Dan S

Thanks...first design from the Black Cat Firecracker Company.

Nope, never happened. Not with stuff I put on myself, not on stuff I've gotten since then. Always enjoyed planning it, having it done, watching it heal.

Nope, never happened. Not with stuff I put on myself, not on stuff I've gotten since then. Always enjoyed planning it, having it done, watching it heal.

I've always said you just can't trust a guy with a nekkid face and no tattoos.

Too many chiefs and not enough indians, as we used to say back in the pre-PC days. Far too many tattooers have simply put a few pieces on their legs, rented a shop, and look ma, I'm a tattooer.

AMEN!

And yet no one hates on the companies that took advantage of a guy that is bipolar, and trying to survive in a shit economy.

It's odd, there was a spate of people getting obama tattoos after he was first put into the Presidency, and that has continued fairly steadily. haven't heard a thing about that, yet this guy keeps drawing the hate...

I appreciate you sharing. You seem to have your head on straight. Kudos to you sir.

I've taken on an apprentice. I'm 12 years in and do not feel like I could've or should've taught anybody before this. First, a little shop background I work in an small isolated area that is expensive and inconvenient. You can't drive in or out and while we have some of the modern conveniences, like costco, we do not have a lot of things, like art supply stores or fast food restaurants. I bought the shop almost two years ago from the original owner, who moved back south. I did not ever expect to take on an apprentice. I also did not think I'd work alone for a year and half straight. I thought I'd make the shop the best I can and some one would slip right in to that glass slipper and it'd be sweet. Well, nobody did. A few artists expressed interest, but costs, inconvenience and ever gloomy weather killed the deal every time. Sometimes the tattooer would be pumped, but their significant other couldn't hang with living a borderline "village" lifestyle. So I worked alone for a while. I wanted the best for the shop, so I didn't turn down anything and worked myself silly. I got a sweet eye twitch out of that that has finally went away unless I'm really tired.
So after talking to enough artists about why they couldn't make the move, I started to realize that I may have to grow my own. I took on one of our shop's regulars as counter help. How do you get to work at a tattoo shop? I wasn't looking to hire a friend as I've seen that go bad, so I hired someone that I had built a professional relationship with already, because they were always at the shop getting tattooed. Once I saw that he was doing a good job and began to notice that his other plans (school, etc) starting to fall to shit, I realized that I may be able cultivate a mutually beneficial apprenticeship. It wasn't that I didn't want to mop, or I wanted my ego stroked or I wanted to try and get an extra $15,000. We talked a lot about his future and future plans before we entered in to this and if fulfilled, he will contribute back into the shop for several years as his obligation for having a place to learn and a person to learn from. It was understood that he would not be tattooing for quite a while, it would be the slow road and that he's going to have to learn a lot of things that are other people don't, like needles, mixing pigment, painting flash, taking apart machines, making footswitches and all the other stuff folks with real deal apprenticeships learn. I'm trying to give him a combination of the apprenticeship I had and the apprenticeship I wanted.
So far, I'm pretty proud of the little fucker. He filled a sketchbook of traditional designs cover to cover ( most tattooers I know haven't done that), put a machine together, rewired a footswitch, made needles and we've done an oversized split sheet on coquille. He studies a lot. He looks at good stuff. And while we have a pretty good generational gap, I'd like to think we've become friends. Being busy, isolated and working by myself made me feel like I was a little stagnant. He's into it and younger, so he looks at both my influences and shows me the stuff he's into. So it's not out of the question for him to introduce stuff to me, even at this point. When you have to teach, it makes you step back and present things to somebody else. That step can often make you put thought towards something that had previously become automatic. So, in that respect, I get charged up on shit again. That's the new blood factor.
Overall, I hired a regular who was already familiar. Not a friend who will break my heart if things didn't work out right away. And I do feel as though there is a need for entry level tattooing at the shop here. That can free me up a little to do the best I can on the bigger projects for now. There is another factor that I don't know if it has been addressed directly (richard's quotes were closest) but yeah, it takes time and a lot of effort to teach somebody right. I'm invested in this shit now. I have a one year old baby and a wife, and I'm sneaking out in the middle of the night to teach him how to make liners at 3am on a friday night. Why would I ever do that for a stranger? I don't know if I could even hang in the same room with the person,let alone have to teach them all these pain in the ass aspects about tattooing in the middle of the night. Also, If I still tattooed down south, I would never take on an apprentice. There was just never a need.
ps- I also asked the people who taught me if it was ok for me to teach someone. They looked at me like they had nothing to do with the decision and granted me permission, but the fact it, if those important people to me said no, I wouldn't have an apprenntice right now

I used "plainskin" at the shop yesterday...all I got was fucking crickets. No one had a single clue what I was saying.

I've always said you just can't trust a guy with a nekkid face and no tattoos.

I've always said you just can't trust a guy with a nekkid face and no tattoos.

Hi Joana, and welcome to LST. Since you're an Alaskan, this should probably be your new favorite shop...
Eagle River Tattoo
Enjoy the boards, and let's get those pictures up!

Oh how I wish I was!!!!

Hi Joana, and welcome to LST. Since you're an Alaskan, this should probably be your new favorite shop...
Eagle River Tattoo
Enjoy the boards, and let's get those pictures up!

I've always said you just can't trust a guy with a nekkid face and no tattoos.

So, many, many moons ago, I got an all-expense paid vacation at an all-inclusive luxury resort at 26th & California in Chicago. Locals will know what I mean. While I was there, I hear from my boys on the street about a guy slingin out of a motel near a local truckstop. He's doing pretty much whatever you want for the price of a quarter-bag. Hey-it was the seventies. Anyhow.
New vacationer comes in, he's got this big, funky green dragon tattooed on his arm.
"Where'd'ja get it?"
"At a party at a motel onna Sout Side"
"How much"
"Twennyfi bux."
"BUT IT ITCHES!!!"
Man, that thing was still oozing from a hole in the center about six months later when I had to leave! Turns out I stayed friends with the guy, and that damn tattoo didn't heal for almost a year. Don't know what kind of infection it had, but it would skin-over, then break open and start oozing again. Nasty.
Oh, and someone stomped the scratcher and busted up his shit after he put some shabby work on a chick. Sout Side, baby.
R.I.P. Gip MPGL

Woulda just out this in the "Pet Peeves" thread, but since I'm not a tattooist...
Reading through all of that, man, I felt bad! I've never gone to a shop in any but an immaculately clean condition, wouldn't think of trying to tell an artist how to do his thing, nothing like that, but you know, in the last three or four months, I've probably done some of every pet peeve on there.
Mea Culpa, Mea Culpa, Mea Maxima Culpa.
I get tattooed at CTC exclusively. No big news there. I've got six kids, and they are all fascinated by tattoos. My oldest, 25, disregarded my advice and went to a local "shop" on his 18th birthday. He has kept the thing as a reminder not to go there anymore. When he was 16, I brought him and one of his buds into CTC with me to watch part of a six-hour session I had booked with Miles Maniaci. I asked if it was kool for them to come back and watch a bit, and was told it was all good. They watched for maybe a half-hour, then split, then came back later for another maybe half-hour.
That one has gotten two fairly decent-sized pieces from Nick Colella at CTC since then, and was talking to me the other night about how he'd like to have Mario do some Oriental-style work on him. My 18 y.o. son has gotten some good pieces from Nick as well, and both of them are planning on getting more.
When my Lady and I went into CTC to get a matching piece, I had spoken to Nick and e-mailed back an forth with him about the piece we wanted, and he drew it up. We got there, and it just didn't light us up...the execution was great, the idea was just not that good. My Lady spotted some old Sailor Jerry stuff, and we both liked it immediately. I apologized to Nick, and asked if he would do that for us instead. He agreed, and didn't want to hear about being paid for the sketch he did.
I went back last month and had Nick do an old piece of Cliff Raven flash, I had e-mailed him and told him I wanted that, but customized with my kid's names and some other things, asked him to run with it. No pics, just gave him an idea. Went in, took my 14 y.o. daughter and my Lady with me. Asked if they could watch, and again, was told no problem. Looked at the thermo, laid down on the table, and never looked back. Killer piece.
So last week I went back, this time with my 16 y.o. daughter, my 17 y.o. son, and my Lady, got a fairly large chunk of my ribcage done-still hurts like a mofo-and again, asked if they could come back and watch. Again, no problem. I told the kids they had to split if it got crowded, and to stay away from the other artists work stations.
I suppose I'm one of those guys who watches every line being done. Not because I can't wait to see my stylized dreamsickle, but because the craft, the art, the skill, blows my mind, even after all these years of being tattooed. I ask questions about equipment, I ask questions about technique. I wouldn't dream of trying to tattoo in a million years, I am just curious as hell, and am amazed at the development of the equipment-and techniques-that have taken place in the 38 years since I first walked into CTC and plunked down my $20 for my first pro tattoo.
Even with all that ignorance, Nick and Mario have never blown me off, always answered any question I've asked, and never treated me like a mark. Last week, I was asking about power-supplies. I had seen a fairly high-end power-supply/regulator at American Science and Surplus in Milwaukee, and wondered if it would be worth buying and bringing in for them. Mario was gracious enough to explain the advancements in power-supplies, and why it was better to use purpose-built units than to adapt others, and he didn't even make me out to be stupid.
I've always told my kids to be quiet, to be respectful, and to stay out of the way. When they do come back, I ask where they should sit or stand, and make sure they stay there. If I have a coat, a hat, glasses, whatever, I ask where I can put them so they won't be in someone's way. I turn my phone off, and make sure anyone with me has their phone off.
I'll be going back to CTC as soon as my ribs heal to start sleeving-in my left arm. I have a bunch of work on it from Dale Grande, and a bit from Mark Miller. It's all connected, but Nick is going to put it all together for me. I guess I should rethink bringing my kids with, but to us, it's a big deal, something we do together. Guess I'll talk to Nick, and make sure it's okay with him, and with the other artists working there before I do.
I know there are a lot of jag customers out there, I've seen 'em. Maybe there's a way to get 'em to go only to the jag scratchers that abound?! Went into a place local up here, I had met the owner's wife where she works. The owners apprentice was the only one there, and I heard about the shop he had that "went under because the assholes around here work too cheap", I hear fuck this, fuck that, fuck the next thing, I got cigarette smoke blown in my face, and ya know, the guy never even asked if I was interested in getting a tattoo.
Guess I missed my chance with him.

So, many, many moons ago, I got an all-expense paid vacation at an all-inclusive luxury resort at 26th & California in Chicago. Locals will know what I mean. While I was there, I hear from my boys on the street about a guy slingin out of a motel near a local truckstop. He's doing pretty much whatever you want for the price of a quarter-bag. Hey-it was the seventies. Anyhow.
New vacationer comes in, he's got this big, funky green dragon tattooed on his arm.
"Where'd'ja get it?"
"At a party at a motel onna Sout Side"
"How much"
"Twennyfi bux."
"BUT IT ITCHES!!!"
Man, that thing was still oozing from a hole in the center about six months later when I had to leave! Turns out I stayed friends with the guy, and that damn tattoo didn't heal for almost a year. Don't know what kind of infection it had, but it would skin-over, then break open and start oozing again. Nasty.
Oh, and someone stomped the scratcher and busted up his shit after he put some shabby work on a chick. Sout Side, baby.
R.I.P. Gip MPGL

There ya go...a little too tony for me, but I hear tell it's good. Personally, I'd stick with Manny's-best bang for the buck in the Chi.

Absolutely stunning!

Hello again! here's a little update after my 2nd session with Valerie at Frithstreet yesterday! One long session left before we finish the first part of my back :D Yay!

I've always said you just can't trust a guy with a nekkid face and no tattoos.

I've always said you just can't trust a guy with a nekkid face and no tattoos.