Good Riddance to Bad Rubbish
Every so often I come across some tattoo related news that makes me blood boil. The most recent news that I’ve come across that has got me good and pissed off is certainly nothing new here on the Tattoo Blog. Our good pal Dr. Hook has been following the case of Eric Anderson, a tattoo artist from Zipp’s Tattoo and Museum Shoppe in Edmonton, Canada, for quite some time now. Check out the Doc’s past posts about it here and here.
The long and short of it is that Anderson had his 21-year-old shop closed back in June of this year after health inspectors learned that Anderson did not keep customer records, improperly discarded needles and probably most disturbing of all, re-used unsterilized tattooing and piercing equipment on his customers. Gross. The shop was also closed down back in 2007 due to infection control and unsanitary conditions.
Well this coming Tuesday, October 27th, Eric Anderson will appear in court with 21 charges against him. He faces a maximum fine of ,000 CDN (, 935 US, £24,479 GBP) for his stupidity. His shop has since been closed.
Personally, I think that morons like this who stupidly and needlessly endanger the health and lives of the public should be banned from ever being able to tattoo again, in addition to being slapped with any other criminal charges that are applicable. Not only is Anderson potentially spreading disease through his lazy, idiotic ways, but he’s also completely destroying the responsible and credible image that professional tattoo artists have to work so hard to uphold. What’s more, Whyte Avenue, where Zipp’s tattoo shop was located, is the most trendy area in the city of Edmonton. It’s not some obscure, dirty back alley somewhere. So when tattoo shops in heavily trafficked areas like this one get a bad image, where do all the good tattoo artists have left to go to in order to give their business credibility?
No doubt about it, an example needs to be made of Eric Anderson. Here’s hoping that come Tuesday he gets everything that’s coming to him.
Tags: Dislike, edmonton, eric anderson, Health Risks, health violations, News, whyte avenue, Workforce, zipp’s tattoo and museum shoppe
Meet Niko!
Whenever I hear the name Niko, I automatically think of the husky sounding European chanteuse from the Velvet Underground. This is a mistake. First of all, that’s Nico not Niko, and second of all, this Niko is far more likely to give you a kick ass tattoo than to sing you a mid sixties experimental rock song.
Yes, Niko is a tattoo artist and a great one at that. As owner of Kustom Tattoo in Paris, France, Niko has been working as a tattoo artist for the past 14 years. If you’re the sort of person who likes a good skull tattoo, then Niko is your man. Not to say that Niko can only do skull tattoos, but he is particularly fond of the Memento mori, which is Latin for “Remember you will die.” The Memento Mori is an art genre which is intended to remind people of their own mortality, while also showing them the price that will be paid in the afterlife if they break the commandments and rules of their religion. Memento mori artwork is seen in everything from paintings to sculptures, to gravestones and now tattoos as well. It has been around for centuries.
If all that sounds a little grim, that’s because it is. But hey, that doesn’t mean that it isn’t beautiful too. Niko’s tattoo work certainly takes on a dark sort of beauty that isn’t bogged down by cliches. The human skull has got to be one of the most widely tattooed images in the world, yet Niko’s careful and precise work makes it look fresh and original each time.
In addition to the Memento mori work, Niko also does Japanese and Cholo style tattoos. His work in these tattoo genres is certainly worthy of a look. I also can’t forget to mention that beyond his tattoo work, Niko paints and has also designed graphics for skateboard decks. If you live in Paris, or are planning a vacation there in the near future, stop by Kustom Tattoo and see Niko’s work for yourself first hand.
Tags: cholo, france, Inspired, Japanese, Japanese, kustom tattoo, memento mori, nico, Niko, paris, Pictures, skateboard decks, Tattoo Artists, Tattoo Pictures, the velvet underground, Workforce
How a mayor is supposed to act.
Before anyone gets the wrong idea, I don’t oppose all politicians, just the ones that are determined to throw their weight around and make an ass of themselves. That being said, I will also pass out kudos when they are deserved, and that is just the case in the good old UK. (Maybe we can get a few to teach the majority of ours how to be a public servant?)
Anyway, around the same time as the mayor of Columbus, NE was apologizing for being an arrogant jerk, the mayor of Diss in Norfolk, UK was officiating at the opening of a brand new tattoo studio! Now this is the kind of action that makes it clear the township of Diss has a mayor who knows how to handle a global rescission, by welcoming any new business with open arms.
According to the Diss Express, Mayor Jane Trippett-Jones opened a new tattoo and piercing business following a colorful town center parade. Local owners Ray Horne and David Garrett, (along with the mayor), opened the studio after sponsoring a Alice In Wonderland-themed parade through the town to drum up business for the new venture.
Now just how cool is that? Not only does the mayor officiate the opening of your studio, but you have a parade for the residents as well. That, my friends is how to drum up some serious PR, and they aren’t done there. These two artists have their shit together, so to speak.
Ray and David have had the studio inspected by an environmental health team to ensure it is fit for purpose and a certificate will be on display at the shop. They also said that they work to strict ethical guidelines, not piercing anyone under 16 or tattooing anyone under 18. I like these two blokes already. Well done, men.
The studio, named Bliss, is open 10am-6pm, Tuesday to Saturday, and is opposite the Rose Lane turning, for all you UK readers out there. Check them out and send a bit of business their way.
The dynamic duo is also having graffiti artist Tom Reynolds create a piece of work for them that will be on display inside the studio once it is finished.
As for Mayor Jane Trippett-Jones…Well done, M’Lady. I’m beginning to see why the UK has such memorable women in their government. Well done indeed.
Image © Diss Express, All Rights Reserved
Tags: David Garrett, Inspired, Mayor Jane Trippett-Jones, News, Ray Horne, Stories, Tattoo Artists, tattoo studios, Tattoos, Tom Reynolds, UK tattoo studios, Workforce
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All Apologies.
As most of you know already, the ‘Ol Doc ain’t shy about ragging on politicians. In particular the ones who want to take a hypocritical stance against tattoos, or tattoo artists. Well, I’m not about to disappoint you now. Especially when the story involves one of those Richard Cranium types eating a healthy dose of crow pie.
It seems that the mayor of Columbus, NE, Mike Moser, decided to try and use his position and authority to keep tattoo artist Dustin Milligan from opening a shop in the downtown area. Why? Because the mayor owns a music shop, Columbus Music, right next door in the same building. According to reports the mayor didn’t want “Him or his riff-raff clientele” there.
Starting in June Dustin Milligan had been renovating a building at 2516 13th Street with the hope of opening Phoenix Body Mods. The building had been empty and unproductive for over a year. The very first week the mayor requested a meeting with Dustin to let him know that he was about as welcome as a case of the clap at an Elks convention.
Failing that, Moser tried to find Dustin another location for him to move to, then when that didn’t work, apparently took another track. Milligan said prior to the publication of the story, he had difficulty reaching potential contractors to proceed with the electrical and plumbing work in the building, but since the article was published in The Columbus Telegram he has had contractors seeking him out.
On top of the previous difficulty obtaining contractors, according to the building’s owner, David Blessen, Mayor Moser made repeated attempts to purchase the building. Is anyone else starting to smell a rat in City Hall?
After the story broke in the Telegram, and an outpouring of public sentiment for Dustin, as well as a public smearing of the mayor, Moser relented and apologized publicly for his treatment of the tattoo artist. Guess he suddenly remembered that the riff-raff votes as well. What’s a matter Mike? Afraid you’ll have to actually work for a living?
The mayor said that he thought the article in the Telegram was “very negative and inflammatory.” Which, incase you don’t speak politicaleeze, means “I got caught with my head up my ass, and was losing future votes.”
Dustin is a lot kinder than I am and holds no animosity towards the mayor, or his cronies, but he has to work there, so I can’t blame him there. It just shows he is the bigger man. I don’t have to depend on living next to the backstabbing sucker, so I can call a spade a spade. But to be kind about it, admission is the first step there Mikey.
Tags: Columbus Nebraska, discrimination, Dislike, Dustin Milligan, Mayor Mike Moser, News, politics, Stories, Tattoo Artists, tattoo artists, underhanded tactics, Workforce
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Tattoo Humor, or Regret.
Speaking of tattoo regret, as in my post about the de-ick-bacle in Sweden, I began surfing the net looking for a few more tattoos that ranked as some unbelievable shit that people would have tattooed on them. Well it didn’t take long for me to find the ultimate tattoo regret website. (And waste the rest of the day laughing my ass off instead of working!)
Introducing “Ugliest Tattoos: A Gallery of Regrets.”
Now, if your like me and like watching shows like “The Smoking Gun Presents; World’s Dumbest”, or like most people with a healthy dose of human nature, this is one site you just have to visit. The gallery is unbelievable in the scope and magnitude of some of the dumbest tattoos ever to grace the human anatomy.
I’ve seen some doozies in my time, but some of this shit has those beat hollow. I picked a few of the tamer ones to give you a small idea of what the gallery contains, but these are barely the tip of the iceberg. In fact a few of them could possibly get our IP provider to pull the plug on us, so you’ll have to go to ugliest to see the good stuff for your self.
Just don’t blame me if you end up spitting your drink all over your monitor, OK?
To add to hilarity there is a comment section under each and every tattoo mistake presented to your watering eyes, so you have plenty of room for interaction and adding to the hilariousness of the site. Not to mention a chance to make fun of someone who desperately deserves it.
Normally I’m pretty tolerant about someone else’s tattoo, after all it’s their skin, but…damn…this stuff just begs to be made fun of. (Naturally, if you didn’t want someone to make fun of your tattoo you wouldn’t put it up on a site called Ugliest Tattoos in the first place.) At the very least you’ll be scratching your head and saying, “What the fuck were they thinking?”
So, If your in desperate need of a good laugh, or a shock, hit that link and make sure your not drinking anything…monitors are expensive.
All images © Ugliest Tattoo.com All rights reserved
Tags: humor, humorus tattoos, Pictures, Stories, Tattoo Pictures, Tattoo regret, Ugliest Tattoos, WTF
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What a Dick!
One of the things that almost every tattoo artist will warn you against doing, and almost every first time client will do, is getting a good dose of liquid courage before getting a tattoo. Where I used to work at it was against the law to tattoo anyone who was inebriated, and yes, I had more than one person come in looking for that first tattoo so drunk they were lucky to string three sentences together.
Not only does a high alcohol blood content make you bleed like a stuck pig, (which makes it harder to do a good tattoo, because your bleeding ink out almost as fast as it goes in), but believe it or not, in most cases it make the tat hurt more. I never liked dealing with a drunk client anyway, because your inhibitions are down and they squirm, jump around, and holler like a pig with a full on cattle prod shoved up its ass. Ever try to write, or draw something while someone else jerks the table around? Guess what? Tattoo machines do not come with erasers.
If that’s not enough to warn you first timers off of getting a buzz on before getting your first tattoo take a lesson from a guy named Joel who lives in Northern Sweden. Umeå, to be exact. As reported in Sweden’s Aftonbladet news paper.
After downing an entire bottle of Vodka Joel decided he would get a tattoo. He had noticed the finger moustache a friend had, and announced that he would now get one too. Unfortunately, he announced it in front of a local tattoo artist, who said he would give Joel a tattoo if Joel would give him free reign. Joel agreed and off he went with the artist and a buddy to get the job done.
Well, I don’t know if the tattoo artist had a grudge against Joel, or if he just has a sick sense of humor, but our boy Joel woke up the next morning to find the above tattoo on his leg. Maybe the unnamed artist just thought Joel was being a dick and he should advertise it to all and sundry. Maybe his father owns a jeans store. May be the artist is a dick, and wanted to advertise. Who knows.
Just remember, gang, liquid courage, getting stoned, high, whatever, before a tattoo isn’t a good idea. In fact it can make you look like a dick head in the end.
I’m out’ta here before I piss myself laughing. 
Image © Aftonbladet all rights reserved
Tags: humor, humorus tattoos, News, Stories, Sweden, Tattoo regret, tattooing drunks, Tips, XXX tattoos
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Hello Tattoos!
I love it when tattoo shops offer special deals as a result of some particular charity, event or anniversary. Sometimes the deals are so good that it makes me want to jump in a car and drive to wherever the deals are (the deals are never anywhere near where I live). After some internet research, you’ll be happy to know that I have uncovered yet another tattoo deal.
Before I tell you what the deal is however, I just want to give a little bit of a warning: it’s not exactly up everyone’s alley. See, the infamous Hello Kitty turns 35 this Wednesday, October 21st. This is most likely good news for more women than men – not to be sexist, but come on, I’ve never once in my life met a guy who liked Hello Kitty. That’s not to say that there aren’t plenty of ladies out there who can’t stand the sight of the cutesy Kitty with the little pink bow. But hey, to each his or her own, right?
Anyway, as I was saying, Hello Kitty turns 35 this Wednesday. The fact alone that Hello Kitty has been around for 35 years blows me away. That’s some serious staying power. So, if you’re one of those people who wants Hello Kitty to stick around for even longer, and if you happen to live in or near Las Vegas, then you are in luck. From noon until 10pm at Las Vegas’ Last Chance Tattoo, you will be able to choose a Hello Kitty tattoo from five sheets of Hello Kitty images, for only . In fact, if you happen to have something in mind instead of what’s being offered on the five sheets of Hello Kitty images, you can also have that done. The artists ask that your image is within reason, however, meaning nothing too massive and time consuming.
I guess if you really aren’t a Hello Kitty fan, you could still go and get an anti-Hello Kitty tattoo, right? Something like this perhaps? Hey, they said Hello Kitty tattoos and that is indeed a Hello Kitty tattoo. Man, I’ve said Hello Kitty a lot in this post. I feel weird. I need to go lie down…
Tags: Ads, anti hello kitty tattoo, hello kitty, hello kitty birthday, hello kitty tattoos, Japanese, las vegas, last chance tattoo, News, Workforce
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Tropical Tattoos
At this time of year, I am thinking about winter a lot. I’m not thinking about winter in a good way, either. I hate winter. So even though it may technically be Fall right now, all I’m really thinking about is that winter is pretty much right around the corner. I get cold a lot. It’s always raining and then soon enough, the rain turns to snow and man, snow really bums me out.
So, with all that in mind, today I am going to try and focus on warm thoughts, thoughts about beautiful tropical locations, the beach, the sea and surfing. What better way to do all that than to dedicate today’s blog to all things tropical and tattooed? After all, isn’t the beach the best place to check out people’s tattoos? (Among other things).
Surf related tattoos however, are not that easy to come by. First of all it’s difficult to pin down what exactly qualifies as a “surfing” tattoo. Sure, there are tattoos of dudes surfing and what not, but these tend to end up looking rather lame. In fact, it was a lot easier to find lame surfing tattoos than it was to find cool surfing tattoos. Legendary surfing magazine Transworld Surf even has a list (with snarky captions) of “15 Surf Tattoos from Hell” at their website.
Anyway, first off, there’s the Polynesian tattoos. Any time I see one of these, I automatically think of warm and sunny places. Love ‘em. Then there’s the odd tattoo of the beach here and there, like this one, or this one or a tattoo of underwater sea life. Lastly, I can’t forget about palm trees. There’s something about palm trees that I love. Just seeing them makes me happy. On that note, I give you this tattoo, which I love. Very cool.
Oh yeah, one last thing regarding surfing tattoos: for any of you surfers out there who are looking for a free magazine subscription, the aforementioned Transworld Surf is offering free magazine subscriptions to anyone who gets the Transworld Surf logo tattooed on them. I’m not sure how long of a subscription they offer in exchange for tattooing yourself with their logo, but if you’re interested, you can contact them here.
Tags: 15 surf tattoos from hell, Pictures, polynesian tattoos, surfing tattoos, Tattoo Pictures, transworld sur, tropical tattoos
Meet Andrea Ottlewski!
While looking around the internet at various tattoo artists, I found a couple of websites that listed tattoo artist Andrea Ottlewski as one of the greatest female tattoo artists currently working. There’s no doubt that Ottlewski’s tattoo work is gorgeous: vibrant, clean, sharp – everything that you want in a tattoo as well as from a tattoo artist. The thing is, listing Ottlewski as a great female tattoo artist is too limited. Andrea Ottlewski is simply a great tattoo artist, period. Gender has nothing to do with it. Ottlewski’s abilities put her on par with all of the really special tattoo work that I have seen and when all is said and done, it’s about the art and the artist, not whether they are a male or a female.
Still, I do recognize the benefits of Andrea “representing” so to speak, and being a role model for other women out there who are working on their own tattoo careers. That’s great too, but I think there’s more than enough room here for Ottlewski to be an inspiration to anyone who values superb tattoo work.
Andrea Ottlewski grew up in what is in my opinion, one of the greatest cities in the world: Berlin, Germany. Berlin is a city brimming with talented, original and unique artists in numerous mediums. Growing up there undoubtedly had an effect on Andrea’s work, if not her artistic mentality. Soon enough however, the United States called. Andrea had a dream to work in San Francisco, California, and so in 1994 she left Germany for San Francisco, where she found work at a tattoo shop called Erno Tattoo.
In 2000, after a move to San Rafael, California, Ottlewski took over ownership of her very own tattoo studio, called Area 51. The extra work and pressure of owning a tattoo studio soon began to take its toll, and Ottlewski eventually decided that she didn’t want the management aspects of a tattoo studio taking away from her time to draw, paint and create. She ended up selling the shop and later settling down in Seattle, Washington, with a full time gig tattooing at Seattle’s Slave to the Needle.
Ottlewski’s work goes from Bettie Page to the Buddha to Super Mario, and no matter what it is that she’s tattooing, quality remains a constant. I’m very glad that Andrea works in Seattle because that’s not too far away from where I am. I’ll definitely be stopping by Slave to the Needle in the near future. If you’re also interested in getting work done by Andrea Ottlewski, you can get in touch with her at: 206.789.2618 or, you can email at slavetotheneedle@comcast.net.
Tags: Andrea Ottlewski, area 51, berlin, bettie page, buddha tattoo, California, erno tattoo, germany, Inspired, Pictures, Pinup Girls, San Francisco, seattle tattoo, slave to the needle, super mario tattoo, Tattoo Artists, Tattoo Pictures, Workforce
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Company 14 Liberty Tax Service
A few months ago I was on Craigslist looking for a job. I came across a job opening for a tax preparer position at Liberty Tax Service. I was not interested in being a tax preparer for them but maybe I could advertise for them, I thought to myself. I have driven past Liberty Tax service locations several times, and I have seen wavers that wave signs for their company near the road to advertise their company. I thought maybe they would be interested in my unique advertising method. I emailed the post on craigslist. I got an email back a few days later from the owner of 3 of the Liberty Tax Service locations here in Anchorage, Alaska. The owner was very interested in advertising on me. He asked that I come down and talk to him. I met the owner in person, he is an awesome person. We worked something out and as you can see I have a new tattoo advertisement for Liberty Tax Service. I will now be getting my taxes done at Liberty Tax Service, and because I advertise for them I get my taxes done for free for life!
Tags: Ads, advertising, billboard, neck, news, tattoo, taxes
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