LST Tattoo Forum, Six Months Live

[Lochlan]

Yesterday, March 21, 2011, marked Last Sparrow Tattoo Forums six months of being live. First and foremost thanks to all those who have been a part of this! We embarked on this new project not knowing what to expect but said screw it and gave it a shot as there wasn't a tattoo site out there that captured all of what we wanted to see....until you all joined us. This tattoo forum and ezine could not be the positive community it is without every respectful and insightful contribution from blogs to pictures to forum threads/post to sign-ups to links and shoutouts on your various sites (Facebook, Twitter, Stumble, MySpace, personal blogs & websites, etc). We are so grateful and hope you all will continue to spread the word and participate so we can do our part to try and help the trade of tattooing grow in a more respectful and positive manner where tattooers and tattoo customers can learn and support those who consistently turn out good tattoos with a positive attitude and love for the trade.

We have had some great friends take time out of their busy schedules to do the Tattooer Video Interview series with Scott and want to thank them again. Juan Puente for being the first one to jump in and sit down with Scott. Both Cody Miller for helping us and doing the interview with Josh Arment while he was out of town. Nick Colella for not only doing the interview but also regularly contributing some great tattoo history and pictures to the forums among other contributions. Freddy Corbin for sitting down to get interviewed and juggling hanging out with his son. Bryan Burk for being so patient as he was one of the first interviewed (six months ago) but we had some technical difficulties so didn't get this one edited and posted until recently. There will be more of these coming as Scott was just out of town to specifically do some interviews.

I would like to thank my friends who have sat down and done The Three Questions for LST and yes there will be more.

We have another LST Admin meeting coming up where we are going to discuss two BIG new features that we have been hashing out based on some LSTer feedback that we hope will help further propel better tattoos and tattooer/shop recognition for tattooers, shops, and customers. With this in mind we do listen and want to try to make the site more useful for all returning and new users which leads to the other reason for this thread besides the huge THANKS!! If you all can take the time to answer these questions we would be even more grateful:

-What have been your favorite parts?

-What do you want to see more of?

Thanks again for joining us on this journey that we continue to try to map out but not knowing where it will take all of us but riding the ride anyways cause we love good tattoos!

[ShawnPorter]

I know I'm relatively new here, but it's been a great few weeks here so far. I want to thank everyone who's taken time out of their lives to make this all possible. Running a website is tough, much less a community based site. But this is one of the most easy going, non-elitist drama free sites I've ever been a part of. And I for one appreciate it. Here's to the years to come!

[Iwar]

Congrats and thank you for this great website!

Probably my favorite part about LST is the ammount of talented tattooers and serious collectors that contribute on the forum. Thanks for sharing your knowledge and stories! (Special shoutout to Shawn for his Old tattoo documentaries thread!)

And of course the interviews. They have been beyond awesome.

The only thing I'd wish for is that we get even more tattooers and enthusiasts to recognize this site, sign up and contribute :)

[AbbyRoad]

i very recently joined. i noticed that everyone had relatively recent joined dates as well as "low" post count compared to other online forums, and couldnt figure out why. everything just seemed so awesome about LST. i am finding out just now how "young" LST is, and it explains everything.

i have to say a BIG congratulations is in order. in light of this revelation LST seems like an even more interesting corner of the interwebs. i look forward to being part of the LST community and seeing how it grows.

[CaptCanada]

I would also like to say thank you, because without the admins, moderators, and great people that joined this site it would not be what it is. And to me it's a great site that seemed to be started by very talented tattooers for tattoers and the collectors. Other sites can't touch the level of professionalism that this site has. The only problem that I can say I have is the activity on the site, but knowing it's still a young forum that doesn't concern me much. With time it will grow. Once again we should be thanking you, and everybody that has joined this site!

[RockelMan]

Everyone has taken the words right out of my mouth, Awesome LOL! Great minds think alike!

[lm862003]

Congratulations on the six month birthday. I will now celebrate by watching "The Soup" reruns. God Bless!

[Romance & Worship]

as someone who is looking for a start in the tattoo arts, my favorite thing about LST is all the valuable information that engulfs your forum. there are a lot of questions i don't always ask while i am at shops or getting tattooed, for different reasons. but the professionals and enthusiasts that contribute to LST are constantly answering and asking the same questions that i find myself coming up with. The people here look at tattooing from every aspect with an open mind and make it easy for open communication. i have learned so much and felt much better about my own situation from watching all of the video interviews as well. i can't think of much else i would add, i look forward to see what's coming next on LST. There's A LOT of bullshit out there, and this is the real deal! thank you for taking the time and energy out of your lives to making this happen.

[Avery Taylor]

Congratulations on the six months. I checked my start date, and I have been around for almost five of them, and I still check the forums everyday.

I have little in the way of suggestions, but I will answer the two questions that Lochlan asked. Some of my favorite things about the website are: I like the interviews and the choice of tattooers interviewed, I like that I am familiar with and respect a good number of the tattooers that post on this site, and I am learning about other artists that I was not familiar with, and my favorite thing is the level of respect and courtesy that the people posting in the forums treat each other with. That is not an easy thing to come by in the faceless world of the internet.

The only thing that I would like to see more of is photos, photos, photos. Thanks, guys and gals.

[gougetheeyes]

Nice job all around! I'm extremely grateful to be a part of the forum, and it still gives me a warm fuzzy feeling when everyone contributes -- and contributes well -- to threads, blogs, etc. without pretension or attitude. Everyone seems willing to discuss, educate and generally support one another. If there's a disagreement or eyebrow-raising comment, it never gets out of hand.

And to answer Loch's question, I second Avery's "photos, photos, photos!" The interviews have been really good and I'm still a little floored at the talented tattooers on here willing to post and share.

Lastly, I'd just like to say thanks again, as I'm usually pretty self-conscious that because I'm not a tattooer, I come across as a weird groupie or fanboy. LST doesn't make me feel like that and I'm grateful.

HURRAY!

[gougetheeyes]

I would also like to add that without the forum, it's unlikely I would've been tattooed by Scott and Mario this year!

[hogg]

Love, love, love this place. Such a goldmine of talent, knowledge and good folks.

My one request is that someone turn the tables and interview Scott. Hell, I'd be willing to do it. The interview series is nothing short of fantastic, and while I realize that it's a lot of work, I'm sure I speak for many here when I say that I want more, more, more! There are so many incredible artists in the Bay Area alone, and they all have stories to tell.

Thanks again to Scott and Lochlan for creating this place.

[kylegrey]

I'd love to see that and also think it's a great idea to see hogg more involved at any level ,especially for those of us living outside the "mecca".

I agree with everything thats been said what amazes me most is the overall quality of the whole thing .My only disappointment is when i click the whats new section and it reads no new posts .

[AlannaCA]

I found LST through Lizzie who posted a link in one of her twitter messages and just by chance i decided i would click the link and see what LST was all about (i usually never pay attention to what people post or bother to take the time to look ). i was hooked immediately. This was back in September but i didnt join until November because i usually dont sign up to forums. I looked through every possible thread multiple times just soaking up all the information and 5 months later i have learned so much! i am confident that i can be a great client and make better decisions on what artists i choose to get tatooed by in the future. i love the family like community and i was so surprised when people responded when i introduced myself in the initiation thread. everyone was so welcoming and i love that even though its a tattoo forum there is almost as much food talk going on as tattoo talk! the video interviews are amazing and you really get to know amazing artists on a differnt level! i am so happy to know that more and more people are signing up and discovering the beauty of this amazing site! i guess all i have left to say is that making a trip to California to meet some of these amazing people is for sure at the top of my vacation TO DO list. oh yes and i vote that Hogg interviews Scott. Congrates Lochlan and Scott on your first 6 Months Live!