Hung with glowing neon spider webs and pink lighting bolts, Coup D’État sits patiently on the corner of Clark and Marie-Anne, waiting for clients and walk-ins. Owned by Nat Jean, one of Montreal’s premier female tattoo artists, the street shop housed in the heart of the Plateau is a creative and welcoming space.

When I swung open its stickered door, I first noticed how the walls were jam-packed with artwork, hosting long framed drawings and hand-painted skateboards. Being inside feels like you can peer into the minds of one of Coup D’États tattoo artists, from the large flash-books up on the front counter to the magnets and stickers stuck everywhere. The name, “Coup D’État”, perfectly describes the energy of the place - it holds a unique atmosphere, an undertone of an uprising hidden in the decorations packed inside. As the shop's owner, Nat Jean, explains, the name represents the feeling of getting tattooed: a combination of both rebellion and feeling like you’re being burned by a tattoo gun.

As I admired the decorations, Nat Jean sat across from me on a tattoo stool. “I wish I had more walls,” she told me, going on to describe the friends and artists that she had collected the pieces from. In truth, the art seems much less like decorations and more like a part of the shop - I couldn’t imagine Coup D’État with bare walls. “Gotta give people something to look at while they’re getting tattooed,” Nat says.

It is a small place, but cozy - the perfect size for a shop of its nature. There is just enough room to house four tattoo benches and a front desk, offering an open environment where artists and clients can chat with one another from across the shop. It’s a fun aspect of the shop’s nature, something I witnessed while Nat and I chatted about how she started out in the industry. She described her journey from ordering equipment out of the back of a tattoo magazine nearly thirty years ago, to opening her own shop amidst a global pandemic. I was curious as to why she made the jump to opening Coup D’État, and she shared that after being at her old street shop for 15 years, she knew it was time. “I felt that I had a perspective to show with a shop, that I had my own voice - so I just went for it.”

As one of the first female tattoo artists in the city of Montréal, Nat clearly had a perspective to show. She started tattooing out of her home 29 years ago, with only a tattoo book and friends in the industry to give her guidance. She described to me the rareness of being a female tattoo artist in the 90’s, and how she felt the novelty of her gender helped her gain clients. Over time, her career rapidly began to grow.

After years of working in street shops and people mistaking her for a counter girl or telling her she drew like a girl, she formed an idea of the kind of shop she was going to own. She wanted to open a shop that was more feminine-presenting, something achieved with Coup D’État. When I asked Nat Jean if she had any future goals in mind for the place, she responded by explaining how happy she was with where the shop is today. “I like that it's a little bit more of a fluid shop. It's not your typical male-dominated vibe here, so I’m proud of that.”

Coup D’État features three talented artists with unique styles, with a new artist to fill the last open spot soon. The shop is built on community, with artists bouncing ideas off of one another to learn and expand their skills together. Tattooing is a very hands-on art, and you get from it what you put into it. As Nat Jean described, “if you don’t share ideas or show artwork or critique each other, how do you grow?” The creative and supportive nature of the artists in Coup D’État is apparent through both her words and the atmosphere every time I walk through the door.

The community formed in the small shop extends to the clients as well. Coup D’État is a place for everyone - a welcoming, creative space where the public can feel safe and without fear of judgment. One of the last things that Nat Jean said stuck with me. We were discussing the nature of the industry, and she mentioned the attitude she encouraged every artist in the shop to have. “I always told everyone here just be nice - it goes a really long way,” she told me. “If you’re gonna mark people for life, they’re gonna remember you forever, so you better give them a good experience.”

Tattoos are an art form, a discipline that people have dedicated their lives to - and most importantly, they are permanent. The experience of getting a tattoo is one to remember, and each artist plays a large role in shaping that experience for their clients - from the concept design to lying on a tattoo bed in a shop. After seeing the community inside the shop's four walls, it would be easy to put my trust in any of the artists working out of Coup D’État. Nat Jean strives to continue being a positive influence on the industry in Montréal, and that is something I am sure she will achieve.

The World of Coup D’Etat

McSweeney’s List (1 January 2025)