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Well I do have to say I was not that well informed until recently (I have read every post here and have been researching on my own). With all of the horrible, shit, backwards advice or knowledge that a lot of people have out there it is hard for someone that knows nothing to sort through the garbage. The world of tattooing and being tattooed is one that (at least to me and a lot of people I know) is very "mysterious". To sum up this thread (since I do not care to return to it) I will sum up with a long-winded analogy. Which goes as follows: It is easy to say "Wow what bad choices, wrong guy, wrong style ect. when you know the industry. I myself like I am sure a lot of customers are not well informed either through anti-tattoo propaganda, shitty references (dood my guy is DA BEST EVER!), and general secrecy around the industry itself. To compare I will say this. I work in the computer industry, but not as 95% of the population knows it. For me to say to you "Wow you didn't know what a beowolf-cluster was? Holy moly you dont understand Change Management relating to business application impact modeling?!" would be similar to saying the quote above to someone who has little knowledge of the tattoo industry. People like me need to be more informed. It is extremely overwhelming to go for that first tattoo (hell I've been trying for years) when you are thrown into a foreign world as I was. You not only do not know your options but sometimes get derailed by a few tough guys or bad timing! As to bubbleberry, I do NOT regret my decision to get this piece done. I am not going to laser it off. I have stared at it day and night since I got it and am starting to like it a lot more. It may not be the greatest tattoo in history but it is a part of me now and I like it. The only tattoos I would have ever regretted would be the ones (thank god I didn't) I would have gotten when I was drawing on myself in middle-school high-school (mostly band logos and a cross [atheist now]). Overall I am very happy at the information and advice I have seen or been given so far on LST and am extremely grateful for all of it (thanks everyone!). I feel much MUCH more informed in the area (by no means an expert) but love the art I have seen, and am so glad all you tattooers put in all that work to continue this amazing style of art! Also thank you whoever reads all of this, as it was a bit long-winded.

Scott did this one last night on my arm. i'm pretty stoked on it, and all morning Jackson and i were joking around, me moving my arm quickly towards him at random points and saying "ROARRRRRR". it's not the best photo, just one from my laptop, and before i get asked, it's a California Grizzly Bear and the 1922 is the year they went extinct.

If you drink a bottle of JD you may get the chance to read it.

Hello all, This is Michelle from Daredevil and FunCity Tattoo in NYC. Everyone's riled up over "Tattoo School" I posted my thoughts on our blog www.DevilCityPress.com Then I found the discussion here on LST.

Why do you need a subscription when you have this site...not sure if srs....or just noob.

I said that recently, then remembered that my entire ass is tattooed. Funny the things you forget sometimes.

What I found helps is first finding someone really great you can be tattooed by- then you'll probably realise why you like them, by thinking, "yeah, that guy does a great snake", or "she does a wonderful dagger"- then you could ask them to do something like that, while filling in the space. Worked for me anyway, just today! :)

Tattoo Artist Magazine: Official Statement Regarding the New TLC TV Show: Tattoo School... Tattoo Artist Magazine: Official Statement Regarding the New TLC TV Show: Tattoo School « TamBlog

i wear ed hardy, because i like to party

Well, its kinda funny you mention that, my Dad is going to go in with me to get a new tattoo (first since 1957) pretty soon and he is 74...so maybe I will end up with at least hands...I could get knuckles that said AARP LIFE or something...

I have no real plans to tattoo my neck or, aside from the few tiny things on them already, my hands. When I was first introduced to tattooing, hand and neck tattoos were the exclusive provenance of bikers, junkies and lifers, it was scary shit. Most tattooers didn't even have their necks or hands tattooed, and if they did they had earned it by running out of space elsewhere. It used to make you look fucking TOUGH, but these days (no offense to those with neck and hand tattoos) every suburban 18 year old with a screamo band has their hands and throat tattooed. (and often nothing else. the "warped tour body-suit" as I like to call it.) it's just not a club I'm interested in joining. Probably not going to tattoo my feet either. I'd tattoo my weiner though. If Pat would agree to do it ;)

I'd rather see 500 Ed hardy things a day then one affliction or skin t shirt. And if you think Ireland is overloaded try America where you can't walk into any convenience store without seeing about 5 different items with Ed hardy on it.

Why do people ask these questions after getting tattooed???? Ask before putting permanent ink into your body!

kylegrey - i have a staffie too!

I don't eat in that category of restaurant. This is is more me.

My buddy Falkner, who owns FADE FAST in Texas had nine bars tattooed on his arm, each getting either 0, 1, 2, etc sessions with his laser to show the progress of removal. Allen Falkner That was with his old laser- he's upgraded since then, but it gives a basic idea on what's possible. He also tends to hook tattooers up with free appointments, though that's recently been taken advantage of. (someone made a fake business card!)

I got this Baphomet head from Tim Lehi last month. Why? Easily my favorite tattooist, and I think he understands what I am going for. He has tattooed me a few times and always gives me suitable tattoos for me, like he knows me, ha.

Art Talk-Mike Brown Lot's of history in this.

I just want to remind everyone of our #1 agreement for this forum- You agree that you will not: 1. use the Site to personally attack, threaten, stalk, defraud, incite, harass, or advocate the harassment of another person, or otherwise interfere with another user's use of the Site; So sometimes we all can't get along, but we can be civil and respectful. Please always try to contribute to this forum in a helpful way, we're still a young forum and we want to grow in a positive direction. Posts and exchanges written in haste and anger or with the intention of inciting a negative response can escalate quickly, and that doesn't serve anyone. If a situation comes about where you absolutely cannot get along with another LST member, you have the option of going to their profile page and clicking on "Add to Ignore List." Please try to work out any issues with the other member whenever possible and only use this as a last resort. The rest of our rules are here, if you'd like to read them: http://www.lastsparrowtattoo.com/forum/bugs-issues-how-navigate-forum-questions/57-last-sparrow-tattoo-forum-rules.html And thanks again to everyone for being a part of this community, dispite the occasional growing pains, Dari

Often times people resist, ignore, or fight back without a solution to a problem except in hopes of extinction or wanting change without offering another alternative route. This can have its strengths and opportunities for changes. So in response to the new thread on TLC's new show, Spike TV spamming LST with their new show, and all the other talk that has occurred in the short life of LST we have come up with an idea...... We understand those shows are going to do what they do but how about using your social networking sites to show those new to tattooing and/or unfamiliar with tattooing outside of what the media feeds them some other options? We noticed some people were blogging, tweeting and/or status updating LST instead of TLC (which was a nice compliment, thanks) so people saw an alternative. Also we noticed people on here saying they would not give these networks and/or production companies their time. Also we saw what we believe a large amount of people were doing, posting/tweeting the hell out of mentions of fighting these companies. It was insane to see how much resistance was to this new show and seemed like every second or third news feed mentioned this. Which what this does is make it viral and it is free press causing more "trainwreck" material for the network, show, and production company fueling their venture. There is no right or wrong way to fight this as you need to do what you believe in. We, LST, have come up with a few motos that we have been using on our networking sites to post rather than give them any more of our time and thought we would publicly put it out there for anyone else who wishes to try a alternative route to showing the public what tattooing is really like (thanks for the RT & Repost by the way already). LST was developed and continues to be developed to try to help build a real, positive, and helpful bridge between tattooers and customers both long time and new, so REAL conversations can happen hopefully equating to better tattoos and more informed respect and perspectives on tattooing. We believe in the less than a year we have been around we have done an alright job but continue to work on making it better and could not do any of it without all of you, so thanks! Below are some of the mottos we are status updating, tweeting, etc and if you feel inclined please use some of the below and/or make up your own so we can try to take back some of the power large tattoo tv has been given.... Fuck TLC and Spike TV SUPPORT LST, Tattoo Artist Interviews http://www.lastsparrowtattoo.com/6-tattoo-artist-interviews.html Get your Tattoo TV Sanity & support LST, Tattoo Artist Interviews http://www.lastsparrowtattoo.com/6-tattoo-artist-interviews.html Take back the power from large tattoo tv & SUPPORT LST. RT & show the public what U really support!! http://www.lastsparrowtattoo.com/6-tattoo-artist-interviews.html RT so the people can see real reality tattoo tv! Don't give Spike & TLC your time or energy!! http://www.lastsparrowtattoo.com/6-tattoo-artist-interviews.html +plus other variations but the point is to try and get people to see real talk from tattooers in the tattoo artist interview area (or if you have another area that you think is informative have at it). Thanks for your help, continual support and participation with us to try and make a better resource on the internet for tattooing! This site is nothing without all of you & your positivity, respect, and passion for tattoos!

I do not no how easily this transfers over to the world of tattooing/art but in the computer industry we commonly display code/programs that have very explicit terms of use around its distribution/use. I am not talking about massive Fortune 1000 companies but people like me who do it as a hobby after work. There are a TON of pre-made templates for terms of use out there that were written by lawyers but released for the every day guy to use. I have one that I attach and it is just a game of fill in the blanks. These Terms of Use are strong enough to hold up in court 90% of the time.

I remember a post from a tattooer friend on facebook where he and his girlfriend were having dinner with Ed Hardy and she posted the picture and one of her friends commented something like "you mean the guy from the clothes" and Doug Hardy saw it and posted something like " I didn't think Ed Hardy was a real person, I thought he was a figurehead like Sara Lee". Maybe it was funnier to see it in person but I still smile about it today.

My boss has a neverending supply of Ed Hardy/Christian Audigier shirts. He also drives his "lambo" (lamborghini) to and from work each day. He also has no tattoos, but "has designed some" for friends. He also doesn't know anything about the actual Ed Hardy. At first, I thought, "Oh, maybe not a douchebag indicat––– oh.. yeah. Yeah, it is. Always. Without fail."

Those words alone almost gave me a headache! While we're on the subject, has anyone here ever met someone who was surprised to hear from you that Ed Hardy is a real person? I've had this happen once or twice, when people have asked if I like the t shirts, and I say I like him and his artwork instead. I thought even people well outside of tattooing would have known he was at least a real person!

Nice one cfgsteak. (about the cable, not the football) I don't care about cable/satellite TV anyway, but I do like to pay my UK TV licence. That's where all the good shit comes from. David Attenborough/BBC wildlife and arts programmes are the best in the world. John Peel wouldn't have been able to have a job on the radio if the BBC didn't exist or wasn't publicly funded. I don't mind paying £145 per year for that.

maybe, but maybe not. depends on the agreement which was signed. my primary job at the museum is rights and reproductions, and while i don't usually work with tattoo artists, we do work with artists on a fairly regular basis (and own the collections to a few who have passed on). while sure, for a publication such as Tattoo Life, you're welcome to send in your image, unless you sign a contract giving them full publishing disclosure, if they are posting your image anywhere outside of the designated issue/web publication that you have agreed it, it IS illegal and against copyright law (unless the image was published pre 1978 here in the states, as copyright laws do not apply to any sort of work that was not registered as being copyrighted beforehand, and international rules are slightly different.) Also, usually magazines approach artists (again, not consumer contributors) to ask to use their work (or an estate/gallery that is in charge of their works and any legal ties to them). Once it has been confirmed with an artist that a given work may be used for a specific article, technically the magazine would need to re-apply for permission again for web use, unless the negotiated contract specified otherwise (and a broader range of distribution). if you ar sending in your work, the publication knows who the creator or contributor is, and therefore can't technically claim ignorance or "due dilligence", which can be claimed for a lot of found, anonymous works (think fliers and snapshots). So what does this mean for tattoo artists? GET EVERYTHING IN WRITING. number one thing i can't stress enough. if you get asked to have your work published in a book, magazine, website, whatever, don't agree on a verbal contract, and rather negotiate terms through email. at least then it's dated, time stamped, and in text. never, again NEVER, sign a contract without completely reading it. you may agree that someone can use your image to make millions of dollars (as with Ed Hardy), and not even realize it, and there is very little retribution to be gained once a contract has been signed (it is a legal binding document). if you want only one image to be used, at a small size, in one blog post, or one article, then tell the magazine that; the same can be said for 20 images. this is your right as an artist. just make sure you and the publication are on the same page. while i'm not a copyright lawyer (THANK GOD), this has been my job for the last 3.5 years. here's a great quick reference to copyright laws in case you are interested as well. Also, the safer bet is anything created before 1923 is public domain, anything after that is questionable.

I'd say if you're having trouble going with your gut, Mel's advice is pretty solid.

Android fo lyfe.

you could add almost anything to it, and it won't really change the look! i mean unless you get like a hot pink care bear, that might take away from the eagle...

Just got back last night from a trip to Chicago. Got tattooed by Mario Desa (skull with butterfly wings). Saw Archers of Loaf play. Ate at Chicago Diner. Weekends away don't get much better than that. I don't have any decent pictures of the tattoo yet, but there are a couple up on Mario's facebook.

Or just go to the hardy marks publishing website they have lots of amazing books. Just google it

nope, not at all... i'm done being overly rude to him because i realized i was just making myself look like a moron...

lol, this guy still doesn't get it.

Well the saving grace is that the wearer dosn't have to look at it.

Its cool you pumped for a rescue dog .Sampson ,our Staff is also ,poor guys just been diagnosed with under active Thyroid,Diabetes and possible Cushings syndrome so we are looking at our rescue center for a girl to keep his spirits up .

super cute!!!! here's some reallllly cute dog clothes... i'm a little biased cause it's my cousin's company but it is really really cute http://www.etsy.com/shop/RoverDog

She's hot. F'real.

I'm getting pretty complex with my circle creation right now, putting people in multiple circles. You're in Canada, Tattoo, Last Sparrow. When you're a nerd with way too much time on your hands....

Martha Stewart Pets Crab Terry Hoodie - Martha Stewart Pets - Dog - PetSmart

Well, I've been reading the replies here, and normally I'd probably start to lean towards your ideas of just leaving the whole thing alone, never mentioning it at all. However, since changing my Facebook picture, about six people I know who aren't too knowledgeable about tattoos have asked me what it's about- three of them being people who were going to make appointments at the local studios that aren't much better than Lisa's "school". I wouldn't have normally talked to them (four were people from high school!) so it was cool that that's opened up a little discussion with them and probably saved their skin from the laser treatment place. A silver lining, even if it is a small one, is always good.

Thanks for sharing this as it is a nice break from the past week of seeing the nonsense larger tv shows are producing. This and other tattoo videos are what people need to make viral and talk about on their social media pages. I saw some people were plugging our, LST Tattoo Artist Videos, and wanted to say thanks. Could you imagine if these (Tattoo Age, LST Videos and others you all like) got the attention those other shows that people dislike got over the past few days? they may have to up the ante to keep the viewers....supply and demand....

i find having a hot bath the first night of the tattoo really helps to open up pores and get all the extra gunk off, washing with dr bronner's liquid soap too, it really gives that squeaky clean feeling on your skin. for cream i recommend e45 or cocoa butter but always the least amount you can get away with. if you keep your tattoo clean by washing it a couple of times during the day (for the first week max) i find theres little need for any cream. personally i barely use any, just take care of washing my tattoo often seems to be enough. people with greasier skin shouldnt use cream in my book, everyone's different and this is why i will always have a proper chat with my customer after their tattoo, specially if it's their first time getting tattooed by me.

I'm sure I'm repeating everything here but... Lady heads are super hard to make nice and super easy to fuck up. I don't have examples or links but some tattooers who I think do/did awesome lady heads (and add their own flavour) are, in no particular order: Chris Conn Valerie Vargas Isaac Fainkujen Bart Bingham Theo Mindell Jack Rudy Sleepy G Bob Wicks Justin Weatherholtz seems to be great at everything. Steve Boltz Chad Koeplinger Chris Garver Tim Hendricks There are plenty of tattooers who constantly do great tattoos but these spring to mind mostly because of their individual subtleties with lady heads. I also didn't include realistic style girl heads 'cos that's slightly different. The girls on most of the zeis flash have some great little nuances too.

OK here's the thing Bubbleberry. You aren't a tattooer. Not that your opinion isn't valid, but try to understand things from this perspective: Among craftsmen, information is the true currency. It's why master woodworkers, calligraphers, metal smiths, violin makers etc. guarded their secrets. It's keeps the things that you do special. When everyone knows everything, what is special? Thats why the Stradivarius violin is what it is and not just some normal violin. When I was in my apprenticeship my teachers told me things. Very valuable things that helped me in my journey. Things I still think about today. One had been tattooing 14 years and the other 9. They had accumulated a lot of experience. They made mistakes, figured some things out, talked and worked with other tattooers, and had a chance to see a lot of things they did age and make adjustments to compensate. When they taught me stuff, they put their faith in me that I wouldn't just treat the things they passed on as just stuff to talk about or things to say when you want other dudes to know that you know what you're talking about. It was truly valuable and needed to be seen and treated as such. I had very good friends working at other shops in town on their own similar beginning adventures in tattooing, and I never told them any of the shit my bosses told me even if I thought it would help. Which was hard, but here's the thing. It wasn't my secrets to tell. As much as I would like to help someone out that I think might benefit from a hint or two, it's not my information to tell. I couldn't betray that. It's what keeps it valuable and helps keep that bond between student and teacher sacred. I truly believe that. That's maybe why so many of us are up in arms about the tattoo school thing. Because we may have gone through the student/teacher apprenticeships, and value that. I'm proud of my lineage. They aren't huge name dudes or anything, but I think that are some of the best tattooers I know. My stuff has a look to it that you can trace back to the people I worked with and learned from and that's important. It keeps things rich. It's the best way to cultivate and nurture tattooing as a whole. My stuff may not be the best stuff out there, but it's mine, and what's mine is a combination of the people who taught me, and I'm proud of that. Think about your wife. She's going through her very own apprenticeship. What about the accumulated knowledge that her teacher is passing on to her. Should she not hold that in truly high regard? Shouldn't she keep his secrets and put them to good use? She is now part of his lineage. That's not something to take lightly. That information is valuable and she should treat is as such. That's not to say that you can't ever mention it. Trading bits of information between craftsmen is another way to honor the value of the knowledge, AND that gives me the privilege of being able to go back to my teachers and tell them what i've learned as a part of the way you can pay them back for giving you so much in the first place. As craftsmen we meet up at conventions, guest spots, shop visits on vacations, writing to each other, and we can sometimes trade portions of information to each other and we can in turn use these in our own ways and it helps keep tattooing robust and alive. It helps us form bonds between each other. However even in those situations I try to hold back certain aspects of the info, as do the people on the other side. It keeps the level of mystery, not in a mystical sense, but in the sense that we now have to figure out the key to unlock this particular piece of knowledge, and sometimes we find our own key and use for it. Tattooing is different than most things in that it's still a largely master/apprentice craft. True a lot of tattooers came in through different means but most of them respect the apprenticeship as the proper way, and although more tattooers than not shouldn't actually be giving apprenticeships since they aren't really cut out for it, and we have too many to begin with already, it's still the proper way. That is part of the tradition that, at least I hold in very high regard. Ursula, if you're paying for info, that you've in turn used to help you create something unique, then yes you should see it in that light. Hold it back. People ask and ask, but that shows you just how valuable and special your stuff is. Let them find their own secrets. Now if you are meeting up with other people and can trade parts of things for more info, then good on you. I could write more on this subject but I think I need food right now. I'm sure smarter people than me can expound in a better way.

So what your saying is we can go to bubbleberry's profile and click on the Add to Ignore List.I wish i could do that to some member's of my family.

I thought I did answer the original question. Almost every thread you've started here didn't need to be posted. 5 minutes of thought would have answered your own question. There's an 'old' saying regarding people who constantly make 'controversial' threads and posts on internet forums. "Do not feed the trolls" Do you realise that one of the founders of this site makes some of the best tattoo machines available? Do you realise that many forum members and interviewees also make the highest quality machines and other equipment? It's not about you making money, nobody cares. It's about respect and acting professional while asking professionals (and serious enthusiasts) for advice. People come here to discuss topics in an informative and hopefully positive way. It's hard to do that when people ask if a dvd is a good place to learn anything to do with tattooing. Here's an honest tip: There is NO Bob Ross of tattooing. It's also not like Popular Mechanics or Model Engineering where everybody shares their tips and advice to everyone. You can complain all you like about people being smart asses or dicks, but we've all been in the same position. Really, we have. We found our own way, often with help, but we had to earn that help, usually face-to-face. The journey and the self-discovery is what makes the outcome more valuable. I didn't always tattoo in a shop but I found that pretty much anything I could buy from someone who didn't care where I worked wasn't worth buying. I've said too much. I'm going back to not feeding trolls...

I got mash 4077

got this from Ben Grillo last month...

While I was at Frith Street my beautiful squeeze had her second session. A really stunning Day of the Dead Girl, tattooed by Stewart Robson.

Greg Irons ships are some of the best in my opinion .Although this beautifully simple piece by Tokyo Hiro may just take the cake for me .