much. I’m lucky enough to own ‘Pardon My French’ (IG: @pardonmyfrenchtattoo) with my husband Oli (IG: @unemployedoli_tattoo), who is a tattoo artist too and alongside 4 of my insanely talented best pals. This place is our home from home.
We often host guest artists and they all tend to be great friends of ours too. What a life!
I know you are very sensitive to the issue of “biological” tattoos. Do you confirm?
My colleague stumbled upon a certain brand on Instagram and was immediately intrigued by its “natural numbing” slogan. Their product can contain clove oil which is said to numb pains. We all use their process butter in the shop and it was pure chance that they approached me about a sponsorship. And I had to say yes as I love their products. We all continue to use them on the daily.
You will admit that a name like ‘Pardon My French’ is very original for a tattoo studio. How do you think such a name was born? Is there a particular story behind it?
Yeah, I love it! (laughs) When we were talking about what to name the shop we knew it needed to be catchy, even if people didn’t understand it. To be left confused would mean the name has stuck with you. The main reason is down to the fact people tend to swear in pain a lot whilst getting tattooed! I’m super proud of the way it’s stuck in the industry.
The Ornamental tattoos you show off on yourself seem pretty homogeneous and uniform. Do they all come from the same hand or have you used different artists to decorate your body so far?
My most obviously uniform piece would be my neck, chest and left hand. All of this work has been done by Kieran Williams (IG: @k_ieran), an absolute tattoo genius in my opinion and a lovely human being. My right leg is a mostly blackout blast over by my colleague Ollie Keable (IG: @olliekeabletattoos) and speaks of Traditional Japanese style tattooing – I love it so much.
The rest of my body is an ever growing work in progress.
If you had a time machine, do you think you would use it? Would you travel to other eras or are you happy to live in 2025?
I believe every single tiny moment has happened for a reason and lead me here – I don’t think I would use a Time Machine and I am happy in the here and now. Every era has its pros and cons and at least I know this era! (laughs)
Do you have a historical figure from the past that you would like to meet?
Oh that’s an incredibly hard question. I think I’d like to have met the Beatles at their height. What a band!
And your last famous words are… ?
Don’t listen to the opinion of those you wouldn’t take advice from.
