I Love Tattooing

Minimum Charge Quote: “The only thing worse than a cheapskate customer is a cheapskate tattooer” - Bill Waverly In most tattoo shops there is an agreed upon minimum charge that is the base price for all tattoos.  This charge is intended to be the basic starting point for the cost to the clients. What is the right number?  Is this a good idea?  How do tattooers use this to decide the price for thei...

What are the Qualifications Needed to Have an Apprentice? “ Do not seek to follow in the footsteps of the wise. Seek what they sought.” -Matsuo Basho What qualifies someone to have an apprentice? There is no one answer to this question. The combination of skills and experience necessary to successfully teach someone how to tattoo are numerous. Tattooing is a form of art, it is also a technical ski...

Some people view tattooing as a craft, some as a trade, some as an art.  They are all correct. It is all of these things and more.  It’s challenging, it's frustrating, it’s rewarding, it is a way of life. Getting a tattoo is a lifelong commitment, Becoming a tattooer is as well.  It will take you the rest of your life to master it and as soon as you think you have it figured out there is another a...

Globally the tattoo business is over a billion dollar a year industry and is projected to grow to 3.5 billion by 2029 .  The IRS has not ignored the tattoo industry.  The trend of offering the W2 option probably began in a state like California where tax and labor laws are very strict. The days of flying under the radar in the fringes of society for tattoo artists are long gone.  As the entire wor...

Tattoo apprenticeships are a sharply debated topic. Unlike many other industries that use the apprenticeship method to train new workers, the tattoo world does not have a universally approved or recognized process for apprenticeships. Before Clay's entry into tattooing he was a welder and worked in a union shop that had a standardized structured apprenticeship procedure. In the trade apprentice Cl...

A viral incident has the tattoo world buzzing! The TattooGate scandal is being discussed by tattooers and collectors alike. This controversy is a hot topic for a lot of people because it touches some emotional issues. The exploitation of the tattoo business, ripping off clients, understanding the value of your work, and ethics (or a lack of them) among many other things. Unsavory characters will a...

Jack and Clay are street shop tattooers who work in walk-in shops that offer custom tattooing.  You can get a sleeve or an infinity symbol and you will get the same treatment and level of attention and respect.  Tattooing isn’t just one thing, it is an entire universe of different styles, opinions, beliefs, and ways of life.  The growing popularity of tattooing has changed some aspects of it but t...