Help Shady Lady Tattoo Parlour RISE!

On Monday, July 10th 2023, tropical storms and flooding devastated Vermont, leaving historic downtown Montpelier, home of Shady Lady Tattoo Parlour and many other small family and community run businesses, in ruins.

FEMA has been present to provide assistance to individuals displaced by the flood, offering funding for temporary housing and repairing damaged homes. Unfortunately, FEMA relief is not being extended to small businesses who were also impacted. Additionally, the landlord of the building that housed Shady Lady did not have flood insurance. As a result, Meredith Muse, owner/operator of Shady Lady is relying on grassroots fundraising to rebuild her business.

The damage done to The Shady Lady by the flood waters was catastrophic. Nearly 4’ of water filled the parlour, mixed with mud, oil, sewage and other toxic elements that had been washed into the river with the rain. This amount of water and hazardous waste ruined everything it touched. Art books, furniture, art supplies, original art work, tattoo equipment, and more had to be thrown away. Before this sudden and devastating loss, Meredith was starting to recover from the impacts of multifaceted health issues, as well as the setbacks her close contact business suffered during Covid. Despite these many challenges, Meredith and the other artists of Shady Lady Tattoo Parlour remain determined to rebuild. They are looking forward to a future collaborative business venture with their sister shop, Sacred Vessel Tattoo (also displaced due to flooding). The effort to revive their businesses will be a collective one, and they are deeply grateful for the amazing outpouring of help from their community so far.

Though Meredith is reluctant to ask more of her friends and clients, she finds this is her best hope for reopening. Please, kindly consider making a donation to support her efforts and share this ask with others. Every contribution, no matter how small, will make a significant difference.

ABOUT SHADY LADY TATTOO PARLOUR:

The Shady Lady Tattoo Parlour is a queer woman owned business started out of pocket in 2006 by Meredith Muse. Soon after establishing, Meredith began running an apprenticeship training program and quite often has other tattooists working under her tutelage.

Meredith pays homage to the deep rooted sacred aspect of tattooing and provides a unique and healing atmosphere to her clients as a result of this philosophy. Not only a tattoo shop, Meredith’s studio is considered a social hub and gathering place loved by many. In all its forms, The Shady Lady Tattoo Parlour has provided healing, love, joy, and acceptance to its patrons, as an integral part of the Central Vermont community.