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@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.

Great thread, Carolyn. Here's my perspective as a non-tattooer: I used to live behind a street shop that's been around for a long time. I believe it opened in the early 80s, and it probably hasn't changed a lot since then. They don't take appointments at all, and it still runs by the old system where you come in, take a number, and you wait until you get called: you don't get to pick your artist, you get whoever is available next. They will kick you out for using your phone in the shop. The walls are totally covered in flash. There's some really cool stuff there. You can see Jack Rudy flash in the racks through the window, there's great Zulueta stuff on the walls, they have rad old Chris Garver flash, they have Greg Irons flash that the guy who owns the shop bought off Irons in person on the Queen Mary. They also have a load of Cherry Creek pinned up on the walls. Anyway, I became somewhat friendly with the tattooers there and I'd chat with them when I passed by while walking my dog, and what I'm going to say partly comes from conversations with them, partly from my own observations. One of the tattooers said to me at one point that in the four or five years he'd worked at that shop he'd only had one day that he didn't do a tattoo. The tattooers there have also lamented how business used to be a lot better before a million shops opened up. Once when I was there looking through the flash, one of the tattooers said that nobody who gets tattooed there--and their clientele is very much the "lower-income working class people" mentioned above--looks through the flash and wants things from it, they want stuff they've printed off the internet or have on their phones. I was getting tattooed a couple of weeks ago at another well-established shop, this one was one of the first custom shops in the city, and a woman came in wanting to get the bird silhouettes. They didn't have anybody available to do the tattoo at that moment, but they happily booked an appointment at a later date with her. The guy who runs this shop used to work at the shop mentioned above and even though he's well-booked out and does a lot of large custom work, he still has that real street shop demeanor and will do pretty much anything the client wants. He's not limiting himself to "his style". I've seen tattooers at a lot of fancy shops, including ones I've seen mentioned on here as having a particular style (this is what happens when you think that instagram is real life, kids) doing whatever walks through the door. I've seen shops really pushing to be more open to walk-ins, not only because it brings in money, but also because it makes tattooers more well-rounded and just better tattooers. Though, thinking about it, the walk-ins the more high end shops are getting, at least from what I've seen, are more of the script on the ribs type of tattoos. I guess when it comes down to it, there's a class issue at play here. From my observations, most shops still get walk-ins, but the people going to the fancier shops are better dressed.

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.

Don't tell me that people walked into a shop or picked up a phone, talked to a human being, looked through a portfolio and then made up his or her mind and booked something (or not), because that's obviously crazy.

Not a street shop, per say, but last weekend I was in Kings Avenue getting tattooed, and Zac Scheinbaum was cranking out walk in after walk in while I was there. It was nice to see someone that you'd think of as kinda having a style and typically be booked in advance just doing names and script and Stars of David and treating it just as importantly as the bigger/custom one he was doing when I left.

I like this thought process Ms. Carolyn. It's something that actually affects me. I live in Virginia. For those of you less informed, it is does not qualify as the most "progressive" state in the Union. The tattoo shop I work at is in Salem, Virginia, which is the sister city to Roanoke, Virginia. I would describe this town as behind the times. I can count on two fingers the tattoo shops in the area that look like "tattoo shops." You know, flash wall to wall and on the ceiling too. I'm lucky to be in one of them. It's the type of shop I want to work at. But, like I mentioned, the area is a little behind the times and alot of clients are very enticed by the "studio" "custom-only" "leather couch and plasma TV" look. So, those shops are a little busier in the area, even though, they are still doing the money maker tattoos. In a lot of places, Virginia is not the only place, flash is being replaced by glowing smart phones and Google/Pinterest images. That's the new flash at these types of shops. My coworkers and I have joked that those shops should just mount iPads to the wall. But here is the exciting part. Clients who are discovering our shop, where the other three guys have been tattooing a combined 55 years, they walk in and say "Wow! This looks like a tattoo shop. This is so cool." I think, at it's root, tattoo shops that look like tattoo shops, will always be the common denominator. You can up the fixtures and the fanciness, but having those archetypical designs on the wall that speak to the human psyche, and the folders of black and white tribal, lettering, and even Tattoo Brand/Cherry Creek stuff will provide the best jumping off point for clients. Even Ed Hardy went back to having a "street shop" look after having Realistic. So all the shops who think they are breaking ground with a white-glove stark environment really are not. It comes and goes, as they say.

AMEN! - - - Updated - - - I will also add...tattoo shops that SOUND like tattoo shops. I once walked into a shop and was like "WTF is anybody working", well they all were with rotary machines dialed down. Too friggin quiet for a tattoo shop, let those coil machines roar ! IMO there is only a select few tattoo shops that look/sound/smell tattoo shop in my city. There is an oversaturation of shops however...maybe better to call them "tattoo studios" or "tattoo salons" by the look of these places, the look of the artists, the look of the fresh tattoos that leave. I think of them as boutique studios and are much more accessible, less intimidating to the average customer. Very sterile, fashionable artwork on the walls, each room has a big screen tv...I personally think it's kinda wack, missing out on part of the experience. But hey, everyone has there own reasons for booking appointments at any tattoo shop or studio,,, there is even a couple headshop-tattoostudio places around that popped up...lol...definately would recommend those if you want to get a hatchet man tattoo (jokes)! I like the open space, barbershop feel of the street shop. Bunch of tables crammed in the space, everyone is hanging in close quarters with shared misery and having a good time, bullshitting, dirty jokes, talking tattoos. Every square inch of the walls is covered in flash and artwork that looks tattoo-able. Tattoo shops that look like tattoo shops!

Has anybody been reading the rest of the americanatattoo takeovers? Loved the Rich Fie one and Robert Ryan's bright and bold was a classic,

A lot of times, many of these big shops we all admire and respect do tons of walk ins. They just don't post it on Instagram. Tattooers typically post stuff they want to do more of. Robert Ryan was telling me he does walk ins at Electric all the time.

Just go to Into You in London. I think they can cover that. Although there are sooooo many good shops.

drove down to portland to get this. underrated tattooer.

hey friends! Short little session on Saturday with Scott at Sugar shack, I was feeling quite sick so we only did a bit, background down the left side and gave the tiger some stripes. Really wished I could have gone longer. Since finishing I havent been able eat much without puking. Its been a shitty couple days. Really hope to have a good long session next time, hopefully finish background down the ass and thighs.

Finally get to post in this thread!! Screen capped right off Instagram. Karl Lark/Bert Grimm? lady head flip by Jason Phillips at FTW in Oakland, CA. Ribs are brutal. But I'm stoked on the end result. Felix by Adrian Sanchez at FTW in Oakland, CA for their 14 Year Anniversary Party. I've always wanted a Felix tattoo. It fit perfectly in the spot.

In roughly 2 weeks my kung fu school is performing at a big Chinese New Year celebration. The organizers said "we hope the guy with the full body tattoos will be there, the Chinese community love him!" haha. Well this year I've got a Shaolin monk on my back while I run the dragon ball, as I lead around a 9-person dragon team so its going to be mega-awesome :) The day after I'm going to relax from all the CNY training and festivities. The day after the day after I got another sit on my back scheduled with TheGangOfOne and then the week after yet another backpiece sesh. I'm about 8hrs/2sessions in at the moment. I'll let my body heal and then I'm working towards a 2-day sit a few weeks later. Felt pretty strong after my last back sitting and my kung fu training is really helping me relax when I sit and improves the way my body heals. By the end of February I will be hitting a tattoo milestone for myself...the 200hr mark after 12 years of steady progress :)

What about jondix deffinatly covers black and grey patterns

I would agree with Into You. Specifically Tomas Tomas, by the sounds of it. Also Maxime at Sang Bleu. Curly at Lionel's in Oxford. Instagram - tomastomas108 curlytattoo mxmttt

Here's a pertinent thread: http://www.lastsparrowtattoo.com/forum/general-tattoo-discussion/506-feminism-tattoos.html I've tried and failed to write a post about my own relationship to gender and how it affects my choice of tattoos...but it's safe to say that for me they're a blessed opportunity to dispense with masculine/feminine. I mean even the lotion aisle at CVS needs to remind me that I can't make ungendered choices. I think I got my first tattoo with the half-baked idea that it was an appropriate choice for a woman, but since then it hasn't really been such a big deal. I realise that a lot of tattoo traditions are very tied to gender, though.

@kelzu That bums me out! It would depend on circumstance, obviously, but I would probably not want to get tattooed at a place that did that.

Tattoos were invented sometime in the early 2000s. 2003 I think. There was no tattooing prior to that.

Today I capped my other knee with a demon head by Franz Stefanik at The Okey Doke in Toronto. Its always a great experience with Franz. Interesting conversations with a great guy who also does amazing work. I'll have to update my legs in the Squidpants thread soon. I'm really looking to forward to getting some filler work around some of the larger pieces on my right leg now.

It seems to me like there'll probably always be both, now that both types exist. There are people who will always be more comfortable on one side of that fence than the other...people who feel uneasy about upscale interiors and courtesy salon fruit-infused water, and people who are intimidated as hell by tattoo shops full of tough guys, or who've managed to make mental divides for themselves over different kinds of tattoos, who may be interested in getting a tattoo 'but not that kind' of tattoo. For some people, that's probably part of the experience they're shopping for, in both directions -- the salon feeling, or the classic grit. This is additional speculation on my part, totally based on my own anecdotal observations, but there also seem to be weird overlaps between people who don't like the idea of getting something from flash and want something 'custom' instead, and people who want the upscale experience (and people who got their tattoo concept off of Pinterest, which is totally ironic). I read here all the time about how there's been a huge upswing in the number of tattoo shops out there -- shops that come and go with excess apprentices and artists that don't last long, people trying to reinvent the wheel, this whole glut of shops in any given place -- and I suppose catering to this demographic probably provides them with a whole lot of business. Trends seeking trends, or something. But, if I had to wager a guess, I'd say that the street-shop mentality you guys were talking about -- artists with a style who can still turn out solid walk-in work, who are willing to do that, who are dedicated to the craft/labor of tattooing as well as the art of it -- will probably always be more successful in the long-term. Places like that will endure. And maybe there are lots of high-end salon-style shops that employ this ethic, too; hell if I know. I think it's probably the at the heart of what's most important, beyond interior design. ...I listened a lot of lectures growing up about artists who forget that art is not just art, but also a business. Haha.

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

Not mine (my arms are blank as of yet ;-)), but gorgeous: by Andrea Ottlewski, Slave to the Needle

Beautiful lady arms! Here's mine, along with some unasked for lady back and butt (in progress). All of mine are done by the same tattooer, Gemma Pariente at Full Circle. I don't think sleeves are masculine on a woman, get what you wish, epic tattoos are for everyone.

I think @Tornado6 means Art Deco ornamentation? Check out some of Lars Uwe's work, @Tornado6, see if that gives you some ideas of how bold and feminine Deco/Nouveau-ish stuff can look: ETA: Since I see a lot of people posting their own tattoos, I just want to make sure it's clear the above image is not me. :)

@bongsau That looks like a heavy session! Those blacks and greys are so smooth, they're going to look really nice when the red fades out of them and they settle in a bit. You're in for a real delight with the lower back and ass cheeks though, really glad that we're done with the black in there on mine. I'm taking January off working on my back and I find that I actually miss getting tattooed. I got a little one on my leg in the meantime and that was super fun, but nothing quite compares to the feeling you get after a heavy back session. There's something deeply satisfying about enduring the session even when your body is all FUCK NO for those first few minutes. The back is such a trip, it's a whole different world of tattooing compared to everything I'd had done before.

Session #2 - Did a 4 hour blast pounding the black into the perimeter of my Shaolin back yesterday! First half of the session was lying down, second half was getting tattooed sitting upright which I really enjoy, makes the tattooing feel alive. Heavy black in all the clouds, full across the shoulderblades and down to the love handle on the left hand side with a needle that looked like a metal paint brush. Machine was roaring like a tractor, the way I like getting tattooed! Unfortunately I got a little beating on the ribs/lower armpit to border my existing dragon. Zouch. It is a gnarly amount mileage for a session and I'm feeling like I took a bat across the back, a little loopy today. Built up the borders around existing tattoos on both arms, necks, and ribs tattoos. Pretty cool actually having Steve connect to the tattoos he did on my in 2003, 2005 and 2007. Despite sweating through my long johns, felt pretty strong when we called time yesterday, this morning however I woke up with a red hot back, had to shower to unglue the shirt from my back and wrecked my wife's nice towel (LOL). Once again a great experience from one and only TheGangOfOne (Steve Batt) in Edmonton, AB. I'm going to heal this up for a few weeks such that I can participate in Chinese New Year demonstrations with my kung fu school, then will setup the next rounds on the lower back and ass cheeks for February. May the Buddha be with me.

My mum came over to stay for christmas and I'm not good a keeping secrets from her (and there barely is a reason anyway). I didn't want her to 'accidently' find out about my first tattoo, so I thought it better to tell her about it. After having read about so many rather negative reactions on here, I wasn't quite sure what to expect. I was sure she wouldn't be super angry with me, but major disappointment would have been a possibility. So, the two of us had an evening out and the conversation went something like this: Me: Mum, I actually bought something with the money you gave me for my birthday. Her: Oh good, what is it, something nice? Me: Well, I do think so, but I'm not sure you'll like it... Her: It's your money and you can do with it whatever you like. What is it then? ...[her being really curious now and trying to guess]...a gun?!? [We're German, so this would have been very unusual and rather unpopular. And yet, I found it rather odd that this was the first thing that came to her mind.] Me : Hell no! Her: [Comes up with another totally weird guess which I can't even remember] Me: No, nothing like that....I got tattooed.... Her: Ah...I see...what is it? And where? Can I see it? Me: I got a lynx head and some flowers on my thigh. [And no, I couldn't show it as we were in a public space.] Her: Does it have a special meaning? Me: Not really, I just fancied it. Her: So it's more like decoration? Me: Yes! Her: Fair enough....Are you gonna wear hot pants in summer? Me: Err....what? No, I wasn't planning to. I'm not a teenager anymore... Her: What about a swimsuit, will it be visible then? Me: Well, it would be, but you know I don't really go swimming very often. Her: So it's pretty much always hidden?!? Can I see it later? ... At the end the of the day, the hardest thing to understand for her seemed to be, that I wasn't planning to show off the tattoo as such. Phew. Could have been worse. When I later mentioned that I was indeed thinking about getting another tattoo, this seemed to stretch it somewhat though. I guess little bits of information from time to time will be a better approach in this case... ;-)

Great suggestions here. Add Matt Black to the list, too, please.

Oh yeah, Curly. I can't believe I forgot to mention him!

"Artsy iPad shots" ;) Black bear Gray wolf Mountain lion Opossum, muskrat, skunk, mouse, vole

I can't believe how much you have done already, @Mush. Coming together super nice.

Just let Austin run with it, you'll end up with a fantastic tattoo either way. The dude slays. Also hello and welcome to LST!

I've been content with planning out pieces for my legs, but these posts (especially that Lars Uwe back piece OMG) are giving me the itch. Back to the original question, I think "masculine" designs make for some of the most feminine pieces. Instead of the delicacy coming from the image itself, it comes from how it's worn and by whom.

Jesus you guys have kicked off the new year in style

My arms are still in process but here's the 1/2 sleeve so far

Here are my lady arms! My right arm in the left pic was still in-progress. Not too masculine for my taste.... but I guess it all comes down to personal taste. Get what you like! I also don't know what a deco-ish googah is...?!

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

=== Hi Everyone! Started this in Late October 2014 and just got it Finished on Jan 03 2015 6 Session of 4 Hours Each - Traveling back and forth from Montreal to Toronto... Tattoo Artist is Tony Hu from Chronic Ink Tattoos. http://instagram.com/tonyhutattoo Completed and Done! 龍 - Dragon by davidcwong888, on Flickr

Another 7.5 hour session done yesterday. Papa Joe went over a few areas of the outline (darkened up some areas of black). Interesting color palette...one I wasn't quite expecting. I trust him, though. I think I have another 3-4 hours left on this one. It only took me several sessions, but I finally learned how to really sit well. I was sitting on table with my arms hunched over a padded bar and my legs hanging over the side of the table. I basically had to relax as much as possible and focus on not tensing up my back. Just "accept" the needle and try not clinch my back up. I could have gone longer, but it was getting harder and harder to find my happy place, especially after breaks. Sorry for the bad pic. I had just gotten out of the shower and applied some Lubriderm.

Franz Stefanik from the Okey Doke in Toronto.

got my hand tattooed by max kuhn yesterday

i'm not going to clutter up the board by making a thread for it but.. today i made my first tattoo, and i thought i would share it with you all. i have been apprenticing for a bit and was given my first pair of machines last month. today he let me put this small design on my cousins thigh next to tattoos by all my favorites. was incredibly nerve racking but turned out better than i expected :D

Those of you who follow Lee M Knight have probably already seen this one I got from him a few weeks back but here it is anyway. Done at Cult Classic Tattoo on my trip to England. Was a ripper bloke to get tattooed by and he went out of his way to make this tattoo happen!

mines james_soar i basically update it everytime i finish a new painting

we apprenticed one kid...total idiot (he only lasted about two months) good artist, but jesus was he dumb. one time he ran around the shop freaking out for ten minutes because he thought there was an alarm going off in the shop, he was like "ITS IN EVERY ROOM WHERE IS IT COMING FROM?!?!" and finally one of our clients ruined the fun and told him the shop phone was off the hook in his pocket. but when i say that i mean it still took 5 minutes of us all getting pissed and yelling at him that the alarm was the phone beeping in his pocket. all the while, he's like "what? the phone? but its in every room! in my pocket? yea i have the phone in my pocket. wait what? OHHH! dude. it was in every room" one time we were listening to creed (sarcastically of course) and he chimed in "wasnt creed like the original pearl jam that came out like way earlier" i smacked him. hard. he also was unaware of several common terms and phrases in american society. i had to explain what "from the get go" meant. he didnt know was a freeloader was. ONE TIME i made him freehand copy (not trace) a myke chambers piece in pen (no erasing, u mess up you start over) bc while explaining to him the finer points of traditional tattoos he said "um no offense but thats stupid, im pretty sure a 9 year old could draw that" i immediately handed him a pen and said "okay do it." he grabbed the lightbox and i said "whoa whoa whoa. you dont need to trace that, youre 18, so if a 9 year old can do it it should be twice as easy for you" hahaha i made him draw that thing like 12-13 times. i kinda miss that idiot now. he was kind of a loveable idiot.

5 minutes.

I've been pondering that lately, actually. I think it would look great if it were all done in lighter tones of grey. At least with my tattoos, what I have on my arms is mostly traditional with really strong silhouettes. So if the background patternwork would be subtle enough to not detract from the impact of the prior work, I think it could look DOPE

Hey all, I just joined and started flicking about thoroughly enjoying this thread only to come across this guy here! I live in melbourne and the guy with the chad koeplinger in Rough Operators post is my good friend who I was drinking a beer with only hours ago. This piece looks amazing now that its fully coloured and complete, I'll see if I can find a photo somewhere! Small world, great thread! Here's a sizzler from El Bara, from Madrid.

what i seem to notice is that the only men with balls big enough to date a heavily tattooed woman are heavily tattooed themselves, but i might be wrong of course, this is just what ive noticed. most tattooed folk will attract a few looks when out and about but people cant help but downright stare when they notice tattooed women, in the summer i dread wearing shorts knowing all i'll get is questions, and i cant stand answering the same shit over and over again. though i'm always left alone when im waking around with stewart (my other half), it might be to do with the fact hes even more heavily tattooed, over 6" tall and is usually frowning at them already haha. i guess when im on my own, people dont seem to be scared of me as they seem of him, if im alone, they will ask more readily expecting a sweet young girl to just be that, sweet, and kindly answer their questions. its that that particularly that annoys me most, do they really think im gonna entertain them? a complete stranger? just cos im a girl? what worries me is what the media is making tattooed women out to be. it has always loved a slutty-tattooed-woman scandal. were all sex/fame/money hungry according to them, when in all honesty, some might be, but really, theres WAY more untattooed women that way inclined. but hey, thats another much more elaborate post i cant put my energy into right now.