justcallmematt

@jgoss1579 I see you came here to make friends tough guy. The family and lineage you just insulted are some of the kindest and important humans to have affected the craft and culture of modern western tattooing.
Someone please ban this fool. I can't see anything positive happening after this.
At least B-Tat walked out of his 15 mins quietly...

guns.......awesome

Hi all, My name is Matt. I'm Debra Yarian's oldest son- debyarian on here. Looking forward to taking part in this forum.

Hi all, My name is Matt. I'm Debra Yarian's oldest son- debyarian on here. Looking forward to taking part in this forum.

Just yesterday someone came in asking about a cover-up on his neck. I quoted him 200, he stands there for a minute, and says 180, so I told him 250. But wait he says, you just said 200. I did and you said 180, I don't haggle.
While I have no problem working with someone to keep it inside their budget, I refuse to haggle with price shoppers. He did set up an appointment though, for 200.

Turned out to be a really nice guy.

Just yesterday someone came in asking about a cover-up on his neck. I quoted him 200, he stands there for a minute, and says 180, so I told him 250. But wait he says, you just said 200. I did and you said 180, I don't haggle.
While I have no problem working with someone to keep it inside their budget, I refuse to haggle with price shoppers. He did set up an appointment though, for 200.

Just yesterday someone came in asking about a cover-up on his neck. I quoted him 200, he stands there for a minute, and says 180, so I told him 250. But wait he says, you just said 200. I did and you said 180, I don't haggle.
While I have no problem working with someone to keep it inside their budget, I refuse to haggle with price shoppers. He did set up an appointment though, for 200.

Just yesterday someone came in asking about a cover-up on his neck. I quoted him 200, he stands there for a minute, and says 180, so I told him 250. But wait he says, you just said 200. I did and you said 180, I don't haggle.
While I have no problem working with someone to keep it inside their budget, I refuse to haggle with price shoppers. He did set up an appointment though, for 200.

Just yesterday someone came in asking about a cover-up on his neck. I quoted him 200, he stands there for a minute, and says 180, so I told him 250. But wait he says, you just said 200. I did and you said 180, I don't haggle.
While I have no problem working with someone to keep it inside their budget, I refuse to haggle with price shoppers. He did set up an appointment though, for 200.

Hi all, My name is Matt. I'm Debra Yarian's oldest son- debyarian on here. Looking forward to taking part in this forum.

Hi all, My name is Matt. I'm Debra Yarian's oldest son- debyarian on here. Looking forward to taking part in this forum.

Just yesterday someone came in asking about a cover-up on his neck. I quoted him 200, he stands there for a minute, and says 180, so I told him 250. But wait he says, you just said 200. I did and you said 180, I don't haggle.
While I have no problem working with someone to keep it inside their budget, I refuse to haggle with price shoppers. He did set up an appointment though, for 200.

Just yesterday someone came in asking about a cover-up on his neck. I quoted him 200, he stands there for a minute, and says 180, so I told him 250. But wait he says, you just said 200. I did and you said 180, I don't haggle.
While I have no problem working with someone to keep it inside their budget, I refuse to haggle with price shoppers. He did set up an appointment though, for 200.

Hi all, My name is Matt. I'm Debra Yarian's oldest son- debyarian on here. Looking forward to taking part in this forum.

Hi all, My name is Matt. I'm Debra Yarian's oldest son- debyarian on here. Looking forward to taking part in this forum.

OK here's the thing Bubbleberry. You aren't a tattooer. Not that your opinion isn't valid, but try to understand things from this perspective:
Among craftsmen, information is the true currency. It's why master woodworkers, calligraphers, metal smiths, violin makers etc. guarded their secrets. It's keeps the things that you do special. When everyone knows everything, what is special? Thats why the Stradivarius violin is what it is and not just some normal violin.
When I was in my apprenticeship my teachers told me things. Very valuable things that helped me in my journey. Things I still think about today. One had been tattooing 14 years and the other 9. They had accumulated a lot of experience. They made mistakes, figured some things out, talked and worked with other tattooers, and had a chance to see a lot of things they did age and make adjustments to compensate. When they taught me stuff, they put their faith in me that I wouldn't just treat the things they passed on as just stuff to talk about or things to say when you want other dudes to know that you know what you're talking about. It was truly valuable and needed to be seen and treated as such.
I had very good friends working at other shops in town on their own similar beginning adventures in tattooing, and I never told them any of the shit my bosses told me even if I thought it would help. Which was hard, but here's the thing. It wasn't my secrets to tell. As much as I would like to help someone out that I think might benefit from a hint or two, it's not my information to tell. I couldn't betray that. It's what keeps it valuable and helps keep that bond between student and teacher sacred. I truly believe that. That's maybe why so many of us are up in arms about the tattoo school thing. Because we may have gone through the student/teacher apprenticeships, and value that. I'm proud of my lineage. They aren't huge name dudes or anything, but I think that are some of the best tattooers I know. My stuff has a look to it that you can trace back to the people I worked with and learned from and that's important. It keeps things rich. It's the best way to cultivate and nurture tattooing as a whole. My stuff may not be the best stuff out there, but it's mine, and what's mine is a combination of the people who taught me, and I'm proud of that.
Think about your wife. She's going through her very own apprenticeship. What about the accumulated knowledge that her teacher is passing on to her. Should she not hold that in truly high regard? Shouldn't she keep his secrets and put them to good use? She is now part of his lineage. That's not something to take lightly. That information is valuable and she should treat is as such.
That's not to say that you can't ever mention it. Trading bits of information between craftsmen is another way to honor the value of the knowledge, AND that gives me the privilege of being able to go back to my teachers and tell them what i've learned as a part of the way you can pay them back for giving you so much in the first place.
As craftsmen we meet up at conventions, guest spots, shop visits on vacations, writing to each other, and we can sometimes trade portions of information to each other and we can in turn use these in our own ways and it helps keep tattooing robust and alive. It helps us form bonds between each other. However even in those situations I try to hold back certain aspects of the info, as do the people on the other side. It keeps the level of mystery, not in a mystical sense, but in the sense that we now have to figure out the key to unlock this particular piece of knowledge, and sometimes we find our own key and use for it.
Tattooing is different than most things in that it's still a largely master/apprentice craft. True a lot of tattooers came in through different means but most of them respect the apprenticeship as the proper way, and although more tattooers than not shouldn't actually be giving apprenticeships since they aren't really cut out for it, and we have too many to begin with already, it's still the proper way. That is part of the tradition that, at least I hold in very high regard.
Ursula, if you're paying for info, that you've in turn used to help you create something unique, then yes you should see it in that light. Hold it back. People ask and ask, but that shows you just how valuable and special your stuff is. Let them find their own secrets. Now if you are meeting up with other people and can trade parts of things for more info, then good on you.
I could write more on this subject but I think I need food right now. I'm sure smarter people than me can expound in a better way.