Hey! So glad you’re here! My name is Alyssa Shirkey and I am a Tattoo Artist at Bramble & Thorne, located in Clawson, Michigan. I opened this studio with my friend and fellow tattoo artist, Rebecca Schwartz, in 2025. My aim was to create an environment that was not only clean, professional, and accessible, but also have it become somewhere that felt warm and safe. Your comfort is and has always been a top priority and because of the trust you have given me, the studio has become a “Third Place” for so many of my clients.

I grew up in the Metro-Detroit area and never really left Michigan (cause Midwesterner fo’ life, am I right?) I have been tattooing for 11 years and have worked at three different tattoo shops; each lent exactly what I needed to learn at that point and time in my career. Owning my own studio now feels kismet.

The style that I tattoo in Is mostly Neotraditional/Illustrative. I love working with a muted earth tone color palette with bold outlines. Most of the subject matter I work with is rooted in nature. Floral, animals, pet portraits, cottage core, witchy, folklore, quirky trinkets are just some of the subjects I enjoy.

While I was studying Illustration at College for Creative Studies in Detroit, I became interested in Tattooing. I then sought out an apprenticeship quickly after that spark was ignited. My apprenticeship ended on the day I graduated two years later; I never looked back at a normal illustration career and became a tattoo artist full time.

Tattooing was a new medium, and I immediately knew that even if the technology or machinery used to tattoo evolved—tattooing would always be rooted in tradition. It will always be human made and allow my hands to be the ones that created and touched the art process.

I approach tattooing in the same way I think people should approach most things: if it makes you smile, laugh, or feel something, do it. Tattoos and art should move people and make them feel good in their own skin. I enjoy tattooing in the same way I enjoy getting tattooed. I am covering a piece of my body with a moment in time.

I am many things; A Bi- Lovergirl, Neuro-Spicy, Artist, Athlete, Wife, Dog Mom, Daughter, Sister, and Friend. I am proud of the work I’ve done and continue to do to be the person I am today. I am so excited to meet you!