DavidR

Mario Desa was kind enough to tattoo me at the Richmond Tattoo Convention.

I started my clean arm!

I know she's been mentioned before but I think Kim-Anh Nguyen (https://instagram.com/kimanh_n/) deserves a little more exposure.
She works out of Seven Seas Tattoos in Eindhoven, The Netherlands.
Here's a couple I stole from her facebook (https://www.facebook.com/bleakandblue):

Great time getting tattooed by Valerie yesterday. It really comes through how much she and Stewart care about what they're doing. Weird moment recognising the guy from Stewart's blog with the Saga/Reinke sleeves - those are some awesome looking tattoos (sorry if I'm being weird again and you're reading this, ha!).

:D i apperently am a wuss today... last time we worked on my leg I sat/slept for 6hrs this time.. not so much more like an hour.
ugh. Can't wait to do the color!!

I know she's been mentioned before but I think Kim-Anh Nguyen (https://instagram.com/kimanh_n/) deserves a little more exposure.
She works out of Seven Seas Tattoos in Eindhoven, The Netherlands.
Here's a couple I stole from her facebook (https://www.facebook.com/bleakandblue):

panther

Got this lady head from Max Kuhn on Monday! Wraps a bit!

people think i'm joking when i say i like doing tribal, too. and i've actually said to a few customers who were really freaked out "you don't HAVE to get a tattoo. i know its popular, but it's ok not to have one."

That's a good point, the pass on. I dig it. If it's something I don't have any interest in like a shit-ton of Celtic animals with intertwining knots I pass it on. I don't do intricate Celtic work enough to be great at it because I don't have any interest in it. Upside-down names and that shit- all day long- I'm your guy

While I can relate to being pissed off about general rudeness, I feel some things tattooists need to lighten up on. Basically being unknowledgable about tattoos in general, asking questions we have heard a million times before, bringing references on phones, wanting stuff that is too detailed or won't work. A gentle approach goes a long way.
The way I look at it, I patronize a lot of business where I don't know jack, and I don't appreciate being treated like an idiot for not being in the know. A good example is when I went back to my local print shop. I was asking why I couldn't open a certain file which was a flash sheet I had scanned to a tiff file. The print shop guy snapped at me "ITS A MULTI PAGE TIFF FILE!! YOU CAN'T OPEN IT UNLESS YOU HAVE PHOTOSHOP!!" I am like ok, can you change it to a file that I can open? Again snappage "I CAN'T DO THAT! YOU HAVE TO HAVE THE ORIGINAL IMAGE!" I am like "ok, I have that, could you please scan it again?". I also had them saved as PDFs for easy printing. So he was like "I am just going to change these PDFs into JPEGS". I said I would prefer to have both, as the PDFs print original size and all. Even more snappage " UNLESS YOU ARE GOING TO PRINT THEM OUT, THERE IS NO USE". I calmly explain to him that they are commercial art, of course I am going to print them out. Then I ask if I have the jpegs and alter them, they can be saved into PDFs again, right? More snappage "ONLY IF YOU HAVE PHOTOSHOP!" The guy was literally yelling at me. Needless to say, I won't be doing business there again.
Think about that the next time a customer says asks about things that seem readily apparent to you. A lot of times people are not trying to be difficult. You are the expert, not them. Try and take this into consideration.

1. People bringing their kids to the shop. Nothing pisses me off more.
2. People canceling the day of the appointment OR them "forgetting" they had an appointment. Thanks for the deposit and wasting my time.
3. Asking how much "a rose" is or how much "some letters" are or a how much a "medium tattoo" costs. Fucker, how much is a new car or a bag of groceries? I don't know!
4. Trying to get me to price match with other shops like Im Walmart.
5. Parents that bring their kids in to get tattooed, even though they dont approve, and act shitty to me when I do the tattoo.
6. When a client's friend is with them while getting tattooed and they tell their friend, "its almost done"... um... did i say it was? no... it isnt.
7. Clients who talk with their hands or keep moving their head fast when Im tattooing them.
8. Clients I dont know on a certain level that think Im their therapist.
9. People who think I love L.A. Ink. and "have to get a tattoo from Kat Von D before they die".
10. Clients that put their friend's opinion before their own.
I was bitter towards people before becoming a tattooer from working retail... it only got worse. I could go on all day. Im really not an asshole.

Have you ever drawn up a picture of them holding the image up to you on their phone? Just say this is what you showed me? Could get some good laughs?????? Thanks for sharing.

Wendy Pham out of Conspiracy Tattoo in Berlin, Germany

Super detailed and whimsical work.
Instagram

Welcome to LST @Descendent That sleeve's looking great! Who's the artist?

I'll stop lurking now. I've been creeping on ya'll for a couple years actually, I started hanging around here before I got my first and only (for now) tattoo. I read quite a few threads and reinforced what I wanted. The process of finding a decent references and the right tattoo artist was fantastic. I looked through a lot of portfolios and talked to two artists the second of which was definitely the right fit, in terms of being stoked to do the tattoo and listening to what I valued. It was definitely the right person at the right time for me, and I was pumped to work with the guy. The creative process was amazing! I showed up a week or so later I checked out the stencil. I literally couldn't believe how great it looked and how pumped I was on getting that on my skin. So I show up for my first tattoo and proceed to sit for an eight hour outline, which was pretty burly, I was sweating bullets in the last hour or two. Since then I've found four hours is a LOT more manageable while still getting work done. Anywho it's been longer than I'd like to admit and we're still not done, but the last session got me seriously fired up on this tattoo. There was some aspects of the tattoo I really wanted at first, that I would change now if I could so it's not perfect but it's mine and I love it, and it's EXACTLY what I asked for. I love Japanese work and American Traditional too. In the future I'd like to do some one-shots that won't be such a commitment of time and resources. I now have huge respect for anyone with a full back or any other huge piece as I now have a bit more respect for that sort of thing. There are many members of this forum who's insight in threads has been really help full in finding what I like about tattoos and own collections have blown my mind (Hogg). Anyone reading this prior to getting seriously tattooed I recommend really reading several threads and look at the gallerys here and see what you like. Better yet get tattooed make mistakes and then get more tattoos that you like even more. Sorry for the novel. D out!

i always tell people to get the tattoo they want, where they want it. don't let friends or others opinions of size/pain/location of tattoo affect your decisions.

After going big, I go home; I prefer to shower there.

I just want to say thanks to all who have posted so far. People here are so very friendly and helpful!;)

I know how you feel, and let me assure you, after the first one those feelings get SO much easier.
But I think it's also good to not go into it being unsure. Kinda like taking really good acid. Shit can get real if you aren't 100% about it.

Best of luck! I know the feeling.

So I feel like a fraud but... I cancelled my appointment.
I ended up drowning in doubt. Doubts about style, design, my chosen artist. By the time I'd finished tying myself up in knots, I doubted whether I even wanted a tattoo at all. So not the best frame of mind in which to make a lifetime decision. I was pretty bummed out about it for a couple of days but I know I made the right decision and I'm gonna take some time to get my head straight before making another appointment.
I think the best place to start doing that is right here. I'm gonna soak up some culture and wisdom. I'm also going to attend a couple of conventions in May.

I don't know,but that Japanese sleeve is solid...You can call the shop and ask.I didn't see that sleeve in her Instagram.but if she didn't do it,and if that guy is from Boise,then he may have got it from Erik Payne@ Home

So I feel like a fraud but... I cancelled my appointment.
I ended up drowning in doubt. Doubts about style, design, my chosen artist. By the time I'd finished tying myself up in knots, I doubted whether I even wanted a tattoo at all. So not the best frame of mind in which to make a lifetime decision. I was pretty bummed out about it for a couple of days but I know I made the right decision and I'm gonna take some time to get my head straight before making another appointment.
I think the best place to start doing that is right here. I'm gonna soak up some culture and wisdom. I'm also going to attend a couple of conventions in May.

also posted this in the ladies thread
Here are a few names to get you started:
Jill Bonny
Junnii
Katja Ramirez
Gill Gold
- - - Updated - - -
also Darcy Nutt

2nd time for me this year! I'm starting my back on friday the 6th! Stoked!