Valerie Vargas

wow iwar, you must not have a bad tattoo on you, these are killer. hope you had a great time!

it's twee but i enjoyed alcatraz so much last time i visited. me and stewart spent a few hrs exploring the island and took about a million photos. i'm making notes of what to do this time that we didnt get time for last time already, the buffalo are in the top 5!

i try to do as little business over the internet as possible mostly due to misunderstandings etc. but when i travel its so important to keep in touch with customers, even then i will make notes (laptop and notepad) of deposits paid and appt times. it's not 100% fool proof but it helps. shame about this time, maybe next time slayer, ask friends who have been tattooed by them how they were, organisation wise. some tattooers are naturally forgetful or disorganised when it comes to their travels!

shige does that stuff better

*shakes head* ps. i should really expand on my reaction as in i have nothing to say about his tattooing and his persona that could really describe how it all makes me feel. dispair is one of them. the less publicity that shit gets the better

i was made to watch it cos my friend LOVED it and i absolutely hated it, the main reason was the main lead, hellen paige or something like that. she spoils every film she does, cant stand her style of precocious acting.

tips are good as a show of gratitude. i think refusing them is a bit strange. each to their own though. i tip my tattooer(s) with cash.

stewart can come across as intimidating regardless of his tattoos haha!

cool concept but i would never do it or let a customer do it while i tattooed them, my patience doesnt extend that much haha!

@amoxill aparently he has been named to direct a new logans run. i think he could do it justice hopefully. ive been listening to the Drive soundtrack for a week now and i too was wondering whether going to watch it a second time at the cinema was too much haha

thats real nice of you to say tim, thank you. the shop i worked at before Frith st was owned by a non tattooer and at the time, i left with a real sour taste in my mouth. i wasnt sure about dante since i didnt know him but all i heard was good things from well respected tattooers and really, i was stoked to work at frith st, even for the one day a week i was started on. immediately i realised that this man knew and cared about tattooing more than i did then and probably even now. He has been part of the tattooing 'scene' for many years now and well respected pillars of the scene call him friend. i'm proud to work there, to call him my boss and to be his friend. there's always an exception to the rule and as a shop i do feel we are one. I've been long trying to buy my tattoo supplies from either people i know care about tattooing and from tattooers themselves. everyday is an ethical matter in tattooing, every choice you make affects tattooing and i have learnt to pick my battles carefully so to speak

i find that certain older tattooers who behave like men get tarred with the 'grumpy' and 'difficult' brush. ive met him several times and really, he's never been anything other than polite, just not overly chatty (untill you mention miele hoovers!). i guess thats usually mistaken for being grumpy, when in effect he's probably smelling people's bullshit a mile off and saving himself the hassle, understandable after the years he's put into the business.

Just back from watching Drive. the giant girl inside me loved Ryan gosling's character, the tomboy side however rejoiced at the gore. what a fucking awesome combo. loved the soundtrack :D

why difficult gregor? im curious to see what you mean. @jolyne i will reply to your DM as soon as i get a proper 10 mins to type out a proper reply.

i do like franks work a lot, his tattoos continue to impress me everytime he guests at FST. i love both the tattoos above as well as many others he is too shy to post. ps. that giant lined leaf behind the hare's head is a fraction of a super awesome chad koeplinger backpiece, panther and roses, it reaches the back of the girls thighs and i can't wait to see it finsihed

first tattooing i did whatsoever was some shading on a tiki head my boss was doing on a regular, he told me to put on some gloves and have a go half way through his session. then i did some cheap prices for some mates that wanted a converge logo in remembrance for a friend of theirs who had passed away that had that tattoo originally. and finally for a proper paying customer, i think it was some large black kanji on a shoulder blade. never took a photo sadly.

Dont wear shoes? As far as i know most of my customers don't have the luxury of time off post tattoo. And if anything I find wearing snug fitting shoes (NOT tight) help stop the swelling out of control First foot tattoo I got I wore open shoes and it swelled up like you've not seen before so for the second attempt I wore cotton socks with converse chuck tailors and I had next to no swelling The way I've seen my customers come back and agree that the shoe thing helped makes me feel like by not wearing proper shoes you're essentially letting the swelling get out of control And this isfrom customers who've also had both their feet tattooed Hydration good diet and keeping your new tattoos clean is so very important. There's no real need for long lists of aftercare. Here in the uk we don't have a great selection of over the counter antiinflamatories so we just got to work around that. But even then I'd say that should be a last resort really

wow msrad, that is pretty awesome. but seriously your first tattoo on your chest? youre one tough lady!

ahhh! @Stewart Robson, i get it now, sweet! about the tattoos in the thread, i'm not a fan either, as soon as i see them in a mag i'm most likely to barely glance at them, dont like them on stickers/tshirts certainly dont like them on skin, forEVER!

how did you do the @stewartrobson thing? that's cool!

there's probably no need for a female tattooer thread. i tend to steer away from 'all-girl' events, ive been asked to be part of all girl tattoo projects (art shows, books etc) and conventions but personally i feel that in certain cases all that does is not strengthen female artistry or bonds, its a selling point for perverts or people who think female tattooers 'have a gentler touch'. ive had a couple of instances where i'm simply not comfortable tattooing a man whether it's just due to their topics of conversation, pervy remarks or general air about them. even when women hit real hard of men tattooers its just never as creepy as when a guy does it to a woman, it's just a different type of uneasiness. my response to this is usually to be forward and serious and to let them know it wont be tolerated, and if it continues i make my excuses to not tattoo them, i dont enjoy feeling uncomfortable in my own turf. about the magazine covers. women are pretty to look at, you put a woman on a cover you will sell double what you would if you put a man instead. magazines are businesses and they like to make money. back in the early 90's you could still buy a tattoo magazine with men on the cover every now and then but i guess when today you have hundreds of young, gorgeous, tattooed girls (some of them not even wanting a pay cheque just the glory of being on the cover is good enough for them) queuing up to be your cover girl who's gonna care about being more equal?

my role as a female tattooer has been in my thoughts a lot recently. i work hard to be the best i can as a decent human being and as a good tattooer. i feel like my work defines a large part of myself. if i work hard and good comes from it then i feel rewarded. i'm aware of being a woman, at work, walking down the street, etc,,, being taken seriously is very important to me. sometimes i will get younger girls tell me i am a role model to them and i just dont know what to say to that! i hope that it's because they can see the hard work put in and they can see that it does pay off regardless of gender. that you don't need your tits hanging out to get you noticed! if anything i certainly dont think that type of behaviour helps the plight of the 'female' tattooer. i've lost count of the times i've heard people say 'good, for a girl' while growing up and it definitely had an effect on me at an early age.

The troy denning teaser trailer is out http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RhMPkxXHncA Troy Denning - Teaser - Tattoo Age | VBS.TV so great! i love how cheeky he is, i can already see all the hipsters denouncing their hipsterness or just hating him for that clip, i love that guy! i'm really enjoying the fact that so far every tattooer's approach to work/life has been so different from the others.

wow, i love this, great find! funnily enough me and stew were just looking at some photos he took last year of the same subject a few hrs ago!

completely agree with Jake. i find when someone hasnt many tattoos generally or none around the 'offending' tattoo, they tend to focus on it more than is necessary, if you get some more tattoos on that arm, eventually you wont really be able to pick on individual designs. it being on your hand, you probably notice it a lot more than you may have imagined and now your mind is working overtime. if it still pleases you, dont worry, just carry on getting more work. if you were to ask for my opinion i would maybe try sticking to a more classic style of tattooing so that it stands the test of time, you obviously like skulls so thats a good start, maybe look at some of the work in the LST galleries and see whats going on.