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Just left the con. My first time at the London show, so I have no idea how it compared to other years but... Wow, some amazing stuff happening already. Couldn't get any work done but wandered around hoovering up t-shirts... Said hello to Valerie from frith street (briefly, their stall was one of the busiest I saw)... Nice to meet a famous LSTer- and she was very nice. Some random pics. I hung out with the East Tattoo guys and had a cask ale. Good day. Attached = a black and grey front piece Yang was working on... Dark Star cask ale... @jade1955 take note!!

This is happening in Los Angeles, looks like a cool exhibit. I saw Shawn Barber posting about it on Instagram. We're planning to go. Upcoming Exhibitions at the Craft and Folk Art Museum in Los Angeles L.A. Skin & INK September 30, 2012- Janurary 6, 2013 The Craft and Folk Art Museum presents L.A. Skin & Ink, an exhibition that explores the unique role of Los Angeles in the Tattoo Renaissance over the last 60 years. The exhibition will move through the transformation of tattooing from its traditional base of military and outlaw cultures into an art form of great distinction and adoption into contemporary culture. The exhibition will be in view from September 29, 2012 through January 6, 2013. Through “flash” (tattoo drawings on paper and board), photographs, tattoo equipment, and related art and ephemera, L.A. Skin & Ink will feature several noteworthy artists and the stylistic movements that have helped define the significant role of Los Angeles in bridging tattoo with fine art. Participating artists include: Bert Grimm, Bob Shaw, Don Ed Hardy, Cliff Raven, Jill Jordan, Leo Zulueta, Jack Rudy, Charlie Cartwright, Estevan Oriol, Mr. Cartoon, Edgar Hoill, Lucky Bastard, Zulu, Carlos Torres, Sergio Sanchez, Shawn Barber, Camila Rocha, Sean Cheetham, and more.

This amazing footage is of a guy named Barry all his tattoos are by Les Skuse circa I968 !!

Hi, my name is Jojo Ackermann and i have been tattooing since 1992. I live and work in southern California. Thanks

I'm there today, can't wait!

They're okay to me... I'm pretty much the anti-beer snob. Got turned off by hangin' with people who stopped at a few Samuel Adams or some other yuppie beer and called it quits. Meanwhile I'm pouring down a six of Bud 1/2 quarts just to cut the dust. These people know dick about drinkin' themselves sober. Another plus to bringing inferior suds to parties.... nobody is gonna touch it, maybe the college kids will hit on PBRs if I bring them. But it doesn't stop me from grabbing a few of their designer beers. I drink 'em fast so they gotta be looking right at me to catch it. CG

There's going to be a bonus Valerie Vargas segment later in the "season".

Pretty good, thanks. Tattoos doing nicely covered by a cotton glove at the moment. - - - Updated - - - It's very intense to say the least and it's every bit as bad as everyone says. I can only describe it as a deep searing, burning sensation. Jondix, mercifully, works quickly and is such a calming influence. - - - Updated - - - It certainly is. I coped by concentrating on my breathing and sort of zoning out. There was an air conditioning fan above me, I think, and I was mentally pushing the pain into the unit. Sounds a bit weird but it works for me.

Tattooed by Jondix at Into You Tattoo, in London, yesterday. I've never been so nervous before a tattoo but Jondix is such a lovely guy and made me feel a lot more calm.

I hate everybody so I just mumble a "yeah thanks" and wait for them to finish ringing up my groceries.

Dan Santoro Smith Street tattoo

My butler has heard other people calling me a snob.

Tattooed by Rose Hardy at Good Times, London.

I feel that I get VIP treatment at the shop I go to. I've been there since 2005, my son gets inked there and I recommend a lot of people to the shop. I get a good rate, I have a good rapport with all the artists there. First and foremost, I am a good client. I show up early and offer to go out and get drinks and whatever they may want for snacks. Most of them will take a soda or iced tea. I show up clean, sit in the chair and take the artist's advice more often than not. I never ask the price before we start, I always have enough in my pocket and throw a nice tip on whatever they say when we're done. I may pop a vicodin or two before I get there, but never drink before or bring a beer into the shop. If I do pop in to say hi, if they have someone in the chair, I'll only say hi or just fill in my next appointment date in their book. I'm honored that they let me behind the wall to do that. I do grab a few cards to hand out to people on my way out. I can tell when they have a d-bag in the chair.. the vibe in the shop is just off. Aparently, they do get a lot of people who are no shows or come in hours late. My wife asked me to take my son to the shop I use for his 1st tattoo. I clearly laid out for him what he should do and not to and all the etiquette I felt was necessary. Now they treat him quite well. CG

Call me old fashioned.

Over the years plenty of people come in to the tattoo shop and friendships are bound to develop. I feel like a lot of friends I have started out as customers in the tattoo shop, or me patronizing their business, which is great. We all seem to be able to still do business with one another, with no real issues, because everyone respects the friendship and each others business enough for the two to co exist. On the other hand a person doesn't have to be my best friend to be a good customer. There are plenty of people that come in get tattooed, we have a nice conversation and we never see each other outside of the shop. They show up on time, sometimes even take your design advice. Some people don't say two words and just want to get tattooed, that's cool too. I guess what I am getting at, is there is a group in between that seems to give me the most trouble. People who maybe have a couple tattoos, they really like their tattoos and or the vibe of the shop, and they think because they spent a little money they have achieved VIP status. They will call about coming in on a certain day and not show up, then call the next day and ask if there is any walk in time and not show up again. I won't make appointments over the phone, it's always first come first served, but still it's annoying when people flake. In certain cases I have allowed a person (a friend) to drink a couple beers (2 maybe 3 at most) while getting tattooed, I don't advertise it but if someone asks I am usually okay with it as long as they are of age and take their empties with them. Unfortunately a few people have interpreted this as show up drunk and drink a whole six pack during your tattoo and not be able to sit still and have to pee every five minutes. I am not their mom or their bartender and it's hard to tell a person who is drunk that they are cut off especially mid tattoo. Recently a guy who was tattooed by my boss who pulled the get drunk thing, and a 3 hour tattoo took just under 5 hours to complete. There were a couple spots in the black that needed to be touched up and honestly he didn't get to blend all the colors' in the tiger as he would like to and the guy came in for a touch up, after calling three different times saying he was going to show up, finally showed up three hours later and was really not very pleasant, he expressed he wasn't happy with his tattoo. So my boss took him to the side and explained that he would be happy to sit down and finish the tattoo free of charge, but explained to him that he just became really hard to tattoo while he is drinking and he would need him to not do so in the future while getting tattooed. The guy seemed to understand but then was kind of pissed off because he had to come back in an hour to get it fixed because my boss was in the middle of a walk in tattoo on a friend who didn't keep him waiting for 3 hours. A half hour later he shouted some stuff from the door way about customer service and stormed off in his car with his girlfriend. My boss stopped him in the parking lot and had another talk with him, but he just wanted to talk about how much money he spent and that he deserved to be treated better. I don't know, I think the guy got treated fairly. I am interested in people's thoughts on this. I really everyone to feel at home at the shop, but it seems to me like some ass holes just ruin it for the others.

After watching the new tattoo age video of Freddy and recently looking at the 222 Tattoo Shop thread I think we need a Temple Tattoo thread. Also for good measures let's make Tattoo 13 (Freddy's other shop with good tattooers as well) in the mix....For those who haven't seen it here is the interview Scott Sylvia did with Freddy Corbin for LST For me Temple Tattoo is where @Scott Sylvia outlined and did some of the shading on my lower left arm of a cobra with a Dia De Los Muertos mask on wrapped around a sacred heart. Also Freddy Corbin did the lettering on my collar bone which I've mentioned in the lettering thread was impressive to see him make a few lines on my collar then take the pen and start writing some amazing script straight on where within a few minutes said "take a look in the mirror", the man is impressive. But overall when I think of Temple I think of hanging out laughing with friends, after hours smoking inside, and shooting the shit. The beautiful religious art, altars, flash with very good and friendly tattooers inside. I remember in the early days trying to find something to eat close by on the weekends was a pain in the ass as the block/area used to be like a zombie ghost town on the weekends. For Tattoo Thirteen I instantly think of Chummy Alexanian and Hector Fong as well as the same vibe/atmosphere as Temple. Plus the infamous Friday the Thirteenth parties there. I've only been tattooed once there and it was by Freddy at one of the parties. I had a colleague with Parkinson's want to get tattooed so I gave him a list of tattoo shops to checkout and he decided on here so I went with him and Sonju tattooed him. The experience was great and Sonju was very patient and gave him a great tattoo which I can only imagine is no easy job in that situation and the uncontrollable moving. Lets hear your stories........

Militant Black Guy from the TV Show Balls of Steel.

I am a chef. Being a chef and eating out, I sometimes get a professional courtesy of a couple free apps or dessert or a glass of wine for free or have had items taken off the bill. It is a courtesy and I always tip up to pay it back to the server. I think often times tattoo artists offer a courtesy to repeat clients & friends, but everyone should know it is at their discretion. I think some clients place too much emphasis on the bond they may create with a tattoo artist. Getting a tattoo is a very personal thing. You are letting someone alter your body by piercing your skin thousands of times. You have to have trust. That said, the client has to understand that they are sitting there paying for a service the artist is offering. If they are unhappy with the arrangement they can chose to leave or alter it. If an artist cuts you a "deal," say thank, give them a better tip and most of all don't expect that every time you get work done. Professional courtesy is a courtesy, not a given and definitely should not be expected. By coming to expect's it, the client under values the artist's skill and the relationship between artist & client. I have been hooked up by tattoo artist friends and I have paid $250/hour. Each time I go in with only one expectation....a good tattoo.

Welcome to LST Sergio. I'll excuse your english but only if you're not a troll :D

Made a deposit with Scott Ellis yesterday and the area ( outside thigh panel) was traced. We should be starting 2nd week in November. This is going to be my first big tattoo, and in a weird way, it seems like much more of a commitment to being tattooed than the other smaller tattoos I have. Did any one else feel that way when they got their back/thighs/full chest/ ribs done?

don't sweat it too hard, it's well worth the outcome. Just think forward to the end result...

I had my last session on August 21 and met with Grime September 1. He said 4 months to heal should be good, I'm supposed to call in mid October to schedule my first appointment for January :D

That's great!

Got a piece from Freddy last winter. Probably the best tattoo experience I have ever had. Great work obviously, but so down to earth, easy going and welcoming. My girlfriend got her feet tattooed by Hector Fong. Awesome. I love his work and plan to get something from him sooner than later.

No respect.

thought this quote was appropriate for this thread. If anyone knows the source i would love to have it. ‎''The tattoo is the mark of the soul. it can act as a window Through which we can see inside, Or it can be a shield to protect us from those who cannot see past the surface"

I had a little kid run over to me at the gas tank while i was filling the bike and just touched my arm. Dont know why, but that kid got to me. And i do get a lot of wow , hugs and touching my arm on the playground where i teach from the younger kids. They just dont care, and love the colors. So for the terry fox walk ( walk for a cure for cancer in canada) i got a bunch of water tattoos of him. I will hand them out tomorrow at the event. Cant wait to see their face! I am a softy way way way down deep....

Haha I get the same thing! I have a tiny anchor on one of my fingers and that is the one that people compliment the most. It's so weird. My arms are fucking bright but they don't seem to notice them. It's always "OMG!!!! I love your anchor!!!" I've had compliments from both my doctor and vet about how beautiful and colorful my tattoos are. My doctor has even mentioned how she loves looking at my tattoos and likes seeing the new ones and how she pretty much only sees shitty tattoos all day everyday. I also had a little old lady stop me in the grocery store and start pulling up my sleeves to see my tattoos. Normally I don't like strangers touching me but this lady really loved my tattoos. I do however get really annoyed when people say "sick tats!" or "sick ink!"

Thought I would post a pic of my front, It seemed to be a long journey and now it is near completion it feels slightly strange, anyway as planned we will be putting a dagger through the neck and are still undecided on what will fill the space between the dagger and what is already there, also we are waiting to see if it will need anything else after it heals and final touch up session. Artist is Tristan Bentley, Ocean Ink Miranda Sydney Australia, tattoo is swollen and red will take another pic after it heals.

Figured what the Hell. Tattooed from Sailor Jerry flash on my hairy calf by Paul Pearson at Tried & True Tattoo in Smyrna, Tn. My dad has the same design on his bicep, his one and only tattoo, done in 1954 outside Ft. Bragg, N.C.

Done by Danny Reed @ Hot Stuff Tattoo back in June '012

got this little pipe in my ditch yesterday for my birthday. by timmy tatts @ tattoo marks

...you take a picture of your new tattoo ASAP so you can show it off on LST

I tried to think of something I wanted tattooed on me that I didn't already have and couldn't come up with anything. Plus any idea I had would have paled in comparison to this design. Further proof of the importance of flash.

I had been seriously considering this piece of flash for quite some time! So good!

Yeah. I don't have it myself, but I spoke to Mike Rubendall again today at the convention because he wanted to take some more pictures of the tattoo and he told me that the photo was blowing up on Instagram. It's pretty cool to know that he put something on me that he's really proud of. He's such a genuine, humble dude.

Dan Gilsdorf @ Blackheart Tattoo.

Oh what the hell... Lester at Electric Ladyland Tattoo New Orleans, LA

I live in the Santa Monica / Venice area and was recently tattooed for the first time. I guess I never noticed beforehand, but now that I have done research on a fraction of the knowledge that many of you already have, I find myself evaluating everyone's tattoos I see. For the most part, I'd say 8 out of 10 hipsters I have seen around have absolutely garbage work on them, with bad line work, shading, etc. with 10-20 tiny tattoos spread all around their arms with very little flow to it. I kind of want to ask them if they really thought having a bag of skittles, a pipe, a mustache, a PBR can, a clothes hanger, a calculator, pocket protector, and 5hour energy tattooed on their arm was a good tattoo theme, but then I realize everytime that I would have to actually talk to a hipster, and then I'd be in jail for my actions after.

last session... yummy...

Thanks for pointing me to this thread. I'll be there on the Saturday, getting tattooed at 4pm by Ross Nagle. Can't fuckin wait!

I've got so much flash tattooed on me I'm thinking of changing my name to "Flash Harry"

The two largest pieces on my arm, on my forearms actually, are Sailor Jerry flash. It's history. I eat that shit up.

I think you all know my story, I"ve been going to CTC for all my work for almost 40 years. Yeah, there have been loooooong breaks in betwixt tattoos whilst I raised kids and all that good shit. Anyhow. When I set an appointment to go in there, and I always do, cause it's almost a two hour drive for me, I am there early. I mean like early enough to go out and get coffee and rolls and like that. If I go in and there is a walk-in who has to get done right now or the world is gonna end, fine, they got a couch, I can wait, or hell, I can go back and watch whoever is working work, no problem. Do I consider the artists there my friends? Well, that's a tough one. To me, a friend is someone you can call at 03.00 and say "they're in the wire, get over here with a piece", and he'll be there. And vice-versa. Would I expect any of the artists there to do that for me? No. I don't live in the city anymore, so it would be pretty difficult to develop more than a friendly relationship, as opposed to a friendship. IF any of them called me and asked for a favor, hell, if it was something I could do, sure, no question, I would. I guess it's hard for me to put into words. I would say guys like Nick Colella, Miles Maniaci, Dale Grande, the ones who have worked on me, I think we have a good, solid, friendly relationship, and I wouldn't presume on it to try to get favorable treatmant or special consideration. That's not to say that if Nick wanted to do, say 4 or 5 hours worth of work on me just for grins and giggles I wouldn't take it, but I don't expect it. When I work with someone, I guess I feel you get to know them on a little deeper level than if you were just having your teeth cleaned. When I go in to get tattooed, I might pop a vicodin to chill things out if it's in a touchy area, but drinking? Hell, even when I still drank, if you were in the bag, CTC wouldn't touch you. I'd never dream of eating, or drinking alcohol, or smoking, whatever. I believe the last time Nick worked on me, he took 5 after finishing all the black, maybe a few hours in, and I chugged a sodapop. Other than that, I think it's incumbent on the tattooee to lay back and freeze. .02

Excellent thread! I love, love, love Temple. I've been tattooed there by Freddy and Heath Preheim, and my wife has been tattooed there by Freddy, Heath and Jamie Ruth. We've also stopped by to see other friends get tattooed, or just to visit with Freddy when we're in the neighborhood. Those of you have been tattooed there know that things run on a slightly looser schedule, but it's all part of Temple's charm. Just sit back, soak up some great stories and enjoy your small place in tattoo history.

Stitch626, how lucky for you to not be in a relationship with a fickle, small minded little man anymore. Sounds like he just released you from what could've been a long and lengthy suppression of your true self, I'm willing to bet he was vacillating and thoughtless in other areas as well. Maybe you should send him a thank you card every year on the anniversary of your independence?

I also weighed in on the thread MsRad's referring to, with this-I now have a phobia of too much pink skin on men. I've just kind of gotten so accustomed to being around more heavily tattooed folk, if I see a dude walking down the street with his shirt off and he's all pink, kinda creeps me out. Or maybe it's just that dudes who insist on walking down the street shirtless creep me out? But the ones with no tattoos look like they're in some kind of lady suit, like the one the guy in Silence of the Lambs was making. I do believe that we love who we love, and if it's really love, externals don't matter. What's most important to me is that someone is comfortable in their own skin, being true to themselves, and fully living the life they're meant to live. That being said, I'm really glad my husband hasn't held back regarding tattooing or anything else. I was in a relationship with someone who wasn't tattooed, and he was a somewhat restrained individual. It was when I once picked him and his boss up at the airport in shorts, and he was freaked out because his boss, who already knew I was tattooed, could my tattoos on my calves. When he was sheepish and weird, and his boss was actually happier to see me then he was, I kinda knew it wasn't going to last. Not because I embarrassed him, but because I saw him for what he was, a coward. Of course there are always exceptions, but most heavily tattooed people aren't overly concerned with what mainstream society thinks of them, and they generally aren't cowards.