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A place where tattooers can discuss techniques and information in a private environment away from 'the public'? Sounds great... Wait, I work in one every day. It's called a tattoo shop. Also I travel hundreds, often thousands of miles to go to these places in the real world. They are called conventions. By visiting the cream of the crop of both shops and/or conventions, we grow as tattooers and humans. There is no excuse not to visit if you care about tattoos, tattooing, learning and getting tattooed. LST does something else and does a damn fine job at it.

Thanks Graeme. I kind of feel the same way, and am glad you were able to explain it as I struggle without sounding like a snob. Tattooer or not, I think everyone wants a forum that they can both contribute and learn from. The 17th thread about where to go get tattooed in San Diego does neither at this point. Maybe there is a little resentment towards some new people who feel like this forum is some sort of tattoo coincerige service, obligated to hold their hand every step of the way or maybe it's just too much like a real tattoo shop in some ways. I came to this forum as a fluke, stayed here because there are so few people that actually understand or appreciate, tattooing. The people who do have that appreciation are some of the most amazing people I have ever internet met in my life and I am truly lucky to have found this forum. I don't see myself leaving if for just that reason alone, and I am willing to do what ever I can to keep this forum relevant.

I'm not sure what you mean by "ethics" here and I'm not sure that it's even my place to be commenting on this thread partly because I don't tattoo, partly because I'm not sure that my contribution to this board, on the whole, has been a positive one, but one of the things that I've found frustrating lately as a "collector" is the number of people coming here wanting quick and easy answers. I think this forum is in a tricky position because on the one hand, it's great that people are finding it and are learning things and getting really great tattoos as a result, but at the same time, I would really like to see this place offer something a little deeper than just how to get a good tattoo. I really like what Stewart wrote about "explorers" and about how learning and discovery are worthwhile pursuits in themselves. Getting tattooed has enriched my life immeasurably because through tattoos I've learned a lot about art and culture, I've met some truly inspiring and amazing people, and I've had what I feel are really profound human experiences and this is all worth the time, effort, and money I've put into it, and I'd like this to be more of a community that fundamentally understands that, rather than just a place for people to come and ask about what to get for their first tattoo and then never return or give anything back to this community.

@JAllen, I'm on here a lot less too, due to my work and remodeling the house and general life business, too. I used to read every single word ever put up on this forum, but it was much smaller then. Now I might not get around to reading something until a month or so after it's posted, but I try to get there eventually. I don't think I was on much or at all during the incidents you mention. Our internet was even off for 10 days at one point last summer, it's ridiculous how far behind one can fall from something like that. I don't mean on just the forum, I mean with life's daily business and correspondence. I know it's no giant secret that the whole "instant access" has it's trappings, but it was more debilitating than I'd like. I've always enjoyed your contributions, and I remember you were trying to sell your house and move to Atlanta, right? Obviously, I'm not a tattooer. But my husband is one of the founders of this site, and his intention was never to be on the forum everyday answering questions about bubbling and bleeding outlines and whatnot. It's not that he's not interested or entertained here, he's just busy. Since we've been remodeling our house, his time online has been generally spent researching building radiant heating systems and studying siding installation instructions, or just checking the local lumberyard hours. I also see him on craigslist looking at fishing boats, small ones that won't provide shade for easily sunburned women or hold a lot of noisy children. Every minute of his non-tattooing/drawing or family time has been spent either working on the house if the sun is up, or building machines when it's down. He also made a roses line drawing book, I think the e-book version of it will be on LST any minute now. But he is at the Reno convention right now, and if there's someone he thinks need to be interviewed for LST, he'll bring it back for us. Or maybe he'll just bring back a ton of stuff from Cabella's. So I can answer the question "where did the tattooers go?" for one tattooer only, I'm pretty sure he went to work and will be back soon. Either that, or he's gone fishing.

Me too. I imagine that most tattooed people (especially heavily tattooed people) feel the same. Which is why I think it's the job of everybody here at LST to try to be thoughtful, insightful, open and intelligent in what they post outside of the deliberate joke/hang-out threads. I like to goof off as much as the next person (see my twitter feed and instagram comments as evidence) but every time I see "Get a ROA!" in a thread, I stop reading. In-jokes and scene memes can be fun until they get in the way of intelligent discussion. There are a few regular posters who I see get stuck in with jokes but also they give sound advice, get good tattoos and seem to know their shit as well as drop pearls of insightful wisdom they learned from personal experience, not gossip on the internet. Those are the guys who keep me coming back here although I first came for the tattooers.

I'm sure there's a place in this world for a tattooer-only forum, and there are tattooers with enough free time to moderate it, but that's never been the intention for LST. From the newbie guidelines - "The goal of LST is to create a positive and respectful place where both tattooers and collectors alike can access a wealth of information about Tattooing, share their own experiences and perspectives, and cultivate valuable relationships within the tattoo community." However, the feature to set up one's own group on LST has alway been there, under the forum tab. Go to the community section, then groups, then create a group about anything you want, set the type to invite only, then invite, discuss, and moderate away. - - - Updated - - - @JAllen, of course, we very much appreciate your contributions. And I can't imagine how much it would suck to be away from your family. Your wife must be much nicer than I am. Regarding technology glitches, the p key and the backspace key on our keyboard were broken for a month before we finally replaced it. So annoying.

Thank you Tim Forbus at Acme Staunton. The swallow represents my wife who holds my heart and the three flowers and names represent our three daughters. Size of the flower is consistent with the age of the daughter.

This was done last month by Eric Jones at Port City Tattoo. It's finally all healed up. Sorry for the minor glare near the front of her crown.

Mario for what its worth you were active when I found this site and I have also read I assume every thread and you indirectly helped me start to get it. I have since lasered my crap and only get good tattooers who care about tattooing to tattoo me. So I can see why you prefer not to post I for one am really glad you have. I thank you

funny...i get back on here and i see this and the post speculating about our departure from ctc! ha! one kind of answers the other...it's more a forum for civilians (no offense). i'd like to chime in here and there, but honestly, i'd be more interested in a forum for tattooers only, as i chat with "civilians" all day! but i want to try to make an effort again to be on here more because i do think it's a positive!

@kylegrey perfect response. The crux of the matter is that this site is only as good as the things people here say. Lets ALL try to be thoughtful and help others be thoughtful too. Although I can't say I speak for all tattooers... "we" - meaning tattooers, tattoo artists etc. were busy before we joined this site. We're still busy. That's not why we don't post. Switch the focus from 'busy' to ' interested' and think about what keeps people interested. If someone can be entertained by, benefit or learn from someone else, they are interested. Otherwise it's a one-way-street. Entertainment is easy to find on the internet, so that leaves the other two if we're talking long-term. Tattooers is peoples too.

Thanks for bringing this up @Shannon Shirley while we've never met, people who I think are awesome tell me that you're awesome. Everyone here should pay attention to what this guy says. I still check the forums every day but I told myself I'd try to only get involved if I could be constructive in some way (even being a dick in a particular way can have a positive outcome). Lately there hasn't been much 'new' information or discussion where I felt my opinion would make any difference. Often someone else gets to the point before I do. I don't want every post I make to be a verbose "Me too." On the other hand... The more help or insight we give, the more help or insight we're asked for. Everyone likes to say they "Did their research" for their tattoo but that often just means looking at pictures in a Google search or checking Instagram. But what about the kind of research where you follow an idea that someone mentioned and find out for yourself? Learning and discovery is fun. Information discovered is more cherished and valuable than information that's spoon fed. Everyone wants a book or website recommendation where the mysteries of life and everything will be explained, with pictures. Explorers will eventually tire of conversing with tourists and consumers but they may feel nourished conversing with other explorers. (I use these terms with their proper, non-insulting intention) If more people try to be explorers (intelectual, spiritual or physical) this site, and the world will be a better place. I've said it before but I don't come here to help with tattoo questions. We have a phone at Frith Street Tattoo. Helpful people are paid to answer it and answer questions. Most tattoo shops work with a similar system. You can get a helpful answer pretty quickly that way. Even if you're in another country. International calls are not very expensive compared to the price of a tattoo. I come here because I realised that it was a place where professional opinion meant something. I only started typing when I knew that nobody better qualified had answered. The turning point for me was Bryan Burk's post about Japanese tattoo politics. Finally we had first-hand, sensible and interesting information or opinion from a reliable source instead of conjecture or wiki-regurgitation. I knew then that I'd beter keep my mouth (or keyboard) shut unless I was sure I could contribute something worthwhile. I'm aware this approach doesn't make for a lively forum but it was great to see it in action earlier this year when Bart Bingham put a halt to some whining about tattooers drawing directly on the skin with a simple, direct and thoughtful post. Sorry for the lack of links to threads and @ mentions. LST seems to be loading extremely slowly so I couldn't check where stuff was. Other that the fact that one of my favourite tattooers started this site, I still like it that real-world experience holds water over post-count here at LST. I also like it that the mods (well, the one's I've met) are heavily covered with genuinely great tattoos. That really makes a difference.

I started on here about a year and a half ago, I would not like to see this site crumble. It seems to me that lately, less and less knowledgable people are commenting,posting etc. It also seems that thier are more lurkers with "I know some shit" attitudes. those that fit this profile should understand that you are ruining this site. This site was started in hope of an intelligent place where some could learn about the nuances of this craft. Stating amateur attitudes on here does not help.Having gotten three tattoos does not make you an authority.

I used to belong to an MMA forum, what a bunch of idiots. No one had any respect for anyone and everyone viewed it as a dick measuring contest. In the late 90's I had some friends that were doing tough man contests and kickboxing in Denver area, then they had a couple UFC's in Denver, what can I say i've been a fan, but can't deal with that crowd. I kind of feel the same way with the gun crowd. I like guns, have guns, like talking to real collecters and experts, have no use for the boneheads. This forum is way better than any forum I have been on, and this is the only tattoo forum I use.

Got these two beauties this week whilst in Rome. First one by Diego Brandi and the second by Samuele Briganti. I travelled to Rome purely to get tattooed and it was an absolute pleasure to get tattooed by these guys. Was such a fun experience, and they are some of the friendliest, most hospitible guys.

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! That sucks dude, sorry to hear. next time your just going to have to go in the day before, set up a little camp fire and roast marshmallows till the morning ;)

Cult you are about to find out YOU were the first vehicle for influence. It was your post on Boyer followed by drive up the road to Staunton to get inked by Tim Forbus that originally got me looking at their work. After seeing Tim's Sacred Heart and one of his Gypsy Ladyheads, I gave him a call. Since then I have been inked by him twice. He was able to blow me away with my second piece as it was the most important one I'll ever own; it contains my girls names. I told Tim I found him because of this site.

@peterpoose It's from these guys not sure which one of them though . GENKO & EN TATTOO STUDIO Web Site

here you are mate

I for one have had my tattooer come back to lurking after I told him I drove 3 hours to get specifically tattooed by him based on a reference from this site. I also have come to realize how lucky I am to live in Virginia and have a love for tattoos, especially old school stuff.

Moahaha is right! It sounds like every Norwegian gets tattooed like a pro. I haven't quit my job because I love my job for the first time in my life. However, we're moving into a much better place on the first and after we get back from a summer trip are going to look into adopting a dawg. Feeling pretty good myself right about now..

Your Mom is HILARIOUS!! :D My daughter was in town a couple weeks ago and we went out to lunch together. I showed her all my new tattoos and she made a comment to the effect of "it's a bad idea for young people to get a bunch of tattoos, but someone as old as you can get as many as you want because you won't live long enough to regret it". So funny!

I'm based in the UK. I booked an appointment at Frith St in London and discussed a few ideas there but they said to bring all my ideas on the day of the appointment. It's hard trying to visualize what it's going to look like!

Um, no you didn't. And I hope I didn't sound condescending or bitchy, either. That's the funny thing about the internet, without seeing someone's face, and hearing their tone, things that are meant as positive can read neutral, and words that are meant neutral seem negative. That's why emoticons are supposed to be used in forums, but we all seem to same the emoticons for our bodies. Plus they make me feel like a teenage girl. @David Flores, I think you're right about cleaning/consolidating some of the threads. And you're right, there would need to be an actual tattooer mod if that section existed. Our mods work really hard and spend a lot of valuable hours on here, I don't know what tattooer is ready to take that on for us. The politics of who's accepted sounds like a nightmare. Talk about sounding like a dick!

Since I am not a professional tattooer, mods, please feel free to delete this post if inappropriate. Just my little .02, but if the goal of the site is to educate the public about good tattooing, then I guess the artists are stuck with having the public post. I can totally understand tattooers wanting to be able to talk to each other without the counter-crowd looking over their shoulder. I think that could be a valid part of the site, and wouldn't be hard to set-up. The software for most bulletin-board types sites provides for limiting access to various boards to members with differing levels of permissions, based on post-count or other criteria. As far as who gets to post there, I would say strictly established, known tattooers. If someone who did not fit that description wanted to post there, they could contact one of the tattooers who post in the restricted area and ask for a reference. Those allowed in this hypothetical area could be identified with a title, or another customization of their member name. It's really a double-edged sword, eh?! If you want to educate the public, and in turn, get the opportunity to have clients who appreciate your work and are willing to pay for it, in time and treasure, then you are going to have to interact with them to some extent. And clients, if you want to have the opportunity to get work from someone who can do more than scar you for life, then it behooves you to read and learn here, and to avoid hassling the pros with endless bullshit. And now you can flame away. If this is a site for the general public, then don't complain when they show up. If it's a site for professional tattooers, then by all means, don't post if that restriction isn't honored.

If memory serves correct it is Genko - - - Updated - - - @Reyeslv soooooooooo... wheres the photos? Don't leave a brother hanging! (and no doubt the rest of the forum)

We watch it pretty religiously. You know that....we have discussed where we would hole up ;) Seriously, what is wrong with Andrea? Why do they make these women characters such nitwits?

davelang, we did discuss the possibility early on, but it's not really in the spirit of what we're trying to do with LST. But you know you can PM any artist on here, right? Funny, wrote that before seeing @mario desa's post. But Mario, don't you think if it were for artists only, there would be a ton of people claiming to be tattoo artists that many of you would say that they are anything but "artists?"

All said and done, I had a great session with Tim Forbus at Acme Tattoo Staunton on Thursday. Inner bicep, which wasn't as nearly as painful as I thought it would be. Couldn't be happier with the design. The blue rose is skewed due to the bend in my arm.

Wow. First, congratulations on your sobriety! And with turning your life around and creating multiple businesses. As far as distilling your ideas into a tattoo, think more about imagery than slogans. Take some time and poke around on here and see if anything jumps out at you -- could be you dig the power of panthers, could be a huge skull with roses is something that speaks to your struggle and what came out of it, maybe you want a big fuck off eagle. I know you're pressed for time but see if you can snag a couple books or magazines. Stoked for you man!

Hey, intro threads are the perfect place for answers and advice. You gotta give us a little bit to work with though, otherwise we're going to suggest that you get some combination of snakes and panthers.

Waiting at Goldrush towards the end of the line. Tim Hedricks is doing walk-ins. The guys at the head of the line got here at 12am. That's dedication!!!!

Got this rad dragon head tadoo from my Aussie pal Jake Fraser the other day who is in town from Melbourne. Weird spot but fun nonetheless! Look how happy that dragon is! Decided to go with slightly different colors than usual since it's surrounded by more traditional looking ones. Didn't even notice the little blue tips on the horns til I cleaned it off later that night. Really stoked on it! (Kinda reminds me of the Clay Smith Cams logo..

Love that everyone is just quitting their jobs, I did it a couple of weeks ago myself so from now on I'm my own boss! :cool: Since I'm the boss now I also booked a trip to Hollywood and tattoo appointments with Chris Conn and Bryan Burk! moahaha! Can't wait for May to arrive! Also I got my second session on my back with Valerie next week, good times! Life is pretty good right now! :D

Work in progress, I have now had five three hour sessions with Mo Coppoletta at The Family Business working on a three quarter sleeve koi, he coloured the koi in yesterday. Probably one or two more sessions to go now.

Calling a tattoo on your shoulder a half-sleeve...

Turns out about an inch away from your testicles is fairly brutal.. yowch.

That's what she said! Rob

Tattoo by Chad Koeplinger done at Frith Street Tattoo in London, England Filled up the spot nicely! (and quickly 2 Hours!)

I saw this on his IG it's awesome congrats.

Okay- i'll start my own morning column here. Ha ha. Thank you for the kind words

Of anyone here, you have more right to be preachy. You, Don and the rest of your family represent the kind of authenticity that cannot be faked, styled or imitated. A beacon for us all.

I can only speculate, but most of the people who have gone, have had things happen in their life that make their life a lot busier. A lot of people have gotten married and or had kids (grandkids), some people have become much more in demand as a tattooer, others have other projects that occupy their time. I agree that the dynamic has become the same as the tattoo shop, and that is why I usually am on in the morning and not so much at night. Usually someone has sucked the life out of me by the time I get home from the shop, and i am done talking about tattoos for the day.

Picture from Kore Flatmo's Facebook of our progress this week! Such an amazing experience, I'd recommend PluraBella to anyone and everyone here! Here's one I took to show how it matches up with my Kurt Wiscombe piece. I'm so pumped!

so here are my thoughts on fat people with tattoos..... theyre fat and have tattoos. being a good person to be around is way more important, it just takes longer to get out of your way if you fall in my direction. just get tattooed and enjoy them

I'm getting tattooed by Robert Ryan on Monday and Deno on Tuesday. Both are in hellish (inner thigh and armpit) spots that I expect to leave me crying like a wee baby. This whole painting myself into a corner thing was dumb. I should have started with the shit spots and ended up 36 years old and making appointments for my forearms.