Joe Shit

2nd Appointment done. This one was freaking brutal, he worked the back of the arm for a solid 4 hours and I was completely tapped out on any kind of pain management my body could muster... we spent another 3 and a half hours on the background/sky and I gave up... the shame. I just couldn't keep going, the back of the arm and the top of the shoulder is some serious, serious business. I'll provide better shots once its healed, of the back showing the finished mane and hopefully a better shot of the sky, although it's no where close to finished.
Going back in on December 1st, can't wait!

Hi @JOACOISBACK
Welcome to the forum!
If the idea of "Igualidade Animal" is what you are going for, maybe consider representing the word "animal" with pictures of several different animals. It may also give your new tattooer more options for effective cover up (instead of trying to do it all with one eagle wing).
It would also give you the option of working everything into a single chestpiece with the word "Igualidade" surrounded by different animals all the way onto the other side. It could be a very strong visual message.
It would be very important to find some one who really knows what they are doing so you end up with something that proudly represents the idea that you love.
Good luck and all the best :o

My first tattoo was done in the consummate walk-in shop, S&W Tattooing in Amityville, NY. Flash all over the walls and you ordered it by letter and number. That "hot stuff" devil may have been an "A7" for all I know and they blew them out probably at least one a day for $25 each. The place jumped on a Friday and Saturday night, people lined up out the door waiting. Once you were in, you were on your way in 20 minutes. I don't recall them doing any bigger work, although the flash was there. We were in awe that a tattoo may cost over $100 and more than 1 session to complete it was unheard of.
I like to see shops with flash, it gives the impulsive customer something to look at and they make a decision quickly. For me it brings me back to the shops of 1975. I also like flash to give me ideas on what I like.
Some shops do have a dedicated walk-in day, which is cool. No appointment just stroll in and sit in the chair once something is picked out. Again, it takes me back a few decades. People were different then, most would dig up the $30-40 for one tattoo and get it done. Some stopped right there, some became festooned with postage-stamp sized tattoos. Why save up and get one good $200 tattoo when you can get 5 little ones, 1 every pay day?

thank you!
i would like tell more but i don't speak english very well!
Naples is beautiful, you should see the underground of the city! I went 2 years ago with my girlfriend and over there there is a mysterious world!
In the matter of my tattoo, i made it ten years ago when i was only a "child" and now i would like a cover up with Alien.. The very and only Alien.. :)
i need help because i want a tribal-alien!
Sorry for my bad english
Thank you!

Incorporate the lettering in with the reaper and smash that bicep solid as fuck.

I can only speak for myself,but I like a street shop that also does custom work,and is filled with good flash.I'be been getting tattooed for 24yrs.and back then you just walked into a shop and got tattooed that day.I think 90% of the tattoos I have were done on a walk-in basis.I did just check out a shop in the city that had no flash on the wall,and the artists portfolios were on an iPad.It just didn't feel right to me.It was almost to futuristic looking inside.But I also like the mostly custom shops they have in the city like Kings Ave, Invisible,& NY Adorned,where they have their elaborate drawings hanging up at their station.I personally don't like to wait months to get an appointment with an artist,but I know for bigger pieces,and backpieces it's inevitable.I think since your working in a blue collar city,that your shop will be fine.I'm from Trenton,and the shops in the city do mostly walk-in traffic,and are doing fine.I like the fact that you can still walk-in to a shop and get a good tattoo that day.Tattooers like Mike P. Who did my koi,and has been tattooing since 1976 on a walk-in basis are the dying breed,but he's still going strong,and has a website now..
Designs by Michael Angelo - Home

I can only speak for myself,but I like a street shop that also does custom work,and is filled with good flash.I'be been getting tattooed for 24yrs.and back then you just walked into a shop and got tattooed that day.I think 90% of the tattoos I have were done on a walk-in basis.I did just check out a shop in the city that had no flash on the wall,and the artists portfolios were on an iPad.It just didn't feel right to me.It was almost to futuristic looking inside.But I also like the mostly custom shops they have in the city like Kings Ave, Invisible,& NY Adorned,where they have their elaborate drawings hanging up at their station.I personally don't like to wait months to get an appointment with an artist,but I know for bigger pieces,and backpieces it's inevitable.I think since your working in a blue collar city,that your shop will be fine.I'm from Trenton,and the shops in the city do mostly walk-in traffic,and are doing fine.I like the fact that you can still walk-in to a shop and get a good tattoo that day.Tattooers like Mike P. Who did my koi,and has been tattooing since 1976 on a walk-in basis are the dying breed,but he's still going strong,and has a website now..
Designs by Michael Angelo - Home

This topic came up in the shop the other day, I'd like to get some perspectives from tattooed folks who live in other areas of the country and the world.
It was Friday, I had just gotten to work and it was just me, Carlos, and Sean that day. Our 14th anniversary party was the following day and the shop had just painted 10 sheets of over 120 original designs for people to come in and pick from at the party. Between expressing our excitement about getting to tattoo fun designs all the next day, and mentioning how glad we were that it was so busy this January after a slow December, we got to wondering! How does a shop full of flash affect the flow of business?
FTW is located at the very tip of North Oakland, just a couple of blocks south of the Berkeley border on Telegraph Avenue, which runs all the way down to Downtown Oakland. We are just across the bay from San Francisco, and in Alameda County alone there are over 200 shops. 200 tattoo shops! Is it a coincidence that the 3 busiest shops in Oakland, one of which is ours, is a street shop with flash, paintings, and classic tattoo iconography covering every inch of space?
The bay area is undeniably changing. If you are looking for a place to live in the bay area, asking rent changes on a monthly basis and it's definitely not going down. With the sudden and dramatic influx of money to the area, it seems as though tattoo shops are gentrifying as well, becoming more like salons and art galleries, and less like street shops. With that being said, there is still a very large population of lower-income working class people who I would easily say are still the majority of folks here. Anyone who has worked in a street shop is familiar with what the "money makers" are as far as designs go. Usually, you will make a lot more money in a day if you tattoo several smaller designs over the course of the day versus the regular hourly for one or two longer pieces. Largely speaking, unless you are a known name in tattooing and booked steady, walk-ins pay your bills.
So as tattooers do, we catch up with our friends in other shops from time to time, often inquiring about work and whatnot and it seems like most people are working by appointment these days.
This was our theory:
Are gallery shops losing walk-ins on account of image? Do the blue collar people of Oakland go into a tattoo gallery and feel intimidated by fine art on the walls and think that nobody working there wants to do their tribal armband or kids' names for them? Are street shops more relate-able and comfortable for people who aren't necessarily looking to get a sleeve done?
I'm not saying that either way is right or wrong or even that my thoughts on this dynamic is totally correct. A lot of business comes from the internet for most tattooers here and now more than ever is it easier to be tattooing the subject matter and style that you're interested in doing, for that I am very grateful.
Is this something that you have experienced or noticed? Looking forward to hearing other perspectives.

@Graeme Your thread made me laugh and feel a little nostalgic at the same time.
You see, I'm rapidly approaching my 49th birthday. February 13th (which also falls on a Friday the 13th for the first time in ages! WOOHOO!) will mark the 30th year since I got my first tattoo. The tattoo shop was inside of a biker bar in Waynesville, N.C. It was named J.B's Tattoo & Tavern.
You could get anything you wanted... As long as you picked it from the flash on the wall.
He used an acetate stencil, graphite powder and Speedstick deodorant to transfer the design, and I remember very clearly that he didn't use gloves (this was 1985 after all).
I've been hooked ever since, and that tattoo is still there. There's also an appointment already scheduled to mark this little milestone.

@marley mission I got a walk-in from Eli in 2011 and it's a cool shop. What they do isn't really what I'm looking for anymore, personally, but it's a neat place, the flash is gorgeous, and it's totally the sort of place you can go without having anything in mind. That's what I did and I ended up with a cool wolf head. There was a sheet up that I believe Dan did that had the headless Acéphale man on it and I've toyed with getting that at various points over the years, but the idea doesn't sit totally right with me. Anyway, there's a LOAD of great stuff on the walls ranging from tried and true classics to stuff that's pretty far out there and still looks classic.
I'd also recommend that you check out Electric Tattoo in Asbury Park. I haven't been to the new shop, but the old one in Bradley Beach is one of the neatest shops I've been in. It has walls covered in hand-painted flash too, there are great tattooers there (I got tattooed by Tom Yak, my wife got one from Robert Ryan), but it feels far less "Brooklyn" than Smith Street is. There's really good vibes at Electric.

I scored a consultation appointment with Brett. We are going to discuss the work I want and than set a start appointment if it all plays out.
I am excited to show him his first years work....
w00t! :D
Thanks again @Joe Shit.

done by Chris O'Donnell at his private studio
happy new year to all

Welllllllll....if it makes you happy get another one, right?! Went and saw Paul Dobleman at Spider Murphy's last week...please excuse the inflammation


Hope everyone is having a great New Year so far!

Whoa, with all the awesome tattoos posted in the Lowdown thread recently I'm surprised no one's posted here yet. I'll kick it off! Here's my thigh by Seth Wood, started at Temple and finished at Saved.

This dude does some bio mech work.. Instagram
Dan can probably do a nice space scene@
Dan Martin, Scorpion Studios

OMFG!!!!
Dude Brett did some work for me like 10yrs ago!!!!
My ribs, arm, and leg where done by him...
Thanks for finding him. I sent him an email to see if he has any slots avail.
Thanks again!

It's not all about the hourly rate. Some artist tattoo faster than others. So while 200/hour seems cheaper it may be the same or even more if the tattooer is on the slow side. Btw Justin is a great choice. Also Rose Hardy would kill that tattoo.
You can't go wrong with anyone in KA. Totally recommend that shop!!! Awesome artist and extremely well run.
I hear you about not rolling in the dough but... it's not like you'll have to pay everything upfront and probably that tattoo will take several sessions. Plus you will be totally happy with what you get..

Maybe something like these ?

I checked out his work,and some tattoos were okay,and some I didn't like.There's also not a lot of examples of his work on the site.If you like his style,another artist I would recommend that is better at that style is@ Tattoos by Dorothy Lyczek

I checked out his work,and some tattoos were okay,and some I didn't like.There's also not a lot of examples of his work on the site.If you like his style,another artist I would recommend that is better at that style is@ Tattoos by Dorothy Lyczek

Sean Crofoot@ Instagram does both styles real good..
Instagram Asian work in his style..
Instagram Jon Reiter & Josh Howard do good work...

I had my favorite tattooer in the world, Erick Lynch do this on Friday at Redemption in Cambridge Ma. My girl and I have been together for 7 1/2 years and got married in October…. So, I got her name finally :-) I'll have to repost this when it heals.

Few hours of shading progress yesterday by Will Lollie at Empire in Asheville.

...and he always had some mighty fine wine...

sorry for the lame shiny pic
photog i am not
couple days into heal (tatt from wed)
so still irritated pre peal shot
matt dunn
rabbits den
milltown nj

Hmmm yeah I remember, but usually Montreal is all a blur.
- - - Updated - - -
Man that was a while ago, and pre the new shop which is super rad.