Errant inclusion in Alberta Health Services advisory leaves Calgary tattoo studio suffering

Little Witch Tattoo says it should never have had its name included in an Alberta Health Services advisory released on Monday.

That missive from AHS said, "Alberta Health Services (AHS) is seeking to notify all individuals who received body piercing services through Little Witch Tattoo/Name Sake (103, 2640 52 Street N.E. in Calgary) to arrange for follow-up testing for Hepatitis B which can be spread through unsanitary piercing procedures."

Little Witch Tattoo is not located at that address, which is inside Village Square Mall.

It is located across town on 40th Avenue N.W.

Little Witch manager Colby Lidstone says additionally, their studio doesn't even offer the services cited in the AHS advisory.

"We, as a business, do not do piercings. Little Witch has never done piercings. Little Witch has never promoted that they do piercings. It's something that has never happened in the shop," said Lidstone.

"So to pin us down for doing piercings is illogical."

Little Witch manager Colby Lidstone says additionally, their studio doesn't even offer the services cited in the AHS advisory.

Until November 2022, Little Witch did operate out of the location in Village Square Mall, and that seems to have led to the confusion.

When the business moved out, it was unable to transfer its lease to the owner of Namesake Tattoo, which was taking over the space.

Little Witch now subleases the space to Namesake owner Emilio Coverini.

Little Witch's company name remains on the lease with the mall.

Wednesday, Coverini told CTV when the AHS inspectors arrived in the spring for an inspection and photographed the business, Little Witch had moved out, but its signage was still on the storefront.

That signage is now gone, but back at Little Witch Tattoo, staff says the damage has already been done.

"It's definitely affected us negatively," said Lidstone.

"We've already had a ton of cancellations. We've had a lot of people, you know, who have gotten tattoos from us asking, 'Hey, should I get tested for hep B? Am I going to be affected?'"

AHS says Little Witch in northwest Calgary is not part of its advisory, and customers there are not at risk and do not need to be tested for hepatitis B.

Namesake Tattoo in Village Square Mall has been cleared to reopen.

Namesake Tattoo in Village Square Mall has been cleared to reopen and was back in operation when CTV checked on Wednesday.

AHS says none of the staff at Namesake had hepatitis, and while the risk of infection is low, customers in the period between April 15 and May 1 should still get tested to rule out the possibility of having contracted the disease.