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lil clipper

went into frith street on saturday to see if there was any space and got this sweet Rock of Ages by emiliano. If they have space for walk ins or if you can grab a cancellation you definitely need to go get tattooed there!

Years ago, Mike Wilson showed me a picture of a tattoo he did on a guy who was a crazy white power/survivalist/conspiracy theorist. The fella was convinced that the great race war was coming, and that when the "white man lost" that his enemies would set off an atomic bomb or some crazy shit like that. To protect himself, the guy asked Mike to tattoo a black triangle coming down his cheek, starting just below his eye. The blast from the explosion would pass over him if he had it. Mike did it after the guy kept asking over and over. Tattooing wasn't damaged. Sure, some a-hole has a stupid, possibly life altering tattoo on his face that may keep him from getting a job more so than avoiding the effects of atomic fallout, but that's pretty much that. If the internet would have been more omnipresent back then, I'm sure it would be all over the place, though I doubt people would have been taking personal shots at Mike. Kevin- I think it's a bad idea. I wouldn't have done it. (then again, I'm not a tattooer; I don't make a living having to decide what to turn down and what to do, so my opinion is allowably biased) Partially because it would have come back to bite me on the ass, partially because while she requested it, consent isn't everything and in the end nothing good could have come out of it. I make bad decisions sometimes too (though I admit I'm kind of a dick) and having those bad decisions thrown in my face would be equally agitating. I'm not here to rub salt in anyone's wounds though. Lesson learned and all that.

If you think I'm a powerlifter, than I can only assume you haven't looked at my gallery. :)

The greatest thing is, she just came back today to ask about finishing it. She was totally stoked on it, and was wondering about me doing some tip shading and bolding up the lines. She was so pumped on it, and wasn't sure if she should add more because she liked it so much how it was. I just told her that if we fancy it up a bit, she'll be even more stoked. I love making people happy, what an added bonus to an already awesome job I have!

I host a yearly afterparty to the Philly tattoo convention at my bar; pretty much looks exactly like that. We have a liberal policy on what you're allowed to wear, afterall :D

I think Drake should send you a fat-ass tip for saving his life, because now he'll be able to see that crazy chick coming from 100 yards away.

As always, thanks for sharing @ShawnPorter! Also, this is what I imagine future LST meetups to look like..

The other day I came across this piece by Chad Koeplinger And it got me thinking... I´ve seen quite a few tattoos done by respected artists with the swastika symbol incorporated in it. I assume that the majority of the members of this board already know that different variations of this symbol has been present for thousands of years before it was adopted by the nazi party in the 1920`s, but for most people today it is commonly assosiated with some form of white supremacism. Atleast in the Western part of the world. I´m sure none of the tattoos I just referred to was done with that ideoligy behind it, but almost anyone who sees a tattoo like that will immediately draw that conclusion. It makes me wonder why anyone wants it tattooed at all (even if it is a different variation of it and for completely different reasons). In the bonus episode of Tattoo Age Freddy Corbin mentioned that not even the Indian people would want the swastika symbol tattooed on them, despite it being represented throughout their religious artwork. I believe the swastika in the Koeplinger tattoo is the buddhist variation, but please correct me if I`m wrong. ..................................... (I´ve considered back and forth on whether or not to post this thread as I don´t want to offend anyone or start an unhealthy discussion. I´ll leave it up to @dari , @hogg , @steve1461686340 and the other moderators to decide it´s worth a shot.)

Ah yes, I have seen your gallery. Power lifters come in all shapes and sizes though. You never know who competes in what these days. I know a couple 165lb lifters and I'd never guess what they were capable of if I hadn't seen it first hand.

i'm going to agree with kevin in this debate. it's not the drake tattoo on this woman's forehead that is going to ruin her life, it's her decision making ability.

And calling me a total dick when you don't even know me is pretty lame, btw. I don't know who you have problems with at the shop or why, but I don't know you. You don't know me. Name calling on the Internet is chickenshit. In case you haven't noticed, vice magazine has a really good way with making people sound like assholes. The stuff I said was back and forth between myself and the writer through emails, without me knowing that it would be later be used in an interview. She contacted me to see of she could get in touch with the lady I tattooed, and ended up putting all my responses in interview form, which I suppose I should have read over prior to giving her permission to use it. But in the end, I'm not apologizing for doing my fucking job. And as far as "making everybody look bad"? To who? Explain who I made look bad here, other than myself.

Honestly, I don't care how many of you are friends with or know the dude who did it. He never should have done the tattoo. It's shit like that, which gives everyone else a bad name. Doesn't matter how good of a tattooer the dude supposedly is, he just ruined someone's life. For real. Having a band tattoo on your arm or leg that you later regret is one thing. Having it across your entire fucking forehead? Totally horrible. It kind of makes me mad that we can have a heated discussion over weather people should be tattooing hands, where most people say no you shouldn't unless it's a heavily tattooed person who you know. Yet something like this just makes people laugh and think nothing less of the guy who did it. Fuck that. Bad idea on her part, his (tattooers) part, and bad idea on whoever manages that shop for letting it happen. I already think one dude from that shop is total dick, now I kind of think that about two people there. Needless to say, I will never be taking my business there.

Gotta say, when dars and stots are done right it makes a world of difference! Be it from empty space or a portion of your arm you got fucked up by someone who, at least at the time, didn't know his ass from a hole in the ground.. or had never even seen stars and dots filler.. So @Perez helped me out by doing some little filler yesterday and trying to get the half of my arm that was starred and dotted and looked like shit back on track. Here are two really terrible photos but I am so pumped that my arm basically looks the way I always thought it should! Can't believe I waited this long to get this done.. Thanks buddy!!

Seems like everyone is wondering how we will survive/adapt to what reality television and the Internet has turned tattooing In to. It's no secret that EVERYONE you meet either tattoos or want to learn how. Honestly every 3rd person I meet with a tattoo is some form of a self proclaimed tattoo artist. What people haven't realized is that the recent rush of new tattooers is putting tattooing in a dangerous state. It's simple economics...supply and demand. When 100 customers in one city want a tattoo in a day and there are 200 tattooers in that city..well half the artist are going to starve. This isn't anything new...we all know the mass media has glorified tattooing and made it accessible to every kid that can sign his name. This won't change but what can we do about it. 2 years ago I moved to a city of 15,000 people and opened the only shop in this city. I assumed lowering my bills and cutting out all the extra expenses would be the answer. It may still be but at this point I'm not sure. I enjoy not having to tattoo in a scene. I really love tattooing people that have no expectation of what their tattoo should look like. If they come in for an eagle they don't try to micromanage what the eagle looks like. The clients in small city's just truly appreciate the time and care that I put in to the tattoo. My problem is I've worked hard since 1992 and I'm still sitting on my hands most the week. It's really got me thinking if this was the right choice and if I can survive what tattooing has become. I have thought of two scenarios that may help those of us that have put in the hard work and want to survive. 1. Take tattooing underground.. (private studios..no signs and make customers find us) 2. Create power shops...( gather the top 5-6 tattooers in one area and open 1 shop) Sorry Power shop sounds cheesy as shit. Larger cities already seem do this. Let's just take a city like Reno as an example. With out mentioning names there are really good tattooers there. For the most part each shop has a decent tattooer in it and a bunch of hacks. If all the legit guys got together and rounded up all the best talent In Reno you would defiantly see some shops losing clients and closing doors. The mediocre tattooers that were left would more then likely get a majority of their work at the "power shop". It would be a force to be record with. Since there are so many people trying to do tattoos and getting I to it most of them would want to go to these big shops to be tattooed. Shop owners are hiring one good tattooer and filling the rest of the spots just to line their pockets. We can stop this. If all the good tattooers left these types of shops and banned together and took control of tattooing we could make a difference. I know too many great tattooers that are broke and bouncing from shop to shop or working for piercers. It shouldn't be this way. We honestly need to take some responsibility and take back tattooing. Strong shops can and will survive. But if we are all spread out it's going to destroy the market for tattooing. Sacramento is a great example of this. There are under 3-4 great shops in Sacramento out of almost 200. Most of these shops are dog shit. There are a handful of decent tattooers that opened their own shops and just filled 3-4 stations with hacks. Why are we doing this!?! This only promotes that more people become tattooers. I know this isn't ground breaking or a new idea. But I do think that there is a large percent of good tattooers that haven't had the opportunity to work In A shop like this. And let's be honest once shops like this are made people tend not to leave. Bottom line is we have to use the thing that has put us In this position. Take advantage of the Internet and stay united. We are the ones that have to set the standards and come to gather to take back what we love and what was once sacred. Sorry about the rant...there aren't too many people to discuss thing like this wish in mid Missouri. It does feel good to get it out though.

I know its a little premature, but Im bored as shit at work, so this is what I decided to do on a cold Oakland morning: BEST/WORST of 2011: 1.) Personal high of 2011? 2.) Personal low of 2011? 3.) Best LST Thread? 4.) Worst LST Thread? 5.) Favorite tattoo (on you): 6.) Favorite tattoo (on someone else): 7.) Favorite artist? 8.) Best/Worst movie: 9.) Best/Worst album: 10.) Biggest guilty pleasure: 11.) Best show/concert you did and did not attend: 12.) Sum up the year in one word: Add whatever questions you want. Lets get to postin.

I'll be hitting the road this Monday. Driving from Missouri to Austin Texas. I'll be at Think Ink in Norman OK then on to Austin. I'd like to stop and tattoo in Dallas for a day but nothing set in stone. Anyone that wants to hang out or get tattooed let me know. I'm open for detours if anyone has a shop with a open chair. :cool:

just another know nothing floor cleaner/coffee maker/apprentice in london,humbled to finally be part of this community...thanks for having us C/S

There will be only one question asked: "Do you have an Andrew WK neck tattoo?"

Ashley Davies is now full time at Custom Inc in Glasgow :) Custom Inc, Custom Tattoo Studio, Glasgow, Scotland, Custom Ink custom inc | Tumblr I think Mark Ford from Evil from the needle does this style best DOOMPIG: tattooing.

is this the gal that wanted the white tattoo? scchhhweeet!

Best thread in a while. I see kevin's side of this...I don't go to my tattooer for decision making assistance or moral or ethical guidance.

lol lochlan thanks i clicked the picture first time around. The interweb is a challenging place for me

you jealous bro?

I'm pretty pumped to finish this thing.

I feel as though it was subliminal for me to check out this thread. Talk of squat and dead lifting nary sneaks under my radar. I take it one of you is crossfit and the other is a powerlifter? I share your enthusiasm for dot and spider fillers as well as barbell antics. I really like the look of fillers, it brings it all together and just makes it look complete.

I couldn't be happier with my Tattoo. Mike is an inredible artist - and a good guy for sure

Basically, what Rich said. If you had any integrity as a tattoo artist you wouldn't be doing stuff like that, even if they want it. If you're that good of an artist you shouldn't be worried about loosing the $200 or whatever she spent on it. So yes, @Kevin Campbell, if I was you I would have turned her down and let the shop next door do it. And no, I don't know you and you don't know me, but even if it was someone I knew who did it, I'd feel the same way. My fiancé is a tattoo artist at a very respected shop and if he had done it, I'd feel the same way. What I meant about making the rest of us look bad is - when people who don't know anything about tattooing or being tattooed see that tattoo and hear the supposed story of her being high they will assume that this is a normal thing and that tattoo artists don't care about their clients health and safety and that people are out there just tattooing horrible things on intoxicated people with no regard to that person's life. I feel like that's the type of thing that makes people scared about going to their local shop, thinking it's going to just be a bunch of idiots with face tattoos, drunk and high putting permanent marks on people. It reminds me in a way of that girl who had all the stars tattooed on her face and then when she realized how bad of an idea it was she tried to blame the tattooer which turned into a story about how tattooers will put thing on people who are passed out without them asking for it. It just seems like there's so much negative press about tattoos that adding to that pile just further hurts the industry.

Her decision making is obviously poor. She will be laughed at and looked down upon for the rest of her life. As a professional artist with some integrity she should be advised by the artist (which she was,apparently) .. But ,then to say,‘ok ,lets do it ,that’s what you want ‘is straight down for the dollar,no matter the outcome,no worries for a fellow human. Just a straight drug dealer attitude ‘they’ll get it from someone else,I lose out‘….’she’ll go next door and get it done badly’ In this situation ,who cares if its done badly ,it’s typical of a cheap bong shop/tattoo party scratcher studio . Professional tattooers wouldn’t touch it as they love and respect the craft and don’t need to sensationalise and damage it. Professional tattooers understand there are people not thinking straight walking through the door every day,a professional assesses the situation. A good professional is busy and and does not need to make a quick buck with blood on their hands.

Sure,the legs have previously been posted on here I think by Petri (they alone made most people crumble to their knees in disbelief).I've found a wide angle shot of the full back and hamstrings ,and another of the chest in -progress .Pretty sure its all the same dude and also sans sleeves .

Great day in London today. My wife got booked in with Crispy Lennox at Black Garden & Lucy Prior at Into You for next year. I also managed to get booked in with Duncan X in March. To cap it off I hooked up with this bitch.

I bet she knows this guy: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bTdVaN_hY6I

Unfortunately I couldn´t get a pantherhead or something to properly cover this one due to the tight space, but I think Marius did a fine job making me hate it alot less.

My Brooklyn Joe Lieber piece all done and pretty well healed. Tattooed by @Valerie Vargas, Frith Street.

Awesome! A lot of LSTérs with filler-spiders on their arms now :)

How about this person? Is it the location or the tattoo design/phrase one gets in these locations?

just because i clearly lack good judgement doesn't mean i won't make a good employee...

I've thrown down the machine and hauled ass to a competitors when I heard he was offering to finish work that I started! Hahaha ,my younger days...

[/ATTACH] heres one im about halfway through at the moment

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.

Heres my latest, done yesterday by Jordan at Frith Street Tattoo, London. Eagle on my wrist and a couple of flower fillers. [/img]

Finally got A Bob Wicks girl head from Eli three weeks ago. Will post a healed soon.

As long as Kev brought up Rock of Ages tattoo in Austin, I like Jay Chastain's back pieces over there too.