Our Story
Real Results. Grounded Approach. Personal Care.
Hi I’m Ashlee - founder of The Reclaimed Studio, working out of the Glowbar Studio.
Im a partner, mum, and an internationally qualified and trained paramedical tattoo artist specialising in advanced skin camouflage and cosmetic tattooing.
My path into this industry wasn’t conventional.
When I was younger, I spent time in the beauty and promotional industry through pageants, modelling and promotional work. While I experienced success in that space, I also saw a side of the industry that never sat right with me. The pressure of perfection, constant comparison and the feeling that your worth was somehow tied to how you looked.
I entered that world young, at an age where you’re still learning who you are, and I saw how easily those standards become internalised. The kind of mindset that follows us well into our adulthood.
I walked away from it and spent the following years working across the farming and shearing industries throughout New Zealand, Australia and the United Kingdom. Those environments were raw, grounded and demanding. They taught me resilience, precision, work ethic and how to connect with people from all walks of life without judgement or pretence.
Looking back now, both worlds shaped the way I approach this industry today.
Because to me, this work was never about chasing perfection. It was about breaking the stigma around the things people were told to stay quiet about. The scars, stretch marks, skin changes and insecurities people are told to “just accept.”
So I created The Reclaimed Studio.
Not to offer surface level beauty, but to create a space where people felt understood, supported and able to reconnect with themselves again. A space where confidence comes from feeling comfortable in your own skin, not pressured to be perfect.
My Why
I’ve seen what being told to “just accept it” does to people.
Where I come from, you don’t talk about your body. You get on with it. Scars, stretch marks, skin changes… they’re called “normal” and that’s where it ends.
But “normal” doesn’t mean neutral. It means silent.
And I’ve seen what that silence turns into. People shrinking themselves. Covering up. Avoiding things. Disconnecting from their own bodies while pretending they’re fine.
That never sat right with me. My why is breaking that stigma.
I’m here for the people who’ve been told nothing can be done. The ones who were dismissed. The ones made to feel like wanting change was shallow.
It’s not shallow. It’s human. I’m not here to sell perfection. I’m here to give people control back. I do this for the mum who doesn’t feel like her body is hers anymore, or for the ones carrying scars with painful stories. For the people who’ve been told to just accept it and stay quiet.
And I do it as a girl mum, because I refuse to raise a daughter in a world where silence is the standard and self-acceptance means settling.
I refuse to accept that.
I’m not building a business just to make people look good. I’m building one that means something. One that challenges the stigma and shifts the standard.
My why isn’t fragile.
It’s built on what I’ve seen, what I’ve lived, and what I refuse to ignore.
So when things get hard, I won’t stop.
Because this isn’t optional.
It’s what I stand for.
I’m here for the people who’ve been told nothing can be done. The ones who were dismissed. The ones made to feel like wanting change was shallow.
— Ashlee Burgess, Founder of The Reclaimed Studio