Bubbleberry

There are a few people she wants tattoos from, but her mentor also stated that he wanted to be the next to tattoo her. She just cannot decide what she wants, although she is getting closer.I think she hopes that the convention will help her decide. I have not been to a real convention for years, the last one was in New Zealand, and it was hosted by a biker gang, so while they were awarding prizes for tattoos I do not remember seeing anyone being tattooed, apart from a dog, if that counts ? I have photos of that somewhere if anyone cares? Really this London show is a bit of a rebirth for me, having been out of the tattoo scene for so long, so its exciting, and yes, the general idea was just to lurk in the shadows watching what we can without annoying anyone. I think my wife fancied being tattooed by Valerie Vargas, but I am sure she is booked up this close to the show?

So I have never been to the London convention, but know, that as far as artists are concerned, it is invitation only, so I am wondering how it is set up? My wife wants to go for the full three days and just watch as many artists as possible, for as long as possible. Is this going to piss people off, how long is to long to be watching someone tattoo? If she politely asks if they mind her watching will she get told to jump, how should she approach this?

You know I am trying to learn as much as possible, so you might just have to explain that one for me :rolleyes: PLEASE do not get me started on Louis Malloy :mad:

I did. Plastic fantastic mash I have heard of, but who are those other fools? I looked to see if I could find a facebook page, but they seem to be too crafty for that, otherwise I would be hitting them with all sorts of bullshit.

Ok, now I thought TLC were bad, but this takes the biscuit. These guys are offering to teach people to learn how to tattoo in a day, and just so you know they are quality, they have a 100% success rate ! :mad: UK Official Tattoo Academy | Tattooing Tuition + Tattooing School This has to be illegal, I mean what can ANYONE learn in a day that makes it ok to tattoo? We should start a secret society of anti tattoo school ninjas, operating on a global level, with the sole objective of making putting these type of operations out of business.

I still do not see where there is misuse ? For a lot of people, their introduction to tattoos comes through magazines, and without the various tattoo magazines that, through the years, have supported tattooing when it was not so cool, most of the worlds great artists would be left without a great form of inspiration. I would guess that Tattoo Life, who are based in Italy, and who's magazine I buy regularly, has suffered greatly in recent years because of the internet, and if artists still want to get their work out there, and if magazines are to employ people to make this happen, then subscription is the only way. I seem to remember though, that the images were available for download without watermark, which is the only thing that I would be concerned about... what is there to stop some dodgy artist using the images in their own online portfolio, and that is there to stop someone else duplicating tattoo life's own site?

Again just being honest, but I would think it cool as hell, and more than a little freaky if the whole world was walking around with my name on their clothes. I wonder how he introduces himself to someone who has a bright Ed Hardy t-shirt on?

Wellllllllllllll, I actually took out a months subscription a few months back. I was planning a full sleeve ( once the laser is finished) and was searching for ideas. You send an image to tattoo life, then you want it to be seen. You want to keep your images private, do not send them to a tattoo publication ! Not saying I would copy anything, but we all use the images we see as reference in some way.

I think a new trad type tiger would look cool, the colours would go, it would be in the style you like and its never going to look uncool tiger - Tattoo Gallery http://www.lastsparrowtattoo.com/gallery/browseimages2.php?do=searchresults&searchid=331

You know, maybe I am just bitter, because to be honest, I love the designs of some of his T-Shirts. I just wish I was the only one !

Funny thing in, a very good friend of mine just went shopping to TK Max and got a pair of Ed Hardy trainers, jeans and a few shirts. Every time we go over to his place he makes sure to wear them... thankfully he is much cooler than his choice of clothing. Ed Hardy Mens Shoes Highrise Liverpool Silver Sneakers | eBay UK

? I do not even care what he made or did not make, I am simply sick of seeing his name everywhere.

Ok, been thinking this over for a few days, and not wanting to start a screaming match, I think you really should be cautious. I am writing as someone who has had bad experiences in the past getting tattooed, as someone who has years of laser surgery ahead so that I can, for the most part start again, and as someone who has no experience as a tattoo artist. The tattooer can be forgiven for forgetting about you, it happens to the best and it is no reflection on his artistic ability. He can be forgiven for taking 6 hours to design what seems to be a pretty straightforward piece,you are the only one who knows what he really has in store for you. But I am not sure he can be forgiven for charging what seems to me a huge amount, for very little line work. I was in New Zealand, and got extensive tattoos by someone who was mentioned in many many books about tattooing, by someone who was respected and loved in the industry, and EVERY tattoo artist that sees the work scratches his/her head in amazement at the crap that I am left with. You have already stated that you will not be using this artist again, so here is my advice. As you are not 100% sure of his ability I would stop the process and get what you have removed. Its not a lot of work to start with, and as its black, you could get away with a 4 or 5 treatments. I hope I have not offended you, but I would hate you to sit in 5 years and think that you were given bum advice on LST. Tattoos are permanent, and even the most experienced tattoo enthusiast has a couple of tattoo regrets, but that's a HUGE chunk of skin to give over to someone you are unsure about. He may be mistake for some mistakes, you have to decide how many he makes before it becomes unforgivable!

I got a laser treatment a few weeks ago, and while the pain was bad for a few hours, that was it. There was no itching and certainly nothing that woke me up, and I really am a light sleeper. Its a big piece that I want removed, a black tribal cover up, so he had to do half of it and I will go back next week for the other half, but I am hoping the combination will only take about 5 treatments. Glad others think its worse than getting tattooed, I could just about take the pain of the treatment but we went for dinner after and my arm was BURNING !

This is the CUTEST thing I ever saw... Shawn your doggie would look super cool in this gear...

So I was in a local book-store yesterday looking through tattoo related publications, and I found a book titled "Ed Hardy Cross Stitch Patterns". I know lots of people love Ed Hardy, and I respect his tattooing and his contribution to the industry, but come, does he and the guys who own the licence to his images want to make money out of everything. It occurred to me, that when they are finished they will knock out a line of Ed Hardy toilet paper, just so they can wipe their ass on the industry one last time. Sorry, I know you guys love the man, but I am sick of seeing the Ed Hardy EVERYWHERE.

On reflection, I have to agree. Through the years my friends who were artists told me anything I wanted to know, as they knew I was never going to become an artist, and because they knew that I was part of a circle of friends that they would be happy to discuss this stuff with. I guess I never thought about protecting their secrets, because it was never an issue. But my wife was telling me this evening that occasionally her mentor will explain something that he says took years for him to discover or that he learned from someone else he had known for years. While he has never said it is a "secret" she knows not to go sharing it with others. I think for me its still hard to know what is a secret and what is not. The dvd thing for example, I had no idea what the dvd was about, and while the title said "secrets" my mind simply saw it as a marketing slogan... To be honest, I now cannot understand why MS would make such a video, money aside, given that it can have a detrimental impact on his industry while alienating his peers? Anyhow, Ursula, sorry for hijacking the thread.

The fact that they have their own blogs about something then they come to you, for information they will no doubt blog about sort of changes the playing field. I would not be sharing anything with anyone who blogs about something, professing to understand that which they do not. That sort of sucks.

Well if there are so few doing what you are doing, then hold on to the info, and if you can expand upon it. I have no idea what embroidery en-tales, but I am sure there are many ways to incorporate different mediums, so while they are busy working out how you do what you do ( and they will) you will be moving onto something even cooler.

I guess if the market is getting heavy with cheap rip-off's the question begs, what is your next step ? If you love it so much that you want it to always be a positive part of your life you will probably find that keeping one step ahead of the crowd is going to be the hardest part. Its going to be pretty hard to do that by focusing on what others are doing, so you have to focus on what you can do, and how it can be bigger and bolder.

So I guess I am learning that I need to learn, A LOT. I watched some of Shawns videos and have to admit that I was impressed by Ed Hardy, he is not at all how I imagined him. Tattooing really is a world that I thought I understood but the truth is that I was clueless to the complex contradictions that exist within the industry. I thought being around it for years gave me an insight, but even last night talking with people who have tattooed for nearly as long as I have lived, I realise that that tattoo "scene" is different from country to country, city to city, state to state. I also realise that its possible to enjoy one part of a person and dislike the other, which is in itself a contradiction. Jeez, how did tattooing get so complicated?

Is TLC not a bit different? Showing someone how to tattoo, as they are, is perhaps similar to showing someone how to do skin modification, or laser surgery, or even dentistry, and while I totally respect Ursulas craft, putting a needle in cloth is different from putting a needle in skin. I was watching the Core Flatmo interview, and Scott mentioned how there were so many crappy tattoo studios in SF. Core asked him if it effected the good artists, and Scott replied that it did not. I guess my point is that people are going to get into stuff, and we can take it as negative or we can turn it positive.

Not sure if I should be the one to answer this, but I say tell them. But then again I was raised in a family who had businesses in a small town that existed for over a hundred years, and was raised to believe that competition is good for business. If they want to know the secrets they will find them some how, and to me, and I am just talking about myself here, what you give you get back, somewhere in the scheme of things. You also have an alternative, which is to drip feed these secrets via your website - become the go to person for everything embroidery related. You could supply the information that is easier to find via your site, and then run a short course where you deliver the real secrets. In everything, quality will rise. Those who use the knowledge respectfully will add benefit to the craft, those who abuse it will fall away, as it is in all things. I do not believe its an individuals responsibility to legislate the actions of others, I guess its an acceptance thing...what will happen will happen so why not enjoy the ride and see how you can help yourself and others? Again, this is simply my personal perspective, based on living on an island that is pretty small compared to most places.

not very rock and roll but

Thanks Ursula. The studio she works in does not get it,so I bookmarked it on my laptop but forgot to complete the subscription . She came home with a bunch of catalogues today and is busy flicking through all the goodies... its early days but she's excited, we both are.