The artists behind Sovereign Collective, a new tattoo shop and art gallery in the Short North Arts District, are taking an unconventional approach to running a tattoo business: there is no boss, no shop fee and no pressure.

The collective, which opened Feb. 23 at 1042 N. High St., has a fresh attitude toward its artists, its clients and the business in general.

“The business isn’t going to be run as a way to enrich ourselves monetarily,” tattoo artist Steve Cvinar said. “No one profits from anyone else’s work.” Cvinar said the artists reinvest the majority of profits back into the collective. Artists receive monetary support based on the work they have completed.

Cvinar runs the Sovereign Collective with tattoo artists Scott Santee, Brett Prince and Cary Aldridge. Each member of the collective has equal standing, no one is the boss. Scott Santee, who has been a tattoo artist in the Columbus area for five years, said Sovereign Collective artists have noticed their distinct difference from the way other tattoo shops operate.

Free from the obligation to meet a quota, the artists can perfect each piece before permanently etching it into clients’ skin.

“When we first started tattooing here, we felt a huge pressure release. I could spend the time and make the tattoo I was doing the best that I could make it,” Santee said.

Despite a relaxed attitude toward productivity, Sovereign Collective has seen no shortage of commissions. Cvinar, who has 18 years experience as a tattoo artist, said each member of the collective has an established clientele and are often booked for weeks in advance.

Mike Medvedkov, a client, came to the collective to have an older tribal tattoo touched up and expanded. “[Santee] said, ‘I know what you want,’ and it was great. We didn’t have to make any changes,” Medvedkov said. The entire process lasted about eight hours, by Santee’s estimate. Ohio State football fans had the opportunity to see an example of Santee’s work at nearly every OSU football game last season: he tattooed a cross on former OSU linebacker James Laurinaitis’ right bicep.

Sovereign Collective is not merely a tattoo shop. Part of the art gallery in the front of the space is devoted to group shows, which are planned to change monthly. Another area will house work by budding individual artists.

The group gallery will host themed exhibitions and benefit shows; there are already plans for a group exhibition to benefit those with autism. Official dates have not been set.

Sovereign Collective celebrated its opening by introducing an exhibition at the March 7 Gallery Hop. The show, called “Binary,” exhibits work of various media by 12 local artists.

Consistent with the theme of the show, Cvinar and Santee worked together on a tattoo during a live demonstration. “Steve [Cvinar] and I tattooed for 40 minutes. That really sucked a lot of people in,” Santee said.

Cvinar estimated that more than 1,000 people visited the gallery during the six-hour event. “There were a few hours where it was literally shoulder to shoulder,” Cvinar said.

The idea for Sovereign Collective came to Cvinar about two years ago, but bringing the business to life happened much faster. “In one fell swoop, we were open within a week-and-a-half,” Santee said.

Cvinar described the acquisition of the space as a stroke of luck. “Everything fell into place. It was like it was meant to be,” Cvinar said. “You couldn’t pick out a more conducive physical space to do what we want to do.”

Sovereign Collective provides a fully custom service to its clients. There are no stock images of tattoos for clients to pick from; each image is hand drawn by an artist before it makes its way onto a client’s skin.

“It’s not the kind of place where you’re going to walk in and walk out the same day having picked something,” Cvinar said.

According to Cvinar’s aesthetic, tattoos can be lighthearted, but should still look sophisticated.

“From the smallest tattoo to the largest, we want to be able to put the time and thought into it to make that piece something really lasting.”

Eric Pacella can be reached at [email protected].