Five things that will help to reduce tattoo pain, and 5 things that don’t It should be said that although tattoos are painful, they are not excruciatingly bad - otherwise no one would get them. You’ll experience different levels of pain depending where on the body they are, and the style of tattooing. On the day, your tattooist should help you deal with any nerves, make you as comfortable as possible, and allow breaks. So don’t worry too much - despite what your friends and family may be saying to wind you up! Things we know help and which we recommend: 1. Eat a good meal around 2 hours befor ..read more

It’s a new year and time to fill the calendar with fun stuff! But what’s there to do? Where should you go? Tattoo conventions are great places to go for watching live entertainment, indulge in a bit of retail therapy, and the obvious reason – tattoos! Whether you’re looking for your first tattoo, contemplating your next one, or perhaps simply an admirer of them, we highly recommend going along to a tattoo convention and immersing yourself in this creative world! To help you out we’ve put together a list of the top 5 tattoo conventions to visit in the UK for 2023… 1. Tattoo Freeze, 4th-5th Feb ..read more

Book by Oliver Munden & Nick Schonberger Book Review This month we’re happy to be reviewing 'The Language of Tattoos, 130 Symbols and what they mean' by Oliver Munden & Nick Schonberger. Getting our hands on a copy of this beautifully illustrated hardback book has been a pleasure and the perfect end of year assignment. The book explains the history, origins, and meanings of 130 well known symbols common in modern European/North American tattooing. Much loved and replicated symbols are brought to life through the skilfully rendered tattoo illustrations of artist Oliver Munden (Rock Ste ..read more

Background Photo by: James Discombe Pricing a tattoo is not as straightforward as asking for a 'cut and finish' at your hairdresser's, nor is there a price guide for it. The price of a tattoo will depend on many factors including but not limited to size, placement, amount of detail in the design, as well as the tattoo artist's level of experience. To make things extra tricky, not all tattoo studios charge the same. A tattoo studio in London could charge more than a tattoo studio in Birmingham due to the difference in cost of living between the two cities. Even in the same area of Birmingham ..read more

Here are some handy tips on what to bring to your tattoo appointment so you can be prepared! 1. Directions and instructions! Not all studios have a ‘shop front’ and are easy to find. Private studios tend to be more hidden to provide more privacy for customers and a more chilled out environment. Make sure you’ve got directions, and read any instructions the studio sent you. It can be quite a few months in between your booking and actual tattoo so it is always worth going back and re-reading what they sent you. Many studios will ask you to call once you arrive so make sure you have their number ..read more

We’ve all been there. Busy work week, even busier social life. Candle well and truly burnt at both ends. You’ve got just one more appointment to make, one more thing to do, before you can crash and burn. It’s your tattoo appointment…should be fine. You scrape yourself together, throw on yesterday’s clothes, strap your cap on backwards, and off you go. Just enough time to grab a couple of cans of Monster on the way. 2 hours later, as you look up at the square of ceiling that will be your whole world for the day, you start to wonder if you should have prepared better. 3 hours into your day sitt ..read more

So you're thinking about getting your first tattoo or you've been wanting to get your next one for awhile. Are you struggling for ideas? While it’s nice to have a meaningful tattoo, it’s also just as amazing to get something that simply looks good! It's art and there aren't any rules or at least there shouldn’t be. So where do people get their ideas from? 1. Tattoodo Tattoodo is a relatively new platform where you can find inspirations for your next tattoo. It’s dedicated solely to tattooing and is filled with amazing tattoo artists worldwide. You can search for tattoos, tattoo artists, tatto ..read more

Photo by Brooke Cagle How do you normally go about contacting a tattoo artist or tattoo studio? Do you call, email, Whatsapp or slide into their DMs? Calling is absolutely fine, Whatsapp is also fine for some, but sliding into DMs is a bit of a grey area (most artists and tattoo studios would rather that you didn't message them via social media). It's usually best to email your tattoo enquiries in as you can explain in detail what tattoo you want, send reference photos and describe how you want the tattoo to look. Due to the current pandemic, face to face consultations are tricky and some stu ..read more

First of all, what is a fine line tattoo? A fine line tattoo consists of super thin lines but the design itself is not too small. This is because tattoo ink spreads in the skin over time. To avoid having lines merge into one another and lose the effectiveness of the design as it ages, you want to have space for the lines to breathe. A fine line tattoo is achieved by using a tattoo needle that contains fewer needles such as a 3RL, with only three needles. This tattoo style is definitely more tricky from the tattoo artist's viewpoint as it requires a steady and precise hand, leaving very little ..read more

https://video.wixstatic.com/video/755078_cabbba22917b4b2585c66277d3fc45cd/1080p/mp4/file.mp4 Every time I ask a customer if they know what to expect from getting a hand poked tattoo, they usually respond saying they don’t know. This article should hopefully serve as a guide to getting a hand poked tattoo. I won’t go into too much detail about the history of tattooing but it’s useful to know some: Before electricity and tattoo machines were invented, tattoos were created using a variety of tools and methods. Countries like the Philippines, Samoa, Japan, New Zealand to name but a few, had their ..read more