BAM773

Haven't posted pics in a little while, here is my progress so far. One or two more sessions to go for shading and it'll be finished!

Here is the start of my dragon sleeve. I am very excited for my next session. Will be black and grey with some red accents and continue up to my shoulder. Work being done by Carter Gillis @ Designs by Dana in Cincinnati.

Welcome! What part of Ireland are you from? I have family in Bangor, County Down just outside Belfast.

Welcome!

We'll look forward to seeing some of your work!

Stopped in and talked to Steve today to get the ball rolling. We both have a very similar ideas for this tattoo. I am very excited to see what he comes up with based on all of the ideas and examples i threw at him today.

Well, after visiting several shops and speaking to as many folks as I could, I have decided to go with Steve Mast @ Designs By Dana. I had an opportunity to talk to Steve at length and was impressed by him and his work. We've decided to simplify things and focus on a traditional Japanese dragon on my arm. He was a huge help in sorting through all of my ideas and reminded me that I don't have to jam it all into one! I am going to stop by the shop tomorrow and get everything set up. I really appreciate the input I got here and will definitely keep some of the tattooers mentioned in mind for future work.

No worries at all, I want to see a pic now too :-) - - - Updated - - - Apologies if i overstepped, I'm new to the process. I will happily edit my post to remove prices if everyone thinks that would be best.

All, Got an email back from Kim @ Plurabella yesterday explaining the process. Very helpful and informative. Here is the email (might be useful info for anyone else interested in being tattooed by Kore. Hello Dave, My name is Kim and I work with Kore at PluraBella in Cincinnati. Thanks for your interest in the studio and for taking the time to write. I'll gladly share the appointment process and information with you for your consideration. If you have any questions, please let me know. As you may know, PluraBella is a small, private custom studio where all work is scheduled by appointment and in advance. Since Kore stays booked at least a few months at a time, we like to cultivate a few materials via email for review. When Kore feels that he can do a project well, we then work to set up a consultation. For your consideration, Kore's hourly rate is $200 here in Ohio and $250 in Los Angeles and abroad. For some projects, he may opt to charge by the piece or by the session but either way, all tattoo work is payable by cash. We do have session minimums here as well, so each appointment is no less than two hours. We can also book a full day session, which is around 5-6 hours. Either way, Kore is a quick and proficient artist who aims to accomplish as much as possible in a session while deferring to what's safe and achievable for each client. Kore is currently booked until July here in Ohio, but he is always working from a waiting list and considering new projects. While a few months or more is the current wait time, sometimes the schedule may be shifted to allow new projects to begin sooner. If you're interested in working toward setting up a consultation, it would be great if you could provide the following materials: Personal Information: - First Name/ Last Name - Location - Phone Contact Information Please also explain what you would like to have tattooed; what subject matter you're interested in, where you would like to have the work placed, if you're interested in black and gray or color, and how large you would like the work to be. When applicable, please include any information about existing work in the area- any cover ups that need to be addressed, any work that needs to be incorporated into the new design, etc. Kore also likes to collect a low resolution image of the area to be tattooed. If he feels that he can do the piece well, he'll use that image to consider and create a composition that's custom fit for you. Once those materials are received, Kore will review them and share his best advice with you about what's achievable within his skill set, within the medium of tattooing and within the space that you'd like to have tattooed. If you'd like to continue with the tattoo process from there, we'll schedule a time for you to consult with him by phone, or in person- whichever is most convenient. The two of you will use that time to hone in on the best direction for the work. After the consultation, we'll collect a non-refundable $200 drawing fee and integrate your project into Kore's drawing queue. We can also hone in on a start date at that time. About 95% of Kore's client base travels in from all over the world, so if you'd like to have some travel information to consider, please let me know and I'll send that along as well. The next project review period for Kore is in mid-March, so if you'd like to send in your materials now, that will be great. We look forward to hearing from you soon. Please let me know if you have any questions. Kind regards, Kim I am checking out a couple more shops this weekend and will follow up with Kim. I am also going to look into the other artists that work out of the shop (Kore is understandably expensive) to see if the wait is shorter and the price a bit lower. As much as I'd like to have Kore do a sleeve for me, he may be out of my price range for the time being. I am going to check out Mother's Tattoo in Covington and White Crane in Sharonville this weekend and early next week.

I just sent an email to get the process started, thank you all for the recommendations.

I haven't been in contact with Kore as of yet, but I have spent a lot of time on both his and his wife's gallery pages. Very impressive work and I plan to contact him to see if I can meet with him to discuss some ideas. I really like big traditional japanese tattoos and black and grey. I am leaning toward the former for my first sleeve. Some color, but not so bright as to scream at passers-by :-). My other arm will be darker, a brooding owl, maybe a clock or compass, grim reaper, maybe something that leans a little celtic. Haven't worked that one out much yet. To me the hardest part is organizing the chaos of all of the ideas that pop up when I think about it and I'm hoping that the artist I choose can help me organize it into something that works. I really appreciate the replies, and I will look into all of the recommendations you have given. - - - Updated - - - I had heard from a few folks locally that Plurabella can be a tough studio to get into, any experience with this? I have no problem waiting, just curious as to what I might expect.