Non-Tattooer owning flash

[sboyer]

its hard to bunch collectors into one group as they seem to vary a lot. in the tattoo world some of them have played key roles in preserving history but like anything its a mixed bag. often times people are more concerned with money or how rare something is.. tattooers and collectors both.

[David Flores]

Other than the tattoos on me I really don't have a tattoo related collection. I have bought a fair amount of books but all of them I end up going into the shops reference library and the only flash I own is a set that was leftover from 2008 Bay Area Convention and a couple other prints I have bought at conventions. Funny I have a tattoo off of 5/6 sheets of the flash set I was given so in a way it looks like a personalized flash sheet but it really was me being the first one around when sheets were being painted so that was the stuff I got.

I don't see anything wrong with collecting flash, I am just a horrible collector and can't imagine the pressure of owning something I know should be in a museum someday and not messing it up. Plus I would rather the sheet be used like it was originally intended rather than sit in my living room.

[sboyer]

i get great enjoyment out of collecting tattoo related items. i spend most of my spare money on old flash, photos, acetates etc. i was always a minimalist growing up so it's strange that the older i get the more i have the urge to collect things like this. i am not 100% sure what my motivation is for a lot of it but i get real enjoyment out of the images associated with early american style tattooing. a lot of the older designs have a visceral quality that really speaks to me. i have the utmost respect for the craft and the lineage associated with it, i am honored to have some items that are a part of that history. i do not collect machines and i have no interest in doing so ( aside from some zeis related items for the book). i can appreciate them but its not visual enough for me. i can understand why people are not trusting of some collectors who are not tattooers but everyone's motivations are different.

[ShawnPorter]

i can understand why people are not trusting of some collectors who are not tattooers but everyone's motivations are different.

I just can't understand why anyone would care.

Honestly. And if they DO care... I've got an ass for them to bite.

[MindblownTattoo]

But wasn't there one time an assumption that you bought flash because you could make money off of the designs on the sheets. I have heard sales pitches like 'The first time you do this panther the sheet pays for itself." Now some people don't want the panther off the sheet and some flash sheets don't even include line drawings and others would consider it passe to tattoo others flash. These type of factors make me believe some people producing flash would want it to be a collectable rather than a practical tool or money maker. I know there are shops out there where this is not the case but I am completely off the mark here?

Yes there was indeed a time when one design would pay for the set. In fact, I have been creating and selling hot sets since 1986 to this very day, I understand the market trends and have helped shaped the contemporary tribal evolution in New Zealand in the 1990's. There is a gamble buying flash especially when there is no demand. You are RIGHT on the mark David.

@Ursula, I like what you said that it would be much better to invest in an artists talent for painting than buy his flash which would make your home look like the wallpaper of a tattoo parlour. I guess collectors see it as a valuable and important part of the tattoo evolution history that should be preserved the same way stamp collectors think. I personally dont decorate my living room with flash, I would rather leave copies on the walls of my work studio and the originals sealed and locked. Maybe its about choice as an investment for business or as a collectors item for non tattooers.

Oh, by the way hello everyone

[Ursula]

Yup same here @MindblownTattoo . Any of the flash original or prints my dude and I own are either at the shop hanging or put away in a flat file. At home it's mostly paintings hanging with one or two special flash sheets up in the drawing room.

[LilMountain]

Art is art, dont see a problem with it