The Price You Pay

Have you ever wondered why tattoos are so pricey? Well I think the most important thing to remember the next time you get a quote on a tattoo is that it’s PERMANENT.  Tattoo shop prices range anywhere from $100-$200 an hour. Ever think to yourself, “Man that’s expensive!”? Think of it this way, you spend a hundred dollars on a pair of shoes and they last you a couple of months. You go to get a tattoo done and you get quoted for three hundred dollars, and of course you’ll try to talk to guy down but the thing you have to remember is that this will be on you forever. Sure you can go to the guy who will do it for a fraction of the price but will you get the same quality of work? That doesn’t mean that all tattooers that you’ll find outside of shops will do bad work, but more than likely you’ll run into what is known in the tattoo industry as a “scratcher”. A scratcher is a person that tattoos without any kind of training from a “master” tattooer, only interested in making money and tattoos from out of a shop. 

 Many tattoos done by Kat Von D are portraits.

Many tattooers also have a minimum that you have to pay to get tattooed by them. Clifton Carter from Living Ghost Tattoo in Arizona charges a minimum of five hundred dollars. Grime from Skull and Sword Tattoo in San Francisco charges two hundred an hour. And if you want to talk about the tattoo artists from reality shows like “LA Ink” and “New York Ink”, the artists have anywhere from a five hundred to eight hundred minimum. When you look at the work that some of these artists produce, it’s as clear as day and night why they command such a price for their tattoos. On the other hand when you look on craigslist to find a “tattoo artist” it’s also easy to tell why they’re only charging a fraction of what the more talented artists charge. 

A phoenix piece done by Clifton Carter of Living Ghost Tattoo.

When you get a quote on a tattoo and you’re unhappy with the price, the rudest thing you can say to the artist is “Why is it this price? I can get it cheaper from the other guy.” It’s a waste of their time and also a waste of yours’ so don’t bother. Most of the times when this happens and you go to the guy who charges less, you end up with a tattoo you’ll regret. If this happens and you want to get the tattoo removed or covered up, this will end up costing you more money and more pain than if you would have paid to get it done right the first time around. So the next time you’re looking to get a tattoo, do your research, save your money, and get it done right the first time around! Next blog I’ll be taking a closer look at tattoos and their acceptance in Japan, a place where tattoos have a long history but are also somewhat of a taboo despite the rise of popularity.

Different styles of tattoos

As we all know, tattoos are permanent. Once inked, we have to either like and accept it or hate and regret it. Getting a tattoo requires a lot of thought put into it. The location of the tattoo on your body is important and needs to be put into consideration. Then you need to determine the size, color, and most importantly, what tattoo design you want to permanently mark onto your skin. Many people that want tattoos know what they want and tend to search for a tattoo artist that has a certain style that matches the piece of art they want. Most tattoo artists are able to tattoo many different styles of art but there is always that one style that sets apart that tattoo artists’ work from everyone else’s. There are many styles of tattooing out there such as the old school traditional Americana style, New school, tribal, and Japanese, just to name a few. These styles are the ones most people know about and seek out reputable artists to ink such pieces of art.

 Old school traditional Americana tattoos feature really bold outlines, a lot of black shading and minimal color (usually only up to four colors). Norman Keith Collins who is also known as the famous “Sailor Jerry”, is well known for his “old school” tattoos. Another well known artist specializing in the “old school” tattoos is Bert Krak from Smith Street Tattoo in New York City.

 New school tattoos are much more vibrant and have a more illustrative look to them than the traditional Americana style of tattooing. Salem632 of Ocean Avenue Tattoo in San Francisco is a prime example of this style.

 Tribal tattoos have been around for thousands of years. In the old days, people from different tribes would have their own different markings to distinguish social standing and most importantly what tribe you were from. These tattoos determined life or death for some people. Now a day’s tribal tattoos are more of a fashion statement than anything else. Orly Lacquio of Humble Beginnings Tattoo in San Jose is considered one of best modern Polynesian Tribal tattoo artists. He even practices the tapping method of tattooing where he has two sticks, one with needles and the other to tap with. The word tattoo is thought to have come from the word tatau which means “to tap”. 

 Japanese style tattoos are often full-body masterpieces that often include mystical animals and demons. In Japan there is a strong tie between tattoos and criminals (the Yakuza). In the old days of Japan, criminals would get tattooed by city officials as a mark of disgrace. To cover these tattoos up, the criminals would get more intricate and elaborate designs tattooed around and would usually end up covering their whole bodies. One of the masters of Japanese style of tattooing is Horiyoshi III a.k.a. Yoshito Nakano. Horiyoshi tattoos like they did in the ancient days of Japan known as “tebori” where he hand pokes the pigment into the skin. 

 So the next time you decide on a tattoo, think about the different styles and do a bit of research on different artists before you commit. When you have chosen the style, you shouldn’t skimp on the price of your next tattoo because in this case, you really do get what you pay for! More about that on my next post.

Lets learn from Portland!

I always thought it was San Francisco that was the true mecca for tattoos. Where else can you find a city where almost every other person you encounter on the street has either a tattoo or a piercing out of the norm. I had discovered that although San Francisco is definitely a city where the heart of tattoos lie, Portland, Oregon is another city way up in the ranks of being the one big city with many tatted up people. Somehow, those that were once living and tattooing out here in the Bay Area have migrated to the north where the city of Portland stands. Portland doesn’t care if you have body modifications; it doesn’t care if your ear lobes are 10 times the size of what normal ear piercings look like. What made Oregon such an attractive state for these talented artists to move up there? 

            Both San Francisco and Portland have their differences on the outlook of tattoos. In San Francisco, tattoos are becoming more of a subculture, while Portland accepts tatted individuals and it gives people the courage to show their art rather than hiding them under ridiculous long sleeves even during 100 degrees weather. With the growing number of people wanting tattoos, you’d never think that it is considered a West Coast kind of thing to do. “Nationally, 14 percent of U.S. residents say they have at least one tattoo, but 20 percent of West Coast residents admit to one”. It’s almost every 1 in 4 person you encounter will have a tattoo or two peeking out the sides of their sleeves or behind their hair.

            Although society has become more accepting of tattoos, there are still issues regarding positions at work and the employer’s thoughts on tattoos before hiring you. But in Portland, you may even encounter doctors in a hospital with tattoos. Why are there so many more people with tattoos living in Portland? “San Francisco has a population of about 808,000 and 70 tattoo shops listed in its Yellow Pages. Portland’s population is 580,000 and it has 73 shops. Seattle has only 40 shops and Phoenix 36. Los Angeles lists 167 shops, but its population of 9.8 million is more than 10 times that of Portland. On a per-capita basis, Portland has far and way more tattoo shops than any major city in the country.” The number of tattoo shops seen in Portland and San Francisco makes a difference in the number of tattoos seen on people. For a population only a little over half of what it is in San Francisco, Portland houses more tattoo shops than the city that was once thought of as the true mecca for tattoos. 

            Even though the numbers of shops located in San Francisco isn’t as high as Portland’s, San Francisco is still the city where many talented artists reside. Many people in San Francisco tend to do research or look up the works done by artists’ before they get a tattoo so they can find the best artists that draws the style of art they want. A majority of the shops in San Francisco are dominated by artists that are sought after for their artworks and talent. This is where quality is always going to be better than quantity. No matter how many more shops open up in Portland, it’ll all fail unless they have the talents that San Franciscans have.

            While it seems like tattoos are making a breakthrough in our generations, it is still not fully accepted in some parts of the world. Some companies may not even hire you if they see even the smallest tattoo on your arms or legs but it doesn’t mean you should stop pursuing your career. Not everyone is going to be against those with body art. For example, let’s talk about one of the Forever 21 stores in San Francisco. It’s a clothing store with your average teenage workers as sales associates so it’s definitely normal to see over half their employees sporting tattoos. It is corporate policy to have all tattoos and piercings hidden but it also can depend on the employer. The store manager from this particular store has no problem with most of the employees showing their tattoos as long as they dress according to the dress code. So tattoos and people with them aren’t really the problem, it’s whether a person is willing to accept them or wants make it a problem for both tatted people and themselves. Portland has moved one step higher in society’s acceptance of tattoos.