Mel Noir

I'm like a scout when I get tattooed- be prepared! I don't drink a week beforehand, make sure I've eaten well, moisturised my crappy dry skin.. all of that crap. One thing I think you might find useful is paying attention to what you're eating- David Bruehl wrote something recently about this which you might like- if you click here, you'll get to that (hope you don't mind me linking to my site, haha).

No, they were all pictures, and all about a square inch big. They represented some horse who died, about five dogs who died, some rabbit... this lass shouldn't have any more pets. And she thought I cared about it enough to listen to her drone on about it as well, haha. I don't understand some people!

I think I'd have to look at the tattooer on a 'case by case basis' for this, to be honest. There are some people I know who are covered and don't really put out work that's great, and I know some who aren't that visibly covered who rock. The guy down the street might have no tattoos for a good reason (like, I dunno.. haemophilia?) but is incredible at what he does. All I know for sure is that I'd respect a great tattooer with no tattoos of their own a lot more than someone who's shit, who has loads of tattoos to try to prove a point.

Haha, I'm the same with that, especially the turtle scene. I don't even get why I found it so horrible, I'm not even a vegetarian. They should have done it in Australia, and killed a load of kangaroos, I'd have watched that- kangaroos are vicious!

Thank you, I appreciate that :) Yeah I totally get what you mean, that wouldn't exactly be my idea of a good day either, haha. There is literally one show I'm going to this year, and it's an Asian Man show- the last one I went to had about 15 people in the audience, so I can imagine I'll actually get some decent shots from it! Until then, I've been plodding on with my Summer Scavenger Hunt- 100 things I'm determined to take a picture of this summer to help me improve, haha.

Just remembered another one- while I was working on a friend's desk at his studio, a girl came in and told me about the "stories" she wanted. If she stayed about 10 seconds later than she did, I'd have probably ended up laughing in her face. Stories?!

This looks brilliant! I'm really excited to see how it turns out :) Are you still looking for information? Paul Sayce might be a good bloke to speak to, the guy's a fucking oracle. Drop me a PM if you need any contact information for him.

Just checked out the link- your pictures rock :) I take pictures pretty much everywhere, but I haven't managed a great shot at a show yet- there's nothing but bollocks on in Newcastle at the minute to go to :(

Haha, maybe that's where I'm going wrong! Yeah I watched them both, which I think was probably the problem. Seemed sort of like style over substance, though I wasn't really trying to take it seriously to begin with. Some parts I loved though, I think it was just perhaps from watching them both during 3AM insomnia boredom, never a good idea to begin with.

Thanks Lochlan! Don't use those words ever again, though :P haha! It's no bother at all about the post. I enjoy writing about things I like, so I guess you can thank yourself, if anyone ;)

Clean and crisp- love them :)

Take Shelter looks really interesting! I'm not usually into those sorts of films, but I'd happily pay to see that :) I finally managed to see Kill Bill the other night. I can't decide whether it was worth it or not, haha.

Hey Rory, thank you. :) I sometimes forget that people actually read the site sometimes, haha, thanks very much!

Haha, I think my critique was more like, "and then another load of pages on one model, then we get to some Nikko Furtado guy!", but I'm glad you found it helpful. I agree with you though Rory, about the photography and interviews. The photography is brilliant, but at the same time doesn't try too hard. I've seen some photography in magazines where the photographer has put in loads of black and white images which are unnecessary, too many "fancy shots" you didn't need to see and shots where you can't see the tattooer or the tattoo, so to see such a high standard in that magazine was really nice. The interviews are pretty insightful at times- I hate ones which are so generic, and I'll be the first to admit I think I need to still work at that myself (I do keep the boring questions to a minimum though- you only really need two at most, often only one!). I think the magazine still has a way to go with errors and things like that, and they need to stop focusing so much on the models, but to be honest one of my favourite European magazines used to be riddled with mistakes. After working things out, it's brilliant these days.

I want to take her out on the piss and mention cats when I'm out of beer. Cheap laughs? Yeah. Worth it? Definitely.

This is still pissing me off! Who's this Nick Furtado kid?! :P

Hey Alanna, thanks for the warm welcome :) I think I accepted your friend request before, thanks for that too :) If I didn't just let me know, haha. Here's the website link, I hope you like it! I just took a look at yours- it's awesome, but it made me hungry ;)

Hey there, I'm late to the party! Most slang terms and phrases irritate me. I think since I write about tattoos I might notice it more, which is a bit pap. People who say a tattoo is "sick as fuck" are my current pet peeve- if you look at any tattoo on the Tattooist Art facebook page, you will see over 100 "sick as fuck!"s. One thing which really made me laugh though- I got a little unwell last year and had to stop working for about a week. A good friend of mine who doesn't really know much about tattoos kept an eye on my site while I was away, and someone posted up a message asking where in Newcastle was great for some "ink". She told him to have a look in Newcastle Arts Centre and Amazon, and to ask a tattoo artist if they're looking for tattoo ink, having no idea the guy actually meant to say "tattoo". He was a bit pissed off and thought she was being sarcastic, but it really shows how stupid that word is for a tattoo. If it was just ink, we'd all be walking around with sharpie marks on our arms which we'd have to get re-done every day!

I definitely see what you mean, like- sometimes I feel like I have to really think about this too, despite being flattered. At the minute, I don't think it would do you any harm to write for them, as long as you be a slight diva and say from the start it's all on your terms. I feel sometimes it's best to have an informal chat with the editor to try to get a feel for their attitude. If they mention anything about money or popularity, I personally pass on it, because it means they're likely to piss off a few people down the line, I've found. Judging by the issue I have, and your blog (which I really love, by the way), they could be pushing for a better direction by asking you, so if you feel positive about it I would say to go for it :)

Did someone add to my post there? If so, thanks! Yeah I think the game could even put some of my "heavyweight drinker" friends in a coma. Since I'm quite small, I'd probably die :P Especially since I know someone who is going to be in the show (double the drinking? Oh dear!). A fellow blogger should be in the series finale, he was telling me how he isn't allowed to tell anyone about what happened at all and signed a contract, which is a bit crap since he also writes about tattoos.

Every time someone asks me this question, I always say Ian and Hayley Parkin. They work at Ian's studio Inkslingers, in Newcastle Upon Tyne. I've been tattooed by them both, and I always think it's strange that people think my tattoos are great, ask who did them, then never really bother looking at their work afterwards. I guess people aren't as much of a geek as I am ;) This other one might sound strange among you guys, but I'd also say Charlie Roberts. I'm sure a lot of you guys know who he is, but last time he came to Newcastle I heard collectors and tattooers asking who he is. He's a brilliant tattooer, but I guess he's just a little low key and doesn't try to hard to get his name out anywhere. Have you guys ever noticed that, where you're amazed people don't know about a tattooer when you feel like they should have at least known their name?

Thanks everyone! It's really nice to be so welcomed among people cooler than yourself ;) Haha! I'm sure I'll certainly bring on the tattoo talking, writing and pictures- when you write about tattoos, it's really easy to end up wasting a few hours on the internet while you're waiting for interviews and things, so I'll probably bore you all soon enough :P Cheers for the friendly welcome!

I'm not too sure which copy I have, but by the sounds of what Rory said it might be the second- WAY too much on alternative models. I don't have the issue right here to check, but I'm sure they spelled an artist's name wrong too, after giving him a feature, which was pretty bad. The magazine isn't TOO bad, it has a nice quality feel to it and the photography in it is better than a lot of magazines. However, the writing needs to be kicked up a notch, and the "tattoo culture" theme should be toned down, in my opinion.

Hey thanks mate :) Feeling welcome already! I'm exactly the same, I think sometimes I get irritated. Last time I got tattooed, I sat in the pub a few days later talking about Charlie Roberts for about half an hour before one friend said, "Mel, we don't know who this person is and why we should care!". I shut up after that, haha :P

I kind of hope this show doesn't come to England. I'm already sick of people telling me what their tattoos mean, and the dramatic stories behind them. On the other hand, it could be fun if you play the Needles and Sins drinking game while you watch it. Have you guys seen that yet? Go to Needles and Sins Tattoo Blog and it should still be on the front page- it sounds hilarious :)