Valerie Vargas

From an artists perspective, i'd say go in at least with an idea of the tattoos the artist youve chosen has done that you like and explain why you like them (colours, layout,subject etc) and at best say youd like something along those lines. dont go in saying 'do what you want', no one ever really means that and if they explain something they'd be stoked to do and you say, yeah but not that. well, then you will have a deflated and slightly annoyed artist in your hands, vague guidance is great. the artist puts out there work theyve enjoyed or that shows their ability, all within the realm of what that customer asked for, however, so just cos you like what you see them posting doesnt mean it's what they want to do, it might be something entirely different that they simply havent gotten a chance to tattoo ever before.

Read this: WHO calls for urgent action to preserve power of antibiotics and make new ones | Society | The Guardian I'm not a fan of antibiotics unless your limb is about to fall off, too many doctors prescribe them happily for little reason, specially when it comes to tattoos that they think look 'infected'. the more you take antibiotics the more they wont work when you really are in a life threatening situation. your tattooer (if reputable) will always know more about this stuff than a doctor, it is weird that it looks like this 16 days on but i'd keep what youre doing up. Keep it clean and dry untill it begins to feel better. Many moons ago i had a very problematic foot tattoo on myself, it took over 4 weeks for it to be fully healed, and some times it takes a longer than expected and sometimes it looks worse than others. Take care!

Matt arriola is the bestttt!:p

get two sessions of laser treatment, to lighten the tattoo. wait 6 months to let the skin settle, find a competent artist, and maybe get a rose tattooed over the top, classic, timeless, represents love and could possibly tie to growth etc. a colour tattoo will work way better to cover this design than a black & grey one. that's what i'd recommend

I think that's a terribly inappropriate question.

i hate hearing tattooers being referred to as 'up and coming'. it's a toxic description that makes you treat them as such. Treat him as the tattooer that he is, and if you dont like how he's treating you, walk away. don't feel like you have to get tattooed by him in order to make sure you get there before he blows up big. Ive heard this same exact scenario so many times...and like i said, referring to anyone as up and coming will make you treat them differently and theyll pick up on it, and possibly take advantage. if hes being so dismissive thats also his fault, or he might truely have just double booked himself. i find managing booking appts online and thru the shop simultaneously means fuck ups happen. cool down, then maybe go back and have a chat about booking in and leaving a deposit.

because people don't know shit. getting a bad tattoo can be traced back to customers not trusting their own instinct (walking out of a shit shop when they don't get a good vibe and getting tattooed regardless), not trusting/listening to their tattooer or just getting a design theyve seen repeatedly before whether it's good or not. people will get what they see. tattoo flash used to help in some cases for the undecided. The google image search feature has harmed the customer/tattooer relationship. it gives people the idea that they can get whatever they want as long as they like it, but there's so much more to that equation. I mean of course you can and you should, it's your tattoo but listen to your artist when they tell you it's gonna look like crap 10 years from now, that it needs to be bigger or to simply not get an upside down tattoo just cos youve seen it on your best friend or some blog on tumblr. it doesn't make it right. I dont really see anything wrong in the designs people choose to get tattooed today, i just think it's much more important that they get a better version that will look good in years to come rather than the attitude i've seen tattooers take, such as doing exactly what the customer requests without advising on size, placement and clarity of design.

I once had a customer show me this method that was being used on her foot tattoo (i tattooed something else on her arm) and it looked horrific. it did indeed take off the tattoo (mostly) in the spots where the treatment had taken place, but if anything it makes a cover up way harder because of the contrast between the 'skin' spots and the rest of the tattoo. she also said the scabs took months to heal, were incredibly painful to apply and heal, the area stayed swollen for weeks. she said the spots had to be over an inch apart due to the swelling, the person doing it told her. if a customer of mine brought me a tattoo in such a estate asking for me to cover it, i'd be very dubious as to take it on. google image search results. i'd say speak to your tattooer before you do anything, the tattoo you want covered up might not need such drastic removal, or simply a couple of laser removal treatments might be enough to evenly fade the tattoo away to allow a less heavy cover up.

we sure will. I'm fully booked but he might still hve a couple of spots free. There will also be Stefano, Oliver and Emiliano working at the booth :)

A tattooer called Paul Cramman has been passing off my work, among others, off as his. He managed to get a job in Glasgow based on his stolen online portfolio. He has literally cropped my images right down, photoshopped the background off and put his name on them, this was not a thoughtless task. I'm livid, but less so than when I found out last night thanks to a friend in Scotland. I think it's important to bring this to everyone's attention, no one should be able to pass other people's work off as their own and go unreported. This guy claimed to have been tattooing 14 yrs yet not a single photo was his, he probably has never even held a tattoo machine. Something similar happened to my boss, the guy who taught me, years ago. He hired some guy over email who sent him an online portfolio filled with good solid tattoo work. He moved countries for the job and we found out within hours what a lie everything had been, he didnt even know how to set up a tattoo machine and was promptly fired. ALWAYS ALWAYS check up on artists looking for a job at your shop if you are a studio owner, don't just accept some emailed photos as someone's work, do your research, ask around, who last employed them for crying out loud! there are ways to check up on people. And for customers it goes without saying research your tattooer, check their work at the studio, google them, etc. It's not a nice thought knowing this sort of thing happens and puts customers at risk, and makes a mockery of any hard work tattooers put in. This guy in question has now been fired.

Sorry to be so rude as to not read all of that but basically you signed up to take take take and not give back to the forum? Do you even have tattoos? This seems pretty one sided from where I'm standing...

Grant, if you get tattooed at lab monkey ask rich about me or Stewart and say hello to the guys from us!

A long time ago I worked for a large music store and they told me to cover up what few tattoos I had at 19 and to wear my hair down to hide my very small stretched earlobes. A few years later you would see sleeves on most of the staff and much more extreme large gauge lobes/ piercings etc and I guess it's now going back full circle. Also had friends who worked at American apparel not long ago and were told in meetings to stop hiring tattooed staff cos they wanted a different clientele and image for the brand. And that is what it comes down to. The big guys up top choose what 'look' they want to portray and sell and just like fashion that is gonna change when it suits and right now I guess this is the beginning of customers who thought it'd be rad to get their first tattoos on their hands or behind their ear ( but really, it's so large it's a neck tattoo) to realise that life ain't fair and just cos you can do the job don't mean you will get hired over some plain Jane without tattoos. Trying to reply to this coherently on n iPhone is hard but you get the gist. Sorry!

I'll be at that seminar too. Looking forward to it!

They are definitely NOT the same tattoo.

@robz yup, spent my teenage years in aberdeenshire, moved south by the time i was 18, well spotted

I couldn't be happier to be part of the Tattoo Age series! I've been a huge fan since their first season began, had so much fun with Chris filming for it. Can't wait for Mutsuo and Thom's episodes :D

jeeez, total idiots. Sent them an email, let's say what they reply with....