gougetheeyes

i too like a lady head to be real dark around the eyes with a good amount of color/make-up to contrast on the face and eyelids. i like 'em too look real old and even withered. more black in the hair the better. and if you want to through in some sort of exotic nose or something like that, i'm way down. with that being said, i also really like bailey hunter robinson's girls, especially when he puts a rose in there. cris cleen also does some very original girl heads that i think are very cool. i am a big fan of everybody at spider murphy's but i really like paul dobleman and stuart cripwell's lady heads, and i wear one by matt howse. grez and eric jones(goldrush) also do awesome lady heads! for something a lil' different i love bart bingham's girls.

You guys, don't worry about Gia, she's just easily annoyed. I suspect it's the people, and not really their choice of words that's bothering her. Or that her squid slacks are itchy.

My aussie buddy had me saying "tadoo" for a while, kind of half making fun of him, half wishing I had a righteous accent of some sort.

Pauly, even your initial post on this thread makes me think you came here looking for a fight. I can sympathize with the frustration but if you've had more negative experiences than positive at tattoo shops, then take a look at these situations and try to understand the root causes. Maybe the guy was a dick and it sounds like the time management and professionalism could have been better on his end, but no one is obligated to get you drinks or be your best friend. Like others have said, as little as a generation ago, chances are you wouldn't have even gotten in the door. We've all had times where maybe we've had to wait around, or appointments run long, or maybe the tattooer is just having an off day. We all have shitty days. But it's no reason to think all tattooers (or waiters, etc.) are assholes across the board. You get the same cross section of people in any industry. There are a lot of dipshit people in general.
I wasn't going to comment on this, but I can understand your frustration. Instead of trying to force people to like you and treat you with respect, you have to show some respect first. If you're serious about continuing to get tattooed, just relax and try to enter in future situations with a positive outlook and no expectations other than a great tattoo.
How'd the end product turn out?

You're certainly right about the blue collar aspect so no argument there. I once waited 2 hrs for a tattoo from a pretty well-known guy up here because he hadn't drawn anything up and told me flat out he stopped drawing things beforehand b/c so many people had shot him the ghost lately. He apologized a lot but I still had to wait.. It was definitely worth it and the next two times I went back he was all set up and ready to go so I don't hold a grudge but it was definitely a bit of an eye-opener, since it made me feel like an idiot kid just setting foot in a shop for the first time. Don't let it get you down.
I think it was just your phrasing that sort of "got" some folks on here. Kind of like if some random person on the street started going off about tattoos I'd feel the need to defend it you know. Next time you get tattooed, I'd say bring some snacks and clear the day. I always try to swing it where I can have the whole day to myself and let it just be about the tattoo.

You're certainly right about the blue collar aspect so no argument there. I once waited 2 hrs for a tattoo from a pretty well-known guy up here because he hadn't drawn anything up and told me flat out he stopped drawing things beforehand b/c so many people had shot him the ghost lately. He apologized a lot but I still had to wait.. It was definitely worth it and the next two times I went back he was all set up and ready to go so I don't hold a grudge but it was definitely a bit of an eye-opener, since it made me feel like an idiot kid just setting foot in a shop for the first time. Don't let it get you down.
I think it was just your phrasing that sort of "got" some folks on here. Kind of like if some random person on the street started going off about tattoos I'd feel the need to defend it you know. Next time you get tattooed, I'd say bring some snacks and clear the day. I always try to swing it where I can have the whole day to myself and let it just be about the tattoo.

i get and understand that side too Mario. and i definitely don't think i'm better than the next person who's coming in to get a tribal armband or a heart with the word mom in it. but at the same time, i recognize that i am actively seeking out individuals based on their artwork, just as i could do with any other form of art, and having work made. i have invested money and time into trying to get work done by certain individuals, and i am actively collecting this work that happens to cover my body. so i'm sorry if my word choice was seen as comment on status, as it wasn't intended to be so. however, i'm not sure that there's a better word to describe who i or many others are.
and i, as a client of you Mario, sincerely appreciate that you value every customer that you have, because that's part of what makes you a great artist. and like any good business, the client should be valued and respected, because they are supporting you financially, regardless of how small or big the task they're asking you to do.
i just wrote this whole long response, thinking i had gotten to the end of the thread, then realized i hadn't and that everyone had basically said what i wanted to haha.
also Pat, i was in no way angry, just sort of annoyed haha.

Also: Roseanne and I Love Lucy. UNASHAMED.

Oh wait, I just found two quarters.

Can you break a $2?

did this one the other day.
mariachi t-rex.. OLE!

Sorry.....it's me again!
Had Dave Cise at The Baltimore Tattoo Museum finish off his tattoo yesterday on my neck!
I think my neck is totally done now!
He added some lines around a phrase he has put on the front of my neck from ear to ear and did
a negative drop shadow throughout the whole thing!
It turned out awesome and i am stoked to have my neck totally finished!

Pauly, even your initial post on this thread makes me think you came here looking for a fight. I can sympathize with the frustration but if you've had more negative experiences than positive at tattoo shops, then take a look at these situations and try to understand the root causes. Maybe the guy was a dick and it sounds like the time management and professionalism could have been better on his end, but no one is obligated to get you drinks or be your best friend. Like others have said, as little as a generation ago, chances are you wouldn't have even gotten in the door. We've all had times where maybe we've had to wait around, or appointments run long, or maybe the tattooer is just having an off day. We all have shitty days. But it's no reason to think all tattooers (or waiters, etc.) are assholes across the board. You get the same cross section of people in any industry. There are a lot of dipshit people in general.
I wasn't going to comment on this, but I can understand your frustration. Instead of trying to force people to like you and treat you with respect, you have to show some respect first. If you're serious about continuing to get tattooed, just relax and try to enter in future situations with a positive outlook and no expectations other than a great tattoo.
How'd the end product turn out?

I don't think tattoo artists are different than any other group of people in that you need to take them on a case by case basis. If I had a couple bad service experiences at various restaurants I wouldn't think all waiters are douchebags. Yes, at the end of the day, you are their source of income and that's often most important to them, but that doesn't mean that every one of them will treat you poorly. Same deal here.
Personally, I tend to have quite pleasant interactions at tattoo shops. It could be due to the shops that I choose to frequent or the manner in which I try to approach situations though.
I've had plenty of tattoo appointments pushed back, rescheduled, etc. Generally the artist is sincerely apologetic though and it's not a big deal. I love punctuality but shit happens and everyone runs late sometimes on both client and artist side.
Don't get offended when I say this, but perhaps there's something you don't realize you're doing that facilitates these constant negative interactions. More often than not if any one person is getting repeatedly burned/used/insulted it tends that they're doing something to put themselves in that position... Or maybe you just have picked a lot of asshole artists to visit. It's hard to tell when an outside party like us LST'ers only hear one side of a story ya know?
As for the coffee thing, you could have communicated with the staff more about when you would be getting tattooed and whether you had time to get something sooner rather than just expected them to ask you if you wanted something. The helper already has to deal with plenty of other things besides serving food and beverages to customers as well.
Straight up- we have it pretty posh as tattoo customers nowadays compared to what anyone wanting to get tattooed in the past had to deal with. In the big scheme of things, we as customers really don't have much to complain about (and if there is a legitimate complaint then fuck it find a more appropriate fit.)
Good luck- I hope you find a more positive tattoo experience. I promise they're out there. I see your profile says socal- what part of socal you in? I can think of several great tattoo artists with welcoming shops down there- some of them are even on this forum...

Thinking about making this my FB status.

I've never referred to myself as a collector, but I've heard many other people describe me that way. The best was when I was visiting shops in Japan and artists would say, "Tattoo artist?" I'd say, "No, no, no" and they'd say, "Oh...tattoo corrector!"

[x] SQUID PANTS

Say what now? (ps: this drawing is still better than the tattoo I posted earlier. As such, I get a free pass to say "I wanna use my tatgun to tattyzap this, bro".

Okay, in that case I'm growing a pair of squid pants.

Which is to say that yes... he's a professional squid.

exactly, although I'd love to watch a random's reaction if you said "What's up tat-wizard, tryna get those squid pants!" to them hahaha.
Another exaggerated example would be two friends who call each other degrading names at a bar. No big deal, but if an outside 3rd person comes up and calls one of them an asshole the 3rd person is gonna get clocked pretty fast.

notice that i used the word "collector", not client. i get how embarrasing it would be to have somone off the street come up to your shop, look through a portfolio, and say "sweet tats bro!" (and annoying). i get it, but at the same time, as discussed in other threads, that is someone who is probably (and this is an assumption) not getting tattooed for the "cool" factor or because it's what people are doing right now, not because they have a deeper attachment or interest in the community, art, or culture itself. while i don't think a serious collector would use some of the words listed above (though some appear to be catching on now), collectors are more interested in these other aspects of tattooing and therefore, have an investment in the community.

[x] SQUID PANTS

I can understand this. However -- just to keep stirring the pot here -- I think the next point becomes if a rapport has been established with a tattooer friend and you two trade slang terms back and forth, I think that's ok, since you've got that relationship and it's established. But, say you go to a new shop or get tattooed by another person, you're certainly not going to talk to that person like your buddy and be all, "What's up tat-wizard, tryna get those squid pants!"

[x] SQUID PANTS