Raised in Crested Butte Colorado, Melanie Francis Whiting grew up on skis and exploring the wilderness. She went to college at Northeastern University in Boston dual majoring in Art and Communications.

Upon graduation she was offered a job with NASA and moved to Houston, TX. She worked for the Astronaut Office as well as the Astro-material Office for five happy years until she decided that perhaps the 8-5 cubicle computer world might not be the end of her career trajectory.

She apprenticed at the Gypsy Rose and moved up through Houston street shops until she worked at a high end tattoo shop called the Weathered Helm where she went appointment only. She opened her own tattoo shop Dark Fawn Tattoo in Bacliff, TX for five years before returning to Crested Butte Colorado. Melanie specializes in Color Illustrative, Black and Grey, Japanese, New School and American Traditional.

A lover of cover-ups she is a big believer that tattoos can change and grow as we grow and to never settle for anything less. Meaning may change, but good art is eternal.