Pick the hand, not the hour.

Rue trained in Lagos and Berlin before landing on Alder Street in 2016. She draws everything at actual size so the finest lines still hold as skin ages, and she will tell you honestly when an idea needs to be bigger.

Teo opened Magpie in 2014 with one chair and a wall of flash. Bold lines, a short palette and designs that read from across the street. If it held up on a sailor in 1940, it will hold up on you.

Hana builds large blackwork from geometry: mandalas, bands and patterns drawn to follow the muscle underneath. Their books open twice a year, so the waitlist is the best way in.

Dario plans sleeves and back pieces as a series of sessions, each priced before it starts, so a big project never runs away from you. He is also the one to see about a cover-up.