Mak and Mariah: Ink and Identity

Community & Redefining Artistry

By Rory Pate

Photos by Carlee Schram

05.17.24

What is your ethnicity or racial background?

Mariah: I am Pacific Islander, so my family is from Tonga.

Mak: I’m Filipino and German, my dad was born in Honolulu on Oahu. He was raised there for a little bit but his father was in the Navy so he moved around a lot and then they found their way up here so I was born and raised here (Whatcom County).

How long have you been doing tattoos for?

Mariah: It's been about a year and a half since I started tattooing, but I had been doing microblading for 3 years before I started.

Mak:. I've had my license since February, but I've been doing it on fake skin, myself and my sister for about a year, just practicing.

Do you feel your identity influences your art style or tattooing?

Mariah: I don't think it influences it, but I definitely like have my style that I prefer doing (which) are tribal pieces. They make me happy. 

Mak: When it comes to tattooing, or even just art in general, I've always really enjoyed like she (Mariah) said, the tribal pieces and how they tell a story, how every symbol means something different. To someone who doesn’t understand it, it looks cool, but to someone who does understand it, it’s even more interesting.

How do you stay connected to your cultural background living in Whatcom County?

Mariah: A lot of my family is still on Maui and so keeping in touch with them and what's going on over there. We also brought a lot of it here (in the studio), so I shop Hawaiian brands, we listen to Hawaiian Music, we watch Moana, we try to have an Aloha spirit here. I truly think it's something that people that haven't been to Hawaii don't ever get to experience, they just don't know what it is. That's kind of what I wanted to do in our business.

Mak: On my dad's side, obviously a lot of my family moved to the islands from the Philippines a long time ago, so a lot of them were born and raised there and made a life over there. They were the only thing that really kept me connected – and food. Really connected through food. I feel it's so important for people to stay connected to their culture and so many people, like people of color, face challenges or difficulties when they are disconnected.

What does Asian American Pacific Islander month mean to you?

Mariah: For me, I think it just means a time to celebrate as I mentioned, the Aloha spirit. You don't have to be

Hawaiian or Asian American to be able to embrace the culture. And I think it's something that would go a long way if it was embraced more often. It doesn't even have to be a cultural thing, just a human thing. Kindness.

Mak: It's kind of silly because as I said, she's (Mariah) more Pacific Islander than I am. My mom and my sister are both very white and so whenever this month comes around it’s my month, you know, my time to shine but I guess I don’t really do anything special. When I was younger I was much darker than I am now and I joke with my mom because she’s 110% German, she’s very white, and my dad is very dark that I got the white genes. For a while it did make me almost feel bad that I didn't look like my dad, but I can still appreciate it in other ways.

How did you end up at No Filters Studio?

Mariah: I started No Filters Studio when I was doing micro blading and when I was trying to think of the name for the shop I actually heard it on a Pandora ad because I was too cheap to pay for the ad-free Pandora. It was actually the name of a Spanish dating app: No Filters. I thought it was cute, you know, I feel I've always wanted to embrace not needing to use a filter, but also if people have specific beauty needs and beauty interests they might as well embrace them. You want to do whatever makes you happy and feel pretty, that way you don't have to have a filter on. Beauty is such a diverse thing and a brand name really says a lot because it's the first impression that people have.

Mak: Mariah opened up her shop, her previous shop, and I've always loved tattoos. Her day job, she actually works with my dad, and he was getting these tattoos and I said, “Where are you getting these tattoos?” because I couldn’t get into my tattoo artist for a year and I needed more tattoos. So I met Mariah and she started doing my tattoos. I grew up drawing and I've always wanted to be a tattoo artist and she became aware that I was wanting to pursue it and one day she was doing a tattoo on me and she asked, “Would you want to be my apprentice?” and I said absolutely, 100%. I was very lucky that she was so open to me just taking things and running with them.

What is your favorite thing about being a tattoo artist?

Mariah: Being a part of people's journey. I've never been somebody who draws or has this huge art background and I feel some people think you shouldn't be part of the tattoo community if you didn't spend your whole childhood like doodling and stuff like that. For me, it's been cool to be a part of people's journey. A lot of people get tattoos for a really special reason too. For people to choose me to be part of something like that has been really cool.

Mak: All of it. Every single person that's come in here I've just adored. I've always enjoyed listening to people tell stories, an amazing story or a sad story or whatever it is, something that means enough to them to get it on their body forever. It's probably one of my favorite parts. It’s really meaningful that they come to me to do it.

What are some of the most common designs you’ve seen?

Mariah: Oh my gosh, butterflies have been a real thing right now. We're doing one today with flowers. Butterflies and flowers are a huge thing. 

Mak: Other people's handwriting. The other day, I did someone else's drawing just a quick sketch that her boyfriend did on a tater tot bag on one of their first dates, just this goofy little helicopter. I thought that was awesome.

What are some designs you’ve liked to do more of?

Mariah: I like doing tribal tattoos. Tribal tattoos tell a story and every time somebody has a tattoo, it'll come up “Oh, what's it for? What's the meaning behind it?” And you know, like I mentioned, sometimes it’s “Oh just because” but I really enjoy doing the ones that tell a story. 

Mak: Tribal pieces. I did a tribal piece on Mariah’s arm and there was so much black work and crisp lines and I was like “Oh, Chef’s kiss.” It was the first tribal piece I did which meant a lot to me. There was a man that had come into my work and he had this amazing tribal piece and was obviously white. I said “Oh my goodness I love your tattoo!” And he said he went to Hawaii and got this tattoo, knows what it means, but the natives were a little turned off by the fact he was a tourist. We got to talking and I said my dad was from Oahu and he asked me “Does this offend you” and I responded “Why would I be offended by it?” you know. It has a story and he understands it and that’s all you really need as long as you respect it. Everyone’s going to have their own opinion on things but as long as you’re respectful that’s what it’s ultimately about. 

What is it like being a small business owner?

Mariah: It’s hard to start a small business. It was hard. I think I just kind of had a crisis one day and decided to do it. I used to work at a bank for the last 10 years, and it was almost like they didn't want you to do that there. And so for a long time I wasn't getting tattoos or piercings or anything because I wanted to climb the corporate ladder. Especially being a woman, I think a man with tattoos could still get promoted at the bank and a woman with tattoos might not, and they would never say it out loud, but it's very much the vibe that you get there. It’s kind of unconscious or subliminal prejudice in a way. I can do whatever I want here and the vibe we put out is the vibe of people we want to be here.

Mak: I feel lucky to have Mariah be the owner. There's so much that goes into it that I see that I think thank God I don't have to do that. I have always been the type of person where I wanted to be my own boss, and this is so much better than being my own boss. It’s very time consuming and it’s very draining sometimes, there’s manual labor, it’s hard. 

What are some unique challenges you face as a Pacific Islander owned business in Whatcom County? 

Mariah: I don’t think this town is as welcoming of diversity that other towns are. I definitely think that there's been improvement since I moved here, I've lived here for 15 years now. Being an outsider here and trying to have a small business, especially one that's in an industry that's still a little bit taboo, has proven to be difficult. We could have definitely opened a shop in Bellingham or Ferndale and not had any issues, but I want to inspire diversity and welcome people who may also feel the same way I do. 

Mak: I’ve grown up here my whole life, I know this town, and I know that it has grown a lot through the years, but there’s still this fear of change. I am glad this shop is here because I live here, I don’t have to drive far, my day job is here, but – am I allowed to curse you guys? – also go fuck yourself. Change is inevitable.