The artist in the background is the guy who did all of my other work (with the exception of the flowers). He was amused that we were covering up part of his handiwork but said "eh, it happens." He was working on a very impressive back piece on this really hot guy who kept looking up and smiling at me. I should have asked for his number ;)
Call be morbid, but I love the ooze. It just looks really cool to me.
Black shading finished. Next appointment is in June and should take an hour or less.
OK. What not to do tattoo story #1:
Walking into a shop where all 4 artists are working on people at the moment and when asked "can we help you?" saying, "two tattoos please." Well, OK, obnoxious as that is, that's not the real 'what not to do' part of this. The shop manager went to talk to the two girls and they each wanted little small things. When asked if they wanted to make an appointment, they didn't understand that they couldn't get them right then. Zach, the guy working on me, asked the shop manager what it was they wanted, she showed him, and he said they could come back at 8 when he's done with me. They didn't want to do that. They had to have them now! Well, too bad. Go to the Tattoo Factory if that's the case. Deluxe does walk-ins if someone is free, but it's not really a walk-in type shop. Most people go there for a particular artist and make appointments in advance for custom work. Moral of the story: If you can't wait 3 hours for something that will be on your body for the rest of your life, think about if it's REALLY worth getting...
What not to do tattoo story #2: One of the artists gets this frantic phone call from some girl (why is it always girls who do this stupid shit?? that kinda pisses me off) who got a tattoo at the Tattoo Factory (can you tell I don't like that place?) at 2am last night and it was jacked up and could he fix it because she has somewhere to be tomorrow and can't go like that. Blank stares around the shop.
1: Don't get a tattoo at 2am. Seriously. Just don't.
2: You have to wait for a tattoo to heal before you can work on it again.
She came in - and I couldn't really tell it was messed up when she showed it to Zach. Apparently it was done too shallow. All it was was a fine outline of a shooting star. It didn't look that bad to me. All the artists were like "I've seen a LOT worse, you're lucky."
Nobody in the shop had any sympathy for the girl, really. If you get a tattoo at 2am, you're obviously not putting much though into it. Plus - if you know you have somewhere to be two days later - can't the tattoo wait? The thing was, she obviously knew better because she had this really detailed cool piece by the artist at Deluxe who she called (done many years before) - so she obviously knows good work and it wasn't her first tattoo. But seriously - you're shooting craps if you do a walk in with whatever artists happens to be free. My first tattoo was a walk-in - I just happened to luck out with Miles (who now works at Deluxe).
Moral of both stories: Put some thought into what you want. After all, it will be with you forever and it's worth waiting for.
Walking into a shop where all 4 artists are working on people at the moment and when asked "can we help you?" saying, "two tattoos please." Well, OK, obnoxious as that is, that's not the real 'what not to do' part of this. The shop manager went to talk to the two girls and they each wanted little small things. When asked if they wanted to make an appointment, they didn't understand that they couldn't get them right then. Zach, the guy working on me, asked the shop manager what it was they wanted, she showed him, and he said they could come back at 8 when he's done with me. They didn't want to do that. They had to have them now! Well, too bad. Go to the Tattoo Factory if that's the case. Deluxe does walk-ins if someone is free, but it's not really a walk-in type shop. Most people go there for a particular artist and make appointments in advance for custom work. Moral of the story: If you can't wait 3 hours for something that will be on your body for the rest of your life, think about if it's REALLY worth getting...
What not to do tattoo story #2: One of the artists gets this frantic phone call from some girl (why is it always girls who do this stupid shit?? that kinda pisses me off) who got a tattoo at the Tattoo Factory (can you tell I don't like that place?) at 2am last night and it was jacked up and could he fix it because she has somewhere to be tomorrow and can't go like that. Blank stares around the shop.
1: Don't get a tattoo at 2am. Seriously. Just don't.
2: You have to wait for a tattoo to heal before you can work on it again.
She came in - and I couldn't really tell it was messed up when she showed it to Zach. Apparently it was done too shallow. All it was was a fine outline of a shooting star. It didn't look that bad to me. All the artists were like "I've seen a LOT worse, you're lucky."
Nobody in the shop had any sympathy for the girl, really. If you get a tattoo at 2am, you're obviously not putting much though into it. Plus - if you know you have somewhere to be two days later - can't the tattoo wait? The thing was, she obviously knew better because she had this really detailed cool piece by the artist at Deluxe who she called (done many years before) - so she obviously knows good work and it wasn't her first tattoo. But seriously - you're shooting craps if you do a walk in with whatever artists happens to be free. My first tattoo was a walk-in - I just happened to luck out with Miles (who now works at Deluxe).
Moral of both stories: Put some thought into what you want. After all, it will be with you forever and it's worth waiting for.
4 people give a shit:
That raven looks *great*.
..and you should've asked that guy for his number. Missed opportunities and all that....
Very nice work. Sounds like a cool shop. And, yes, blood oozing from tattoos is pretty cool.
As for the girls, that's just clueless. I've had my plans for a tattoo in the works for 15 years. If they can't wait a couple of hours, they have a serious problem.
As for the other lady, you don't get a tattoo a couple of days before you want people to see it. From my roommate in college and from you, I know that tattoos take awhile to heal and should be covered until they're ready.
I don't know anything about it, but from what you've said The Tatto Factory sounds like it should be called McTats...
Thanks! I like it too.
It's not that Tattoo Factory is inherently bad - and there are some good artists who work there. But the concept of walking in, ending up with some random artist who may have 10 years experience or 1 year experience, is a crap shoot. It's best to think about what you want and find someone you like to do it for you. So I guess it's "buyer beware"
In general, I've noticed that really good artists don't really like doing random walk ins because they're often very simple and impulsive. If an artist is doing something they enjoy, that they know you put thought into, they'll be much more into the piece as well. But they get paid, so...
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