Interviews by Eliza Fitz; art by Kat Gentry

Emily Fitzgerald / Tattoo: Five orchid flowers, on her right shoulder

It’s a remembrance of my grandpa. He was an orchid farmer for his whole life, and he died of lung cancer three years ago, and I wanted to have [orchids] on my body forever. My grandpa had one type of orchid that eluded him—these black orchids. He could never plant them, so technically it’s a black orchid on me. It’s a tradition in my family to have an orchid in every room of the house, and we only have this type of orchid in every room. So it makes me think about home, too. You wouldn't understand the tattoo just from seeing it.