Toronto is dripping with tattoo shops, and in a city of millions of people, a lot of ink is spilled.
Narcity spoke with tattoo artist Bek Murrell who co-owns Witch Hazel Tattoo in Toronto, and they revealed the seven most common tattoos they're asked to do in Toronto.
Murrell's shop is near Christie Pits Park in Toronto and focuses on black work illustrative styles and designs.
The Queer-friendly shop mainly deals with appointment-only clients, so Murrell says her clientele is mostly made up of Toronto locals than someone from out of town looking for a commemorative CN tower tattoo.
"We're a private studio, we do walk-ins once a week, but with the type of crowd that we draw, we don't really get a lot of tourists," Murrell told Narcity.
With all the tattoos Murrell has done, they say there are some that are very common among clients and shared the seven most popular designs.
Snakes & Florals
A person with a snake and floral tattoo on their arm.
Murrell says that snakes and flowers draw the most diverse crowd of people since there are so many variations and ways to place them on the body.
"They flow well with the human body. They fill gaps well. You can really design a snake any way you want and contort it any way you want."
They say that many people who already have a lot of tattoos will use snakes and flowers to fill in the gaps on their skin.
However, there is the occasional first-timer.
"I've had people who come in and get a full body [tattoo] from their ankle to their hip of a giant snake, and that's their first tattoo," Murrell explained.
Dragons
A person with a dragon tattoo on their arm.
Dragons have always been popular, according to Murrell, and their recent resurgence may be linked to nerd culture.
Previously Murrell says she saw a lot of traditional Asian dragons, but after starting to draw dragons about a year ago, they've seen people getting a lot more medieval and folklore-inspired dragons.
"I think it's because of the rise of D&D (Dungeons & Dragons) again. D&D and nerd culture is coming back."
Murrell attributes this pop culture moment to games like Dungeons & Dragons and shows like Game of Thrones.
Herons
A tattoo of a heron holding a lantern on a person's arm.
When it comes to herons, Murrell isn't sure why they've become such a hot ticket item.
"I get a lot of requests for them, and this might just be because of my style. I specialize in a lot of illustrative animals, and birds are one of the many things I tend to do."
Murrell says a lot of people tend to get herons because they make a great layout for a tattoo since they are long creatures, so they fit nicely on arms and legs.
Moths
If you see someone with a moth tattoo, it may have another meaning.
Murrell says that moth tattoos are popular in the queer community and that it is a running joke that a lot of bisexual people tend to get them.
"I co-own a Queer tattoo studio, so I have a lot of queer people come in. So moths are just an everyday thing."
According to Murrell, moths are also great gap fillers since you can make them small or quite large to fit the space.
Crows & Ravens
A raven and a crow tattooed on either side of a person's stomach.
Crows and ravens are popular in the "witchy" and Queer community according to Murrell their studio sees these tattoos a lot, given the spooky and witchy vibes of their shop.
Murrell says that she had five crows and ravens tattooed on her before she even become a tattoo artist, so it's clear that this may be a Toronto trend.
"I love contorting them and designing them in weird little ways [....] I think when people come to me they're looking for a weird gap to fill with a spooky little creature."
Harry Potter cover-ups
A Harry Potter tattoo. Right: A floral tattoo coverup.
If you're a millennial with a Harry Potter tattoo, you may feel a bit called out on this one.
Murrell says a popular request they get is Harry Potter cover-up tattoos, especially among millennials.
"I'm a millennial myself so Harry Potter was really popular in our childhood [...] We have a lot of people coming in, and they're usually small things like small little logos," says Murrell.
"But they are sometimes in really visible areas and a lot of people, I think they just want to distance themselves from that franchise now."
Murrell explained that some clients want to distance themselves given J.K Rowling's active Twitter account.
If you aren't looped in, the author has gotten into hot water over the years on Twitter for her controversial statements about trans people.
Raccoons
A raccoon tattoo on a person's arm.
Toronto's unofficial mascot is a raccoon, and according to Murrell, newcomers to the city love getting these furry little beasts tattooed onto their bodies.
Usually, Murrell won't ask clients why they're getting a particular tattoo because sometimes the meaning can be quite emotional. However, they say when it comes to raccoons, they find it's usually because that person has just moved to Toronto.
"It's usually newcomers to Toronto who haven't lived here their whole life who do get raccoons, and they're like, 'I just moved to the city. I want to get a raccoon,'" Murrell explained.
"You know, they're a year into living in Toronto, and they're still enamoured by everything."
Tattoos are a person's design choice, and Murrell says people should get whatever they want in order to express themselves all long as it's not a hateful symbol.
So no matter what tattoos you have or want, don't worry about them being too common.
This article's right-hand cover image was used for illustrative purposes only.
This interview has been condensed and edited for clarity.