'We all vibe together': Meet Sarah Elizabeth of Temperance Tattoo Collective

For Phoenix tattoo artist Sarah Elizabeth, failure was never an option.

A transplant from Milwaukee, she settled in the Valley of the Sun over four years ago. After years of dead-end jobs and false career starts, she realized the only constant in her life was art, so when she came across a long-vacant space in a north central Phoenix strip mall, she poured her faith — and her savings — into creating Temperance Tattoo Collective. Today, her shop hosts seven artists, plus a guest station for traveling tattooers.

Sarah Elizabeth (as she prefers to be called) intentionally designed the space to foster connection and put the focus on the client rather than the artist. Instead of being greeted by a counter filled with artist portfolios while tattoo artists are tucked away behind curtains or doors, clients walk into an open-concept layout where stations sit side by side, encouraging everyone to interact. The decor features moody lighting, gold- and earth-toned plush furnishings, tattooer artwork adorning the walls and a taxidermy giraffe named Guillermo in the corner observing it all.
“I wanted it to be more exclusive, more relaxed," she explains. "Not like the phone ringing off the hook. I don’t want any of that, just to be relaxed and we all vibe together. My clients, each other’s artists and clients, we all, like, become friends.”

Even in the communal space, client comfort takes priority. Privacy screens are available by request, and Temperance's artists are an inclusive bunch who proudly support the LGBTQIA+ community.

“The experience is just as important as the application of a tattoo, in my opinion,” Sarah Elizabeth notes. “Everyone deserves a nice experience. No one should feel unwanted or unwelcome.”

Ensuring that others feel accepted and empowered is a principle Sarah Elizabeth has long embraced, even though she hasn't always received the same respect from veteran tattooers, especially in her early years in the industry. As a lifelong artist, she explored various careers, from landscaping to modeling, cooking and even attempting to follow in her family’s footsteps with a career in the medical field.

“I just had a bunch of jobs and was like, I need to do something with my life. I’ve always done art,” she recalls. “ Then I took it upon myself to look for an apprenticeship. And it took a while on and off for years because in Milwaukee, no one would apprentice me. No one took me seriously because I’m a woman and used to be a model.”

After a series of nos, she finally heard a yes and kick-started her tattoo career eight years ago. Securing an apprenticeship was just the beginning, though. Traditional apprenticeships offer hands-on training and mentorship, where aspiring artists refine their craft and learn the fundamentals, often without pay. The experience is the salary, so to speak, and as Sarah Elizabeth experienced, it came with sacrifices.

“I didn't have a car. I was super broke, slept on an air mattress in a closet with a couple roommates. I Ubered to the train station for 15 minutes, sat on the train for almost an hour. Then I walked a mile and a half to the shop every day for five, six days a week for a year.”


Her payoff came when she went from being an apprentice to catering to diverse style requests from clients full time in a high-volume Chicago shop. At first, tattooing among artists who had years of experience was intimidating for her. She felt the pressure, but was determined to find success.

“I only had three months' experience even holding a tattoo machine, doing anything, and then doing that volume of stuff. And failure is not an option for me. No matter what it is — even before tattooing — I gotta get it,” she declares.

After finding her stride, Sarah Elizabeth made the move to Arizona and worked at Om Ink Gallery before transitioning into a private studio. After a property restructure, she needed to find another space to work out of and realized she never wanted to work for another person. She decided to take her entire savings and go all in on starting up her own tattoo collective.

“ I was nervous, but my intuition told me to do it," she recalls. "But I feel like every time I've felt like that, and I do that push, it always pays off."

She sees the value in taking risks, "like getting out of your comfort zone and growing because that's part of it, unless you just want to be stagnant.”


Today, Sarah Elizabeth continues to follow her intuition with every tattoo she creates. Specializing in surrealism, geometric, portrait and Japanese-style tattoos, her client list is booked until October and growing daily. When asked what she wants to be known for as an artist, Sarah Elizabeth’s answer focused on the connections made and people served through her work.

“I care a lot.  I mean, not even just about how the tattoo turns out — about the person. How it heals, you know, the longevity of it. I wonder how they're doing. Sometimes I'll even check in on my clients. I've made friends (with) my clients, too. I always let them know that if they need someone, they can always reach out to me, even if it's not about a tattoo.”

Temperance Tattoo Collective is located at 7000 N. 16th St. #108. To schedule a tattoo consultation with Sarah Elizabeth, contact her on Instagram @sarah_Elizabeth_tattoos or visit temperancetattoocollective.com.