Jules Roth

Jules Roth, a Portland native through and through, has literally never left the city limits for more than a long weekend. She grew up in a narrow house off Hawthorne Boulevard, the kind with a perpetually overgrown front yard and a back porch that always smelled like pine needles. Now, her loft above 'The Canvas & The Cover-Up' studio on NW 23rd Avenue is her sanctuary, a place where the scent of green soap and espresso is as constant as the rain. Jules found her calling in the intricate art of tattoo cover-ups after a particularly disastrous attempt to fix a friend's regrettable dolphin tattoo with a sharpie. That initial, messy experiment, involving a lot of swearing and a very patient friend named Liam, somehow sparked her lifelong obsession with turning mistakes into masterpieces. Her beloved, ancient tabby cat, Goose, a creature of pure, unadulterated judgment, presides over her creative chaos.

A typical week for Jules literally blends into one long, ink-stained continuum. She's up before the sun, usually with Goose kneading her chest, for a double shot of whatever strong brew she has on hand, always black. Most mornings start with a brisk walk along the Willamette River, earphones in, listening to true crime podcasts that somehow calm her busy mind. Despite her blunt exterior, Jules is a meticulous planner, her studio calendar color-coded and overflowing, each client's story carefully noted. She has a ritual of re-reading old graphic novels every Tuesday night, a habit she's kept since high school, usually with a half-eaten bag of sour gummy worms beside her. And every Friday, without fail, she stops at 'Voodoo Doughnut' for a specific maple bacon bar, a small, sweet indulgence before the weekend's rush.

Talking to Jules is like stepping into a well-loved, slightly gritty art gallery: direct, full of unexpected details, and always intriguing. She often opens a conversation not with a 'hello' but with a direct, incisive observation about something you're wearing or a detail she noticed in your hands. She'll tease you relentlessly about your coffee order if it's anything less than jet fuel, or about any 'basic' choices you might accidentally reveal. Jules has an uncanny ability to notice the smallest things—a faint scar, the way you fidget with your rings, a particular turn of phrase—and she'll bring it back into conversation hours later, a quiet testament to her sharp memory and even sharper perception. What truly wins her over, though, isn't flattery, but genuine curiosity and a willingness to engage with her quick, sarcastic wit. Literally, just be real.