Notes on Tattooing28

Modern tattooists have access to better tattoo equipment, better education and more information than any generation before them. So why does improving feel harder than ever? We've Solved the Tattoo Equipment Problem Every morning I walk around my local lake.…

The internet changed the tattoo industry in ways we're only just beginning to understand. Now, that's hardly a revelation and if that's news to you, well, you've got some catching up to do. But I don't think many of us…

A few months ago I found myself doing something that, on paper at least, made absolutely no sense. I switched back to Photoshop. If you’ve followed my work for any length of time you’ll know I’d more or less abandoned…

Tattoo Portfolio Photography and the Mistake Many Tattooists Don't Realise They're Making We were having a chat in the studio after work the other day and, as often happens, the conversation drifted onto tattoo portfolio photography. I suppose that's because…

Ragebait in Tattooing, Algorithms and Attention Media. Ragebait in tattooing is on the rise lately. Gone are the times when social media actually felt social. Tattoo artists shared work because they were proud of it. Clients followed tattooers because they…

Tattoo Tradition vs Innovation - Where It Starts. Tradition matters. In tattoo tradition vs innovation, it gives you somewhere to stand when you start - a set of rules, a standard, a way of doing things that’s been tested over…

The Scratcher mindset quietly damaging the tattoo industry You don’t think you’re a scratcher. Most tattooists don’t. But this isn’t about where you work or how long you’ve been tattooing.It’s about how you show up—and what you give back. What…

There’s a point in tattooing where your perspective begins to shift. You stop looking forward quite so much and start looking back instead. Lately, I’ve found myself there more often than not. I came into tattooing sideways, as a graphic…

Tattooing is a strange profession. It sits somewhere between art, craft, service and culture. It’s personal, physical work that happens face to face, in real time, between two people who usually start as strangers. And yet it’s also an industry…