Ursula

It says she did the tattoos while her parents were at work or not at home. Makes me wonder how a kid can hide an entire tattoo/piercing set up from their own parents. I mean, obviously every teen ager has secrets and hides things from the family but really, you didn't notice your kid was tattooing other kids in your own basement? Boo to the parents, boo to the t.v. shows that made this kid think it was ok and boo to the kid for fucking up other kids bodies forever. And for once, yay to the police for stopping someone from hurting other people and the tattoo industry.

The offending tattooer was an out of town guest who came about once a month or every couple months. If I had to deal with him on the daily I wouldn't have worked there more than a week or two I'm sure. The guy who owned the shop and hired me was really nice, didn't expect me to do unreasonable stuff and tipped me very well. The other people who worked as guest artists and the other guy that he eventually hired as a full time artist were always very good to me as well.

Haha I just meant I find Breaking and Trueblood personally more entertaining. Those shows I'm waiting for each new episode where Walking I do like but I think best show on tv is going a little too far. This could also be because I've never thought zombies were that awesome. I have no fear of them nor do I think they are sooooo awesome like most people seem too. I'm that chick who thinks zombie walks are pointless and I don't understand why they are so popular.

Honestly is someone is getting good tattoos and they are stupid enough to let someone else finish them just 'cause it's going to be cheaper, then they probably deserve the shit quality work they are bound to end up with. However, if you got a tattoo started, aren't happy with it and don't see any way of the original artist doing a good job then it's your choice who finishes it. Also, if I want a tattoo really close or added onto another tattoo that should be my choice as it's my body. Personally I think it just looks better when your tattoos don't run into other tattoos but a lot of people I know just don't have the space for that luxury. In the end people sometimes need to just get over themselves. There's always going to be assholes doing tattoos and if you're good at what you do those assholes shouldn't hurt your business.

Having worked this job myself I can tell you what my experience was. a) How are you determining their pay? Do you pay in tips or are they guaranteed a certain salary per week? When I worked in shops it was for tips, the guy I worked for was nice enough to realize that he had to tip me pretty well to make it worth my while (he had a very small shop with only 2 tattooers) In a shop with few tattooer who can't afford to tip highly it can turn into working for way less than minimum wage, especially on a slow day. If your shop has more than three tattooers you should be able to split between you all tip a decent amount. If you are paying by the hour, you need to pay higher than minimum wage. When you pay someone minimum wage you are basically saying to the employee you must do the minimum amount of work to get by and your time is not very valuable to us which makes them not want to try hard. You really need to think about how much that person is worth to you. What is it worth to you not to have to scrub tubes and deal with customers? If you run a busy shop it shouldn't be a problem to pay someone well. If you are paying in tips you also need to make it clear to your tattooers that it is everyone's responsibility to pay the help, if one person decides they don't want to pay for that help it takes money out of everyone else's pocket and causes a very bad dynamic in the shop. I wouldn't want to scrub your tubes if I know at the end of the day you're not going to bother to thank me for the 5 customers I sent your way. b) Who are you hiring? The people I worked for were close friends. This made it difficult for them to say something to me when I made a mistake or did a bad job. This also made it easy for me to slack off when the shop was slow. Hiring someone who is knowledgeable about tattooing can be a plus when answering customers questions. Not everyone who is knowledgeable about tattooing wants to do tattoos for a living, and if the person is, just make it very clear that you are not looking for an apprentice and that you will not teach them and that while at work they are not being paid to watch people tattoo. You can also do what the other have suggested and try to find someone who has experience in retail or secretarial duties. Someone who's worked say in a hair salon at the front desk may have what you are looking for. c) Is there room for promotions? A few people I know who've held this job ended up quitting because most tattoo shops offer no room for promotion. Would you want to hold a job for more than 6 months or a year if you knew there was no chance of ever making more money or moving up in the company? I wouldn't. When someone is doing a good job you need to reward them for that, be it an annual raise, really good Christmas bonuses, or some other way of showing your appreciation in a manner that actually helps the person move forward. Maybe someone starts off as a shop helped and later turns into a shop manager? Or maybe they over time gain more duties like ordering your supplies or becoming a key holder who opened and closes the shop for you. d) Are you treating them like a shop bitch? People who do this job are there to help make your day go easier. They are not there to bend over backwards at every tiny request you have. When you treat someone like dirt it doesn't make them want to work for you, even if you are paying them well. I had a tattooer once spill his india ink in his pencil case the night before at home, instead of cleaning it up right then, he saved it brought it to the shop and asked me to clean every single pencil and pen and all his erasers, etc. This was a tattooer who usually didn't even bother to tip me. I cleaned his pencil case and never did anything for him again. This person is your shop employee, they are doing the things you don't have time and don't want to do, you should be thanking them for doing this instead of laughing at them and giving them shitty jobs on purpose. Feel free to mess with your apprentices in that way, not a paid employee who you claim to respect. So basically, hire someone who is smart and willing to work, pay them well and don't treat them like a slave. Do those things and you should be able to keep a good worker around for a while. In the end it's a pretty fun job with a lot of perks. I've heard of shops who had the same counter person for 10 years.

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA He got really mad at me and James one time for habitually driving with less than a half tank of gas. He always has a full one and full cans around just in case. Neither him or his brother could believe that prior to living in the USA I had never handled or even really seen a real gun. (I had shot air rifles in Cadets) About the show: I like it, I don't think it's as good as everyone seems to think. I still think breaking bad and true blood are better. It's def a cool show and I like the dynamics of the group. It's probably the only show that I've actually had edge of the seat moments for in a long time. I know I've been watching while smoking a joint and notice that my entire joint has burned without me cause I've been to wrapped up to smoke it hahaha.

One of our own members of the message board sent me a personal message saying he would but my art and offered me $25. And this was from someone who's a tattooer. I didn't even humour him with a reply. I bet he wouldn't do a $25 tattoo on someone. Sorry Deb, to hear that people can't recognize what your work is worth, but you problem don't want someone like that as a customer anyhow.

Pretty sure after the Bubbleberry blow out she decided not to really post anymore. I don't really know why since it wasn't directed at her.

Congratulations man! you guys look awesome!

@josh daniels it's called forum runner ! there's a thread somewhere about it.

Congrats dude! Hope it's been all you hoped and more!

WTF is an MW3?

I think this video gives a good idea of horrible quirks or habits in America. http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=noau8H6SfNs

If you can get your hands on the images from the Mayo Clinic archives there's amazing anatomical drawings of all kinds. Saw them in a gallery not sure if they have an online library. Antique books usually have great illustrations as well, things like eagles, flags, banners, animals, swords, crests.

I don't think I've been in a shop that doesn't have the Sailor Jerry Line Drawing books or the Sailor Jerry Tattoo Flash books. Craphound is an amazing reference source as well as many of the Dover books of royalty free art.

I love his work. I actually own two of the paintings in that portfolio. His lady is a fibre artist like me so obviously I have mad respect for her too. Let me go see if I can find some images of her work..... Ok found some stuff on her Facebook page.. She does free hand machine embroidery (some machines are programmed and all you do is press start, hers she actually guides to make the drawings). Her name is Meghan McAleavy If you were at the tattoo convention a couple weeks ago in SF and saw Robert's banner, she made that too.

I think the two photos posted earlier look really neat actually. I also think they were probably taken very shortly after the tattoo was done and probably don't look like that anymore, especially if they are out in the sun in a place like California where I think DCostello lives. I personally have never seen a white tattoo healed that looks good. Every one I've seen in person is small and in a harder place to tattoo like the palm or wrist so it ends up just looking like a weird scar blob or not even visible after a few weeks. But like Ron said, maybe it will make the chick realize that she wants to have real tattoos.

@JAllen - is that chalk? so awesome

@gougetheeyes I agree, when I got mine in the mail I was even more impressed. He's apparently had no art training but still has figured out things like making the top lip darker than the bottom and shading the edges of round objects. Best $100 painting I own.

@JAllen @irezumi I wish he still had a picture of the one I bought. It's title was "Sailor Obama Meets The Girl With The Golden Skull" it's all about Obama being seduced by alien latino chicks in bikinis. I just found a picture of it on his Facebook page, hopefully this link works hahaha oh man there's some here i haven't seen before like this one "Meet Me At Center Court While I Turn Into A Werewolf" "The Christmas Bailout Of Taco Filled Cat Bellies"

the only thing not going on here is the proper function of that lady's reproductive system

vain ? no. I really don't get why it's not o.k. to sign your name on tattoo art but it is ok to sign your name on any other kind of art (paintings, sculpture, illustration, etc.) If the person getting the tattoo doesn't care that you signed it or wants you to sign it I really don't see where the problem is. Y'all need to get over it. After all, just because it's on you doesn't make it your art. It is and always will be the art of the person who did the tattoo.

These paintings are done by a guy who calls himself Taco Werewolf. I wish I was in Florida so I could take a photo of the letter he sent me (I purchased a painting from him online). In the letter he mentions putting his finger print on the back of the painting as well as signing it with his real name too just to make sure. Anyways I think they are pretty great and at $100 I can see why they are all sold but one. If you go to his website there is a very detailed description of each painting expelaining why he painted it and what it means. He's just some weird dude who is really into Obama.