Imperial Tattoo Connexion: Interview with Fiona Bergson, the French Doll of the tattoo world

Lydia oh Lydia, say have you met Lydia
Lydia, the Tattooed Lady.
She has eyes that folks adore so,
And a torso even more so. 
– "Lydia The Tattooed Lady" by Harold Arlen and Yip Harburg

Sure – maybe it’s not a song that every 5 year old should take to heart. Nevertheless, when I first heard Kermit sing those immortal words on the Muppet Show, I felt that some day, I too should get to know a tattooed lady. And not your run of the mill, “I got this Chinese symbol in the Peg during a particularly drunken layover” kinda lady. A full-on, full-sleeved, full-throttle, full of chutzpah sorta gal. Recently, I got my chance in the comely form of Fiona Bergson; the inked-up, gallery owning, French Doll of the tattoo world.

You’re a well-known tattoo cover model—how did you get into the industry? Though I never really wanted to be a model, I started doing some photo shoots with Fabou, a French photographer. From there, pictures found their way onto the internet and then various magazines started contacting me to do covers.

You came together with Oly Anger Tattoo to open Imperial Tattoo Connexion, an art gallery and tattoo supply shop.  Why did you decide to start this up?  Imperial Tattoo Connexion represents the passion that I have for this art form. A year ago, I had the chance to meet [tattoo artists] Jack Ribeiro, Milosch and Toxyc.I asked to become their official distributor in the US and Canada. At the time, Toxyc didn’t even have a sketchbook. I had to roundup 12 years of drawings with the help of my graphic designer and Oly Anger. After we completed Toxyc’s first sketchbook, the other artists trusted me for exclusive distribution of their sketchbooks, prints and posters in Canada.

What are you planning to show at the gallery in the coming months? We’re already booked for the year now (Jack Ribeiro and Toxyc will be featured in one of the shows). I hope to receive more and more interesting requests to display tattoo-related art in my gallery.

Imperial Tattoo Connexion | 4521 Clark | olyanger.com/imperial-tatto-connexion