Russ

Thanks @Iwar
I also got this Panther off Matt Arriola at Frith Street the day after

I kind of feel like I ruined this month by posting my back piece, no one else wants to enter so I'll post some more :)
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Done By Tim Hendricks at Frith Street Tattoo

I kind of feel like I ruined this month by posting my back piece, no one else wants to enter so I'll post some more :)
- - - Updated - - -
Done By Tim Hendricks at Frith Street Tattoo

I kind of feel like I ruined this month by posting my back piece, no one else wants to enter so I'll post some more :)
- - - Updated - - -
Done By Tim Hendricks at Frith Street Tattoo

Thanks @Iwar
I also got this Panther off Matt Arriola at Frith Street the day after

Ok I'll go First done by the totally awesome Valerie Vargas at Frith Street Tattoo, around 40 hours work, finished a couple of weeks ago.

I kind of feel like I ruined this month by posting my back piece, no one else wants to enter so I'll post some more :)
- - - Updated - - -
Done By Tim Hendricks at Frith Street Tattoo

Thanks @Iwar
I also got this Panther off Matt Arriola at Frith Street the day after

I kind of feel like I ruined this month by posting my back piece, no one else wants to enter so I'll post some more :)
- - - Updated - - -
Done By Tim Hendricks at Frith Street Tattoo

Ok I'll go First done by the totally awesome Valerie Vargas at Frith Street Tattoo, around 40 hours work, finished a couple of weeks ago.

Thanks @Iwar
I also got this Panther off Matt Arriola at Frith Street the day after

I kind of feel like I ruined this month by posting my back piece, no one else wants to enter so I'll post some more :)
- - - Updated - - -
Done By Tim Hendricks at Frith Street Tattoo

Thanks @Iwar
I also got this Panther off Matt Arriola at Frith Street the day after

I kind of feel like I ruined this month by posting my back piece, no one else wants to enter so I'll post some more :)
- - - Updated - - -
Done By Tim Hendricks at Frith Street Tattoo

new ones...

Ok I'll go First done by the totally awesome Valerie Vargas at Frith Street Tattoo, around 40 hours work, finished a couple of weeks ago.

Thanks @Iwar
I also got this Panther off Matt Arriola at Frith Street the day after

I kind of feel like I ruined this month by posting my back piece, no one else wants to enter so I'll post some more :)
- - - Updated - - -
Done By Tim Hendricks at Frith Street Tattoo

Ok I'll go First done by the totally awesome Valerie Vargas at Frith Street Tattoo, around 40 hours work, finished a couple of weeks ago.

I kind of feel like I ruined this month by posting my back piece, no one else wants to enter so I'll post some more :)
- - - Updated - - -
Done By Tim Hendricks at Frith Street Tattoo

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.

Little Oni I picked up from Chad Koeplinger today. Super stoked on it.
Done in one hour flat. Such a beassssst.

Thanks @Iwar
I also got this Panther off Matt Arriola at Frith Street the day after

I kind of feel like I ruined this month by posting my back piece, no one else wants to enter so I'll post some more :)
- - - Updated - - -
Done By Tim Hendricks at Frith Street Tattoo

Ok I'll go First done by the totally awesome Valerie Vargas at Frith Street Tattoo, around 40 hours work, finished a couple of weeks ago.