Mark Bee

My wife and I just signed a lease on a massive warehouse space. The adventure begins!

Lombroso, huh? Part of his work on degeneration, I presume?

That will pass. Just keep it clean and don't pick at it! :)

There you go.

I think it's ok (it's not great) to tap out. However, you should compensate the artist and shop. If you book a three hour session and leave after 45 minutes, you need to cough up the $$$ for the remaining 2 hours and 15 minutes. The next step is to do what @RoryQ suggests and book short appointments. That way you are not wasting the artist's time or your own money. No shame in not being able to sit for hours on end - just recognize your own limitations and book sessions that reflect the amount of time you can actually sit for each tattoo.

@mmikaoj That is a killer collection you've got going on.

Hahaha! Well played!

This is one of my favourite threads. Every few days I get a new account to follow.

I'm working to get tattooed by everyone in the shop I frequent. I've never heard about it being a problem. In fact, the artists seem to enjoy seeing what each other is up to. The only time I think it might raise eyebrows is if you are getting one artist to change or cover up another artist's work. Again, the situation would largely be dependent on the personalities involved - including the client.

Speaking of the bible and tattoos: Leviticus 19:28 "'Do not cut your bodies for the dead or put tattoo marks on yourselves. I am the LORD.

At the end of the day, it's not the music I hit the shop for. Sometimes they play things I like, sometimes they don't. When the music is bad I can always focus on the pain and forget about the tunes. ;)

This is brilliant. What a great tattoo. Congrats!

I suppose that's an introduction. Kinda.

I always advocate for the dry heal. Keep it clean and dry and let your body do the work. There are a number of threads on the forum that deal with the debate between dry heal and other methods. For many of us it's trial and error. Go with whatever works best for you.

I just re-read this entire thread. I'm very pleased for you! Nick is a great guy and a brilliant tattooer. You couldn't be in better hands. I first met Nick when he visited Toronto. In turn I went to Chicago for my honeymoon this summer and managed to sneak in to see the new shop and get a couple of tattoos at Great Lakes. Chicago is an amazing city. I can't wait to visit again. (and get more tattoos from the folks at Great Lakes). This thread has so much win in it. Lots of great advice and helpful comments. Looking forward to seeing the finished work!

Welcome aboard!

That actually IS awesome! Congratulations and good luck!

This ^^^^ I have several skulls, a couple of anchors, at least four birds, a few hearts, and like Hogg, more flowers than I know what to do with! I wouldn't worry about having similar images - focus on getting really high quality tattoos. By the looks of it, that isn't going to be a problem for you. Anyway, just my two cents.

Welcome and nice start to your tattoo collection. I had to good fortune to get tattooed by Nikki when she was in Toronto. Great tattoos and a cool person as well.

Looks great! I think you can still get that look you're aiming for. Lots of room still left.

Yup! Me too. I love that sound.

I think I'm in the minority here, but I'd way rather hear something mellow or laid back in a shop. I don't mind aggressive loud music from time to time, but I find it grates on me after a while. Especially if it's something I'm not familiar with. I have to go chase some kids off my lawn. (For what's its worth, I always have some Motörhead on my iPod.)

Welcome aboard. That's a great spoon.

Boosh!

I'm losing stamina. I used to be able to sit for longer than I care to now. I'd rather break a long session into smaller ones. It would be different at a convention or if I travelled to meet with a particular tattooer. But if I'm at home with my regulars then I'm definitely going for shorter sessions.