Tu was born Sept. 28 1975 in the province of Surat Thani, Thailand. She is the oldest of 3 chidden. Her village of Patthalung is typical of most with little or no opportunity.
Her mother would be up early selling coffee and her father had become a monk in the very dengerous province of Nakhon Si Thammarat.
Tu was the black sheep in her family, typical of many tattoo artist. She went to Bangkok where she attended university for 1 year. She did odd jobs such as selling blue jeans in the outdoor market and even sold insurance for a while. Tu didn't begin drawing until she was 25. She watched her friends tattoo for 2 years before picking upa tattoo machine which was in 1999. She tattooed in Bangkok, Pattaya and even Sweden for a while which helped educate her about westerners and also helped start speaking English.
After a couple of years. 2002 she move to the beautiful Island of Phuket ,Thailand and opened up her own little tattoo studio surrounded by all the bars and night life which Patong Beach famous for good and bad.The hours were tough because she stayed open as late as the bars and she had to deal with drunks and the bad behavior that goes with it but Tu is tough and could deal with it.
2003 - One very lucky day a Thai man walked into her studio and asked if he could tattoo and old client he had vamped into while on vacation. His name is Sid Siamese and Sid is very famous all over Thailand and Sweden, all of Europe really. Tu of course was over the moon and couldn't believe that he was in her studio. She of course said yes and was honored to have him there. This began a great friendship and they speak almost every day. Tu credits Sid for the help and gift of tattooing that he gave her, teaching drawing and tattooing technique.This brought her up to another level. Tu is always challenging herself and knows that any good tattoo artist will always be a student because there is always something new to learn. She believes with all the talented artists out there that the bar is set very high and getting higher, so continue to learn and improve. Tu Siamese feels that she is who she is today because of Sid Siamese and will always be grateful and humbled by his talent and considers him one of the hardest working tattoo artists she knows. Now she is know as Tu Siamese, the name you take after your master.
December 26, 2004 - The horrific tsunami struck Phuket, Thailand and took it's toll on the locals and tourists destroying everything in it's path including Tu's studio. It was a terrible day with the loss of many lives and property. Tu lost all of her equipment and art which took years to put together and now everything was gone or destroyed. So began the difficult task of starting over with nothing.
May 29, 2005 - About 5 months after the tsunami Tu Siamese met her husband Steve while surfing at his local beach. She had heard about him through a mutual friend in the surf community and decided she would try to find him that day since the surf was up. She found him at Nai Harn beach and the waves were a little big for her ability but she is stubborn and paddled out anyway with some mutual friends. Steve noticed her and wanted to get to know her better so he started giving her instructions on how to get through the waves and better surfing technique. They were attracted to each other and met later that night for a BBQ t a friends restaurant, from there they went out to the local clubs to dance and haven't been apart since.
November 13, 2005 - Tu Siamese and Steve decided it was time to open a new studio and they began looking for a new location. They opened near their home in Nai Harn which is an ex-patriot community away from all the night life. They built their business with quality work and quality relationships with their guests and were rewarded with lots of repeat and referral business. Steve had good relationships with the Muay Thai Gyms on the island and his good friend Danny owner of Phrom Tep Muay Thai which is one of the best Thai Boxing Gyms is a great advocate. He would send many of the fighters to Tu's Siamese 5 tattoo Studio.
The name Siamese 5 is significant as to who Tu Siamese is. Her teacher Sid is Siamese 1 and he over the years picked who he would help. Tu Siamese was the 5th student lucky enough to be chosen and the only female in the group. The Siamese Family is an exclusive group of artists recognized by all artists in Thailand and through Europe that are known for high quality work and many would love to be a member.
June 7, 2010 - Tu Siamese and Steve moved to California to be closer to family. Very jet lagged Tu and Steve attended the Ink and Iron Tattoo Convention in Long Beach on the Queen Mary. They met many famous artists and Tu Siamese received a few job offers. One person they hit it off with was The Pizz out of Long Beach who happened to be friendly with Corey Miller. The Pizz told Corey about Tu Siamese and that must of helped because Tu and Steve had been watching Corey and the crowd around his booth when Corey noticed Tu and asked "are you that lady from Thailand?" Tu answered "yes" and Corey asked "do you have your portfolio with you?" Tu was holding it behind her back, she smiled that big smile and offered it to him. After looking through a few pages he must of liked what he saw and asked "are you looking for work?" "Yes" she said and she couldn't believe it because she and Steve used to watch Corey on L.A. INK and always joked "what if we went to America and met Corey and you could work with him" It was really just a dream and neither thought it could be possible, well surprise, she still can't believe it. Guess anything is possible.
Tu Siamese has been working with Corey for more than a year now along with all the other talented artists, Henry Powell, Larry Garcia and Neil Wilson. She is the only woman to have worked there other than guest artists and she strikes a good balance in personalities with the boys. They all get along great and joke around while supporting one another. No egos or jealousy which can be the cancer in any shop. One of the jokes now is that Tu says she is an American woman now like the character in the old Eddie Murphy stand up routine. Steve jokes "but when I met you, You wuz buck naked on a Dolphin" One of the things that al the artists have in common at Six Feet Under is they are humble about their work and grateful for all the guests they have, the only way to be in life.
Tu Siamese couldn't be happier these days having met Sid Siamese and now working with Corey Miller. She has to pinch herself to make sure it's not a dream while thinking back to where she came from, a small village with nothing to working in a beautiful and talented environment with great and kind people. She settled into a new home that she and her husband just bought only a mile from the studio with their 5 dogs. She just had some of her work published in a new magazine from Hawaii called 808 INK. Her client list is growing and she is enjoying life as an American woman living the her dream.
