Stewart Robson

Further to what @cltattooing said:
It's incredibly important to discuss price beforehand.
Many people have a specific budget and cannot afford more at that time, maybe ever.
We are professionals, offering a professional service. Payment is one aspect of that service.
Part of the consultation for any tattoo, be it a backpiece or a small walk-in design, is to discuss the price. Then you can decide if you will get the tattoo today, or at a later date.
If you are not told a price for your tattoo, you should ask. (at my shop we make sure that every client knows the maximum amount they will be expected to pay for their tattoo session, before they book an appointment or agree to get tattooed - sometimes it works out to be less)
Yes, we're also in London. Not mentioning the cost of goods and services is certainly not a cultural thing here.

Further to what @cltattooing said:
It's incredibly important to discuss price beforehand.
Many people have a specific budget and cannot afford more at that time, maybe ever.
We are professionals, offering a professional service. Payment is one aspect of that service.
Part of the consultation for any tattoo, be it a backpiece or a small walk-in design, is to discuss the price. Then you can decide if you will get the tattoo today, or at a later date.
If you are not told a price for your tattoo, you should ask. (at my shop we make sure that every client knows the maximum amount they will be expected to pay for their tattoo session, before they book an appointment or agree to get tattooed - sometimes it works out to be less)
Yes, we're also in London. Not mentioning the cost of goods and services is certainly not a cultural thing here.

Further to what @cltattooing said:
It's incredibly important to discuss price beforehand.
Many people have a specific budget and cannot afford more at that time, maybe ever.
We are professionals, offering a professional service. Payment is one aspect of that service.
Part of the consultation for any tattoo, be it a backpiece or a small walk-in design, is to discuss the price. Then you can decide if you will get the tattoo today, or at a later date.
If you are not told a price for your tattoo, you should ask. (at my shop we make sure that every client knows the maximum amount they will be expected to pay for their tattoo session, before they book an appointment or agree to get tattooed - sometimes it works out to be less)
Yes, we're also in London. Not mentioning the cost of goods and services is certainly not a cultural thing here.

Further to what @cltattooing said:
It's incredibly important to discuss price beforehand.
Many people have a specific budget and cannot afford more at that time, maybe ever.
We are professionals, offering a professional service. Payment is one aspect of that service.
Part of the consultation for any tattoo, be it a backpiece or a small walk-in design, is to discuss the price. Then you can decide if you will get the tattoo today, or at a later date.
If you are not told a price for your tattoo, you should ask. (at my shop we make sure that every client knows the maximum amount they will be expected to pay for their tattoo session, before they book an appointment or agree to get tattooed - sometimes it works out to be less)
Yes, we're also in London. Not mentioning the cost of goods and services is certainly not a cultural thing here.

Further to what @cltattooing said:
It's incredibly important to discuss price beforehand.
Many people have a specific budget and cannot afford more at that time, maybe ever.
We are professionals, offering a professional service. Payment is one aspect of that service.
Part of the consultation for any tattoo, be it a backpiece or a small walk-in design, is to discuss the price. Then you can decide if you will get the tattoo today, or at a later date.
If you are not told a price for your tattoo, you should ask. (at my shop we make sure that every client knows the maximum amount they will be expected to pay for their tattoo session, before they book an appointment or agree to get tattooed - sometimes it works out to be less)
Yes, we're also in London. Not mentioning the cost of goods and services is certainly not a cultural thing here.

Further to what @cltattooing said:
It's incredibly important to discuss price beforehand.
Many people have a specific budget and cannot afford more at that time, maybe ever.
We are professionals, offering a professional service. Payment is one aspect of that service.
Part of the consultation for any tattoo, be it a backpiece or a small walk-in design, is to discuss the price. Then you can decide if you will get the tattoo today, or at a later date.
If you are not told a price for your tattoo, you should ask. (at my shop we make sure that every client knows the maximum amount they will be expected to pay for their tattoo session, before they book an appointment or agree to get tattooed - sometimes it works out to be less)
Yes, we're also in London. Not mentioning the cost of goods and services is certainly not a cultural thing here.

Further to what @cltattooing said:
It's incredibly important to discuss price beforehand.
Many people have a specific budget and cannot afford more at that time, maybe ever.
We are professionals, offering a professional service. Payment is one aspect of that service.
Part of the consultation for any tattoo, be it a backpiece or a small walk-in design, is to discuss the price. Then you can decide if you will get the tattoo today, or at a later date.
If you are not told a price for your tattoo, you should ask. (at my shop we make sure that every client knows the maximum amount they will be expected to pay for their tattoo session, before they book an appointment or agree to get tattooed - sometimes it works out to be less)
Yes, we're also in London. Not mentioning the cost of goods and services is certainly not a cultural thing here.

Further to what @cltattooing said:
It's incredibly important to discuss price beforehand.
Many people have a specific budget and cannot afford more at that time, maybe ever.
We are professionals, offering a professional service. Payment is one aspect of that service.
Part of the consultation for any tattoo, be it a backpiece or a small walk-in design, is to discuss the price. Then you can decide if you will get the tattoo today, or at a later date.
If you are not told a price for your tattoo, you should ask. (at my shop we make sure that every client knows the maximum amount they will be expected to pay for their tattoo session, before they book an appointment or agree to get tattooed - sometimes it works out to be less)
Yes, we're also in London. Not mentioning the cost of goods and services is certainly not a cultural thing here.

Further to what @cltattooing said:
It's incredibly important to discuss price beforehand.
Many people have a specific budget and cannot afford more at that time, maybe ever.
We are professionals, offering a professional service. Payment is one aspect of that service.
Part of the consultation for any tattoo, be it a backpiece or a small walk-in design, is to discuss the price. Then you can decide if you will get the tattoo today, or at a later date.
If you are not told a price for your tattoo, you should ask. (at my shop we make sure that every client knows the maximum amount they will be expected to pay for their tattoo session, before they book an appointment or agree to get tattooed - sometimes it works out to be less)
Yes, we're also in London. Not mentioning the cost of goods and services is certainly not a cultural thing here.

I don't think it's awkward to ask that at all. Definitely good to just straight up ask the hourly and the amount of time expected, which imo is a bit more graceful than asking for a $ amount. If someone can't answer that for you, they are probably extremely stuck up or shady.
The "if you have to ask then you can't afford me" attitude is bullshit, tattooers need to understand that tattoos are a luxury and there are lots of other expenses in life that take priority to getting tattooed. Also how are you supposed to build a returning clientele if your clients leave feeling like their business wasn't handled with full transparency?

You added 2+2 and made 7.
Ibuprofen is an anti-inflammatory but it won't make a difference to the texture of your skin under normal circumstances. It's good for:
• Reducing swelling on areas prone to swelling during the healing process, particularly near joints. (note, hands and feet often swell more than other areas but consider the number of joints in those areas. Apply 'reefer' jokes to taste)
• For particularly painful areas I use it before getting tattooed. I didn't notice any difference on my arms, thighs or stomach etc. But did notice it helped me avoid the panic, allowing me to relax more during getting the sides of my ribcage tattooed. Still, nothing helps pain management more than relaxation and breathing techniques.
Seriously. Before getting tattooed, eat a light-ish meal (sandwich or something), the night before try to get a good amount of sleep, drink plenty of water, relax, sit still, shut up and get tattooed. It's pretty easy.
Because I'm a pussy I have a glucose drink with me, taking sips every 30-60 minutes or so.
Any stuff you've heard or read about people taking this-or-that concoction of pills, or drinks or whatever. They are usually heavily tattooed people who are totally bored of getting hurt and sitting through the boring bit of getting tattooed. So they'll try anything.
Once you get over 100 hours of tattooing on your body, a little of the exotic shine and excitement kinda wears off the experience. They get tattooed for the end result, not the experience.
If you still have 50-80% of your body free from tattoos, you can be considered fairly tattooed but there's a good chance you'll be stoked to be in the tattoo chair/bench/whatever. It's interesting to look around the shop and check stuff out, to watch a little of the process and to be privy to the whole atmosphere that makes a tattoo shop one of the coolest places in the world, to be part of it and contribute by getting a tattoo.
So sit still, shut up and enjoy it.

You added 2+2 and made 7.
Ibuprofen is an anti-inflammatory but it won't make a difference to the texture of your skin under normal circumstances. It's good for:
• Reducing swelling on areas prone to swelling during the healing process, particularly near joints. (note, hands and feet often swell more than other areas but consider the number of joints in those areas. Apply 'reefer' jokes to taste)
• For particularly painful areas I use it before getting tattooed. I didn't notice any difference on my arms, thighs or stomach etc. But did notice it helped me avoid the panic, allowing me to relax more during getting the sides of my ribcage tattooed. Still, nothing helps pain management more than relaxation and breathing techniques.
Seriously. Before getting tattooed, eat a light-ish meal (sandwich or something), the night before try to get a good amount of sleep, drink plenty of water, relax, sit still, shut up and get tattooed. It's pretty easy.
Because I'm a pussy I have a glucose drink with me, taking sips every 30-60 minutes or so.
Any stuff you've heard or read about people taking this-or-that concoction of pills, or drinks or whatever. They are usually heavily tattooed people who are totally bored of getting hurt and sitting through the boring bit of getting tattooed. So they'll try anything.
Once you get over 100 hours of tattooing on your body, a little of the exotic shine and excitement kinda wears off the experience. They get tattooed for the end result, not the experience.
If you still have 50-80% of your body free from tattoos, you can be considered fairly tattooed but there's a good chance you'll be stoked to be in the tattoo chair/bench/whatever. It's interesting to look around the shop and check stuff out, to watch a little of the process and to be privy to the whole atmosphere that makes a tattoo shop one of the coolest places in the world, to be part of it and contribute by getting a tattoo.
So sit still, shut up and enjoy it.

That's because your old mate makes his opinions based on the internet and tv shows, not the real world.
He obviously has never seen Oliver take walk-ins all day and totally nail every single tattoo drawing, regardless of style in less than 15 minutes. Then execute every tattoo, regardless of style, cleanly, quickly and accurately without rock star attitude.
Just to make this clear, Oliver manages to give walk-in customers what they want and make a great tattoo that he can be happy with and other tattooers will appreciate. Think about that for a minute... walk-in customers who don't give a shit who he is... and just want a tattoo they can like.... great tattoos... It's a rare talent among tattooers and even more rare among 'artists' who make tattoos.
Making great tattoos, making customers happy and having a great time while being so fucking cool to everyone else in the room and helping tattooers less experienced than him, yeah, fuck that guy. I'd hate for the guy who does my awesome tattoo to have a toothpick, like ewwww, gross, totally not cool.

Sorry to be off topic with the way this thread turned out but regardless of any "witchy witchy" (whatever that means) or other current tattoo trends. Sometimes we gotta take it back and look at why?...
Not just why you got a particular tattoo but why certain symbols are grouped together in the first place.
Female figures and the moon make more sense than most associated designs. - As a side note, Diana worship became very popular in Europe in the early 19th century as part of the revival of earlier religious ideas by the middle classes (who had more time on their hands, probably because of the Industrial Revolution) which led to more works of art, visual, written and performed that included these ideas and symbols. These are often the very works that modern tattooers appropriate.
Remember that some tattooer, somewhere knew this when they included a moon in a design of a lady head. (or they took it from an illustration by someone who knew.) Then it was imitated because it looked cool or resonated in some way.
I've said it before and I'll say it again, I strongly believe it's a tattooers job to understand the mechanism of symbols and apply them to create relationships that have a deeper value than just looking cool. There's nothing wrong with looking cool and often I don't bore my clients with a lecture about the historical connections with the symbols I include. I just try to make their tattoo look cool. Hopefully one day they will discover the meanings and connections behind the symbols and realise it makes the design slightly richer.
Sorry to derail yet another thread with a boring self-righteous rant...

I wonder who told that story? ;)
She did get tattooed that day, but her man-friend didn't.
We can call this story "Fish Fingers"
To clarify: A tall, (probably around 6 feet) "amazonian" woman was discussing her tattoo with the counter-staff while her shorter man friend (probably just over 5 feet tall) was "feeding the pony". We weren't able to see from our side because he was hidden behind her and the counter. To this day I'm still impressed by her poker-face. She never let on what was happening back there.
He also seemed to enjoy watching her get tattooed.
They probably had a great evening when they got home with her new tattoo.
I like this story and I'm glad you reminded me of it. It's good to know that there are still people out there with a raw passion for tattoos and life in general.

There was a thread about "dotwork" a while ago and I got fairly involved and possibly upset a few people. Check it out, I think I already answered the question posed by your thread title.
Also, the word "fad" is inherently insulting in modern usage - but you knew that already.
While researching tattoos, tattooing, tattoo styles, tattoo history and tattooers is interesting and probably fun. It's still kinda like researching swimming. Most of it's value comes from being involved, taking part, doing it, getting it done and having it be part of your life.
Then again... On a long enough time scale, ALL tattooing since Ed Hardy opened the first appointment-only studio is a fad. Sailors going to war, getting tattooed in Honolulu was a fad. High-Society Europeans shipping esteemed Japanese irezumi artists over to tattoo dragons on them in the 1800's was a fad. Internet forums will be seen to be a fad. Finally, tattoo customers stressing about being period-correct like vintage clothing aficionados will be seen to be a fad of the early 21st century.

You can't learn to swim by reading a book.
To expand on that again, tattooing is best experienced first-hand. Many times, here on this forum, in the shop I work at and conventions etc, someone has mentioned that they wish there was a book that had all the information they were looking for about a particular subject at that moment. It usually doesn't exist. You have to find it yourself.
With regards to tattooing and "tattoo culture" We're living in a folk art culture. We should embrace the folk art tradition of oral storytelling and first hand knowledge and be relieved that we not (yet) shackled by the literary bounds of other art movements, cultures and historical societies.
But to be more on topic, in a general sort of way...
I'd stick my neck out and say that any style of tattooing (until maybe around 2000-2010) is influenced by the popular culture surrounding the people who get those styles. Sailor Jerry cribbed movie posters and other advertisements for many of his designs between the 40's - 70s. Mike Malone used objects and paintings he found in Chinatown as reference for many of his popular designs. It stands to reason that Charlie Wagner would have used Edwardian style filigree ornamentation (from a variety of sources, jewellery included) in his designs.
The dotwork thing is slightly separate. During the first decade of the 21st century tattooing entered a more post-modern, referential phase where most styles of tattooing referenced or were influenced by earlier styles of tattooing. Except dotwork. I consider the work of Thomas Hooper, Xed Le Head, Jondix (I'd extend that to Duncan X) to be the only "new" style of tattooing since biomech in the 90's - but that didn't seem to catch on outside of tattoo culture the way their work did.
That's why I still bother to get involved when someone refers to dotwork as a "fad".
While it is imitated ad nauseam, we've alive to witness the birth of a new tattoo style that was influenced by disparate artforms outside of tattooing to the point where it works and it's possible to have a coherent bodysuit of that style. Pretty exciting stuff.

I'm sorry, but I don't get it.
What's the rush? Who needs a large tattoo that quickly anyway?
Is regular (shorter) sessions too much trouble? Even if you are traveling, I see no need to do 3 full consecutive days.
I'm gonna stick my neck out here and say that every sleeve that I've seen (in person) completed in marathon sessions or super-close consecutive sessions heals pretty rough. I'd love someone to prove me wrong and i hope someone can but I don't see how you can heal a full arm while maintaining some sort of normal life (which includes moving your limbs, going to the toilet, moving food to your face etc.) without having some colour drop-out or whatever. I find healing larger tattoos to be miserable at the best of times, particularly around the ditch, elbow, armpit etc. For me, marathon consecutive sessions means another trip for touch ups, which negates the need to finish in a short space of time anyway.
It usually takes just a little more thought from the tattooer to finish smaller sections of the tattoo with a mind to extending it later if the client doesn't want to live with an un-finished looking tattoo, or the manner CaptCanada described at the end of his post above. This can still be tough to heal, but is a more efficient use of time, particularly for people who travel long distances. But I guess you don't get so many bragging rights, just a solid, awesome tattoo.
Please bear in mind that I have occasionally and begrudgingly, tattooed the same person on 2 consecutive days to finish a large tattoo before they leave the country/go to prison or whatever, so that probably discounts my opinion.

I know a fair few tattooers. Some you've heard of, some you haven't.
Of the few of them who have actually taken an apprentice, I don't think they did so based on a folio of awesome drawings or paintings.
I think they took them on because of their attitude and dedication, sometimes based on the tattoos they have already done. The drawings came later. Much later.
It's a common misconception/dream that showing a tattooer your finished drawings will impress them so much that they will teach you to tattoo. It's like the dream a busker has of being 'discovered' playing covers in the subway.
Even though I've not been tattooing a long time, I've been shown a hell of a lot of drawings and paintings by hopeful people. Up to now, I've never been impressed. Although I have been impressed with attitude and dedication over a span of time. I still haven't been tattooing long enough to take an apprentice. I don't see that changing any time soon.
On a slightly related note, I'm not sure when hopeful apprentices decided that paintings were the way to learn to tattoo. They are the way to impress your hopeful apprentice-level peers and get popular on the internet, but they don't teach you a thing about tattooing in the real world. Maybe it's something non-tattooers on the internet advised them to do.
Anyway, nobody even shows us drawings anymore. They don't even come to the shop. They call and ask if we 'do apprenticeships' or they send me a generic email with 'dear sir,...... I'm a fan of your work and the work from your studio...'

Jaycel, I got the tone of your post and the intention. Although the intention was sincere enough, It's great that you realised, or have started to realise that the principles of most other crafts can seem to be applied but don't translate well to tattooing. Mostly because tattooing is a permanent mark that somebody has to live with and carry with them every day of their life - There is a responsibility that comes with that, although I'm reluctant to discuss it (and other subtleties of tattooing) with non-tattooers as it's easily misunderstood and mis-used by laymen.
The reason any discussion of this type is met with hostility from tattooers is firstly because of the responsibility I mentioned and unlike other crafts, tattooing has magnetic attraction for people who wouldn't involve themselves with any other craft-based endeavour. Many of these people are not prepared to undertake the work necessary to create good tattoos. They are only prepared to do the steps they think are necessary to make sick tats.
Here's the bit that may get me some shit.
Getting an apprenticeship isn't the holy grail. An apprenticeship from a shitty tattooer is worse than no apprenticeship at all.
What's that you say? No good tattooers are prepared to teach you? Well there's a reason for that. That doesn't mean you should let an incompetent fool enable you to become a more inexperienced incompetent fool. This is the part non-tattooers ignore when they spout on and on about 'sticking it out and finding an apprenticeship, doing it the right way' It's not right if you are taught wrongly.
Many many shitty, inexperienced tattooers have an apprentice. Some of those apprentices have a lofty sense of self-worth and think they are 'real' tattooers because they cleaned the toilet of a shitty tattooer for months. Eventually the work you create and the way you conduct your affairs becomes more important then the way you got there.
Mel, I seriously doubt that your dad could make a shitty machine better. Maybe better looking or better constructed, but without knowing how to tattoo, or having a great tattooer teach you. It isn't possible to make a tattoo machine work well.
If someone came to me asking for an apprenticeship with pretend tattoos drawn on a mannequin, I wouldn't take them seriously at all. An apprenticeship isn't an art school mixed media project. There are a million smaller things to learn before you get to that point.
If any budding tattooers/apprentices read this, the important thing to remember is - Never take advice from someone who isn't a tattooer. Even better, don't take advice from someone who isn't teaching you.

Man, everybody already used my smart-ass answers but the Greg Irons quip was funnier than I could have come up with.
But back to the original question.
This is one of the newer approaches to tattooing that makes me slightly uncomfortable to be honest. Myself and a few tattooers I know and work with have noticed the trend of customers finding a sense of pride in how long they had to wait for their tattoo. As if that makes the tattoo more worthwhile.
With some of the currently living/working tattooers mentioned in this thread, I personally know people (not even on the internet) that have tattoos from all of them. Filip, Horiyoshi III, Shige and Mike Rubendall. Yeah, they had to wait a little while for some of them but not as long as you'd think for others. Mike Roper is a different situation because he makes it deliberately difficult to get in touch with him, which answers the question posed above. But that wasn't really the question that was asked and it's rarely the question that gets asked. The question, or at least the implication, is "who has the longest waiting list' or "who has appointments booked furthest into the future". If I were to be snarky "who gives me the most bragging rights".
For me the hardest people to get a tattoo from are the tattooers who are located furthest away from me. The ones where I have to get off my ass and do something about it. Time is easier to overcome than distance although patience is a different matter. It astonishes me that people call our shop from the outskirts of the city expecting us to change the way we work because they are catching a train to get here. On the other hand, we are humbled and honoured by the people who cross seas and continents to get tattooed regularly with us.
But that's aside from the issue.
Why is it a trend that makes me uncomfortable?
Because I've heard people brag about how long they had to wait for 'x' artist and wear that information like a badge of honour. It feels almost as distasteful as bragging about who charges the most. Yeah, tattoos are for tough guys and tough buys like to brag and maybe that seems harmless, but it makes me uncomfortable and I have trouble clearly explaining why.
Maybe it's because it's a phenomenon spurred on by the internet and the gossipy world of hearsay. Nobody calls and checks with the artists or shops they want to get tattooed at. Nobody travels down to the shop to ask the question. They just ask random strangers on the internet who have a lot of time on their hands and like to talk about something they know nothing about. Then the reality gets lost or twisted and in the end the real information is lost. I see this a lot with regards to the shop I work at. Forums are (or certainly used to be) bursting with 'facts' about how much we charge, how long we take, how far 'x' and 'y' are booked or how long their waiting lists are. Nobody calls the shop to ask and nobody suggests that the person calls to ask.
I know that happens with a lot of things but it seems like this is starting to have a real-world effect, however small. People who wanted tattoos that we would love to do heard that we wouldn't tattoo them at our shop because we were so cool and busy and booked up for decades and rolling around in money 'n' bitches or something. We've heard of this a few times and it seems to be happening more. Yeah, we're busy, you may have to wait a little, maybe not. If someone has contact information, especially a phone number on their website it means that they want you to call.
I'm not really going to touch on the tone of the "are they a fad or are they really worth it?" comment, except to say that if you have to ask, the answer is "no".
Sorry to jump on this fun thread with a rant. I look forward to more witty quips.

Man, everybody already used my smart-ass answers but the Greg Irons quip was funnier than I could have come up with.
But back to the original question.
This is one of the newer approaches to tattooing that makes me slightly uncomfortable to be honest. Myself and a few tattooers I know and work with have noticed the trend of customers finding a sense of pride in how long they had to wait for their tattoo. As if that makes the tattoo more worthwhile.
With some of the currently living/working tattooers mentioned in this thread, I personally know people (not even on the internet) that have tattoos from all of them. Filip, Horiyoshi III, Shige and Mike Rubendall. Yeah, they had to wait a little while for some of them but not as long as you'd think for others. Mike Roper is a different situation because he makes it deliberately difficult to get in touch with him, which answers the question posed above. But that wasn't really the question that was asked and it's rarely the question that gets asked. The question, or at least the implication, is "who has the longest waiting list' or "who has appointments booked furthest into the future". If I were to be snarky "who gives me the most bragging rights".
For me the hardest people to get a tattoo from are the tattooers who are located furthest away from me. The ones where I have to get off my ass and do something about it. Time is easier to overcome than distance although patience is a different matter. It astonishes me that people call our shop from the outskirts of the city expecting us to change the way we work because they are catching a train to get here. On the other hand, we are humbled and honoured by the people who cross seas and continents to get tattooed regularly with us.
But that's aside from the issue.
Why is it a trend that makes me uncomfortable?
Because I've heard people brag about how long they had to wait for 'x' artist and wear that information like a badge of honour. It feels almost as distasteful as bragging about who charges the most. Yeah, tattoos are for tough guys and tough buys like to brag and maybe that seems harmless, but it makes me uncomfortable and I have trouble clearly explaining why.
Maybe it's because it's a phenomenon spurred on by the internet and the gossipy world of hearsay. Nobody calls and checks with the artists or shops they want to get tattooed at. Nobody travels down to the shop to ask the question. They just ask random strangers on the internet who have a lot of time on their hands and like to talk about something they know nothing about. Then the reality gets lost or twisted and in the end the real information is lost. I see this a lot with regards to the shop I work at. Forums are (or certainly used to be) bursting with 'facts' about how much we charge, how long we take, how far 'x' and 'y' are booked or how long their waiting lists are. Nobody calls the shop to ask and nobody suggests that the person calls to ask.
I know that happens with a lot of things but it seems like this is starting to have a real-world effect, however small. People who wanted tattoos that we would love to do heard that we wouldn't tattoo them at our shop because we were so cool and busy and booked up for decades and rolling around in money 'n' bitches or something. We've heard of this a few times and it seems to be happening more. Yeah, we're busy, you may have to wait a little, maybe not. If someone has contact information, especially a phone number on their website it means that they want you to call.
I'm not really going to touch on the tone of the "are they a fad or are they really worth it?" comment, except to say that if you have to ask, the answer is "no".
Sorry to jump on this fun thread with a rant. I look forward to more witty quips.

Yeah, Woody does tattoos, but he's more of a cartoonist. The interviewer isn't the only twat in the frame.
So a famously publicity hungry tattooer, who's notoriously fond of gimmicks invests in a super-deluxe tattoo removal lazer. Because he had virtually no tattoos already, he tattoos deliberately inflammatory statements on himself then does a photo shoot and speaks to every interviewer who'll listen.
No prizes for guessing what publicity grabbing event happens next...
Yeah, this is the same tattooer who called a client and offered to tattoo the Jacko arrest photo with the words "Peado Cunt" FOR FREE.
Although the client was a fool to accept the offer, he was a young student with little money who liked tattoos. Who, in that situation would refuse a funny, free tattoo? That client has since had a massive coverup of a traditional eagle.
Woody also tattoos drunk metalheads for free at the UK Download festival.
I'm a tattooer. Woody does tattoos.
We are not doing the same thing. Irresponsible is the kindest thing I can say about his work and work ethic.

I wonder who told that story? ;)
She did get tattooed that day, but her man-friend didn't.
We can call this story "Fish Fingers"
To clarify: A tall, (probably around 6 feet) "amazonian" woman was discussing her tattoo with the counter-staff while her shorter man friend (probably just over 5 feet tall) was "feeding the pony". We weren't able to see from our side because he was hidden behind her and the counter. To this day I'm still impressed by her poker-face. She never let on what was happening back there.
He also seemed to enjoy watching her get tattooed.
They probably had a great evening when they got home with her new tattoo.
I like this story and I'm glad you reminded me of it. It's good to know that there are still people out there with a raw passion for tattoos and life in general.

I wonder who told that story? ;)
She did get tattooed that day, but her man-friend didn't.
We can call this story "Fish Fingers"
To clarify: A tall, (probably around 6 feet) "amazonian" woman was discussing her tattoo with the counter-staff while her shorter man friend (probably just over 5 feet tall) was "feeding the pony". We weren't able to see from our side because he was hidden behind her and the counter. To this day I'm still impressed by her poker-face. She never let on what was happening back there.
He also seemed to enjoy watching her get tattooed.
They probably had a great evening when they got home with her new tattoo.
I like this story and I'm glad you reminded me of it. It's good to know that there are still people out there with a raw passion for tattoos and life in general.