I have been getting MANY emails about how to get tattooed at the London Convention, how to get an appointment, when to arrive, etc. etc.. The truth is, I DO NOT take appointments, it is only first come first serve. I understand I am disappointing many people, but I feel like the person who gets to the convention first and queues up super early deserves to get tattooed more than the next person, and obviously wants his tattoo more than the next person. As far as time goes, please do not show up asking for a backpiece or a sleeve, it’s not gonna happen. I give each and every person a maximum of 4 hours, I will occasional give 5 hours in a unique circumstance but it’s rare. This approach to the way I work applies to any and all conventions I do. I would like to thank all those who get there early, wait in line and get tattooed, without my patient and appreciative clients I would be nothing. Thank you.
Yesterday two of my best friends came by and graced my secret studio with there presence. As if my homie Jake didn’t have enough face tats already, we slapped another one on. Tommy got a couple of old tattoos fixed up as we sat around and talked shit. In the words of Ice Cube, “Today was a good day”
I will be returning to Miami for a quick trip before I set sail for London, I am going to warm my chops before I freeze them. I will be taking appointments the 17th, 18th and 19th of September, so if you want to get a tattoo then give the shop a call (305) 531-4556. Yes yes, another week of fun in the sun, playful splashing in the ocean, cougars with WAY to much plastic surgery(grossest. creatures. ever.), tourists with sunburns that tell the tale of yesterdays outfit, and rollerbladers, way too many rollerbladers. Here is what The Most Interesting Man In The World has to say on the topic of rollerblading…
Just a little heads up to all those people that have been emailing me from the North East Coast, I will be attending the Wildwoods Tattoo Convention on the 10th, 11th,and 12th of September. So as usual I will tattoo FIRST COME FIRST SERVE. I will also be carrying some hand made one-off tattoo machines for sale, along with my friend Dan Dringenberg who will have the same. It’ll be Me, Dan Dringenberg, Louie Perez and Dre Perales, and when you put all four of us together there’s no telling what can happen. This should be interesting…
Here are a few pictures of the Bob Roberts book release party. It was nice and mellow and I was surrounded by a group of great tattooers, not to mention the living legend Mr. Bob Roberts himself.
…And it did. Let’s face it, rib tats hurt so much it’s offensive. The pain didn’t seem to bother Chops though, he sat like a stone and didn’t complain once. Chops is a very experienced and well rounded tattooer that I work with down at Gold Rush Tattoo in Costa Mesa. If you’re looking to get a proper nice tattoo check him out, it’s well worth your time and money… and skin.
Over in Hollywood on Melrose Avenue, tucked away in a quaint area is a shop called Spotlight Tattoo. This shop has been at this location for almost 30 years and is owned by Bob Roberts and his son Charlie. Bob Roberts is one of the last living tattoo legends, and I had the pleasure of working for him once upon a time. Tonight there will be a party at Known Gallery in his honor, it’s for a book that State Of Grace Incorporated has published spotlighting the life’s work of Bob. I’m looking forward to seeing old friends and getting a chance to honor my old boss Bob for all that he has gave to tattooing. Thanks Bob. Everybody who’s anybody in tattooing will be attending I’m sure, so don’t be a square, be there. If you want to read more about this event or find the location please go here www.knowngallery.com/blog
I have just returned from long travels and started working on machines again. These 3 machines are from a set of 8 frames that Dan Dringenberg engraved for me, I had 4 but someone already snatched up #1. I am selling these machines to the tattooers who email me first, I will return emails in the exact order they were received, and I will only accept paypal. Each machine is signed and numbered and as far as the way they run: the TOP LEFT LINER runs very smooth and consistent with a medium stroke, medium hit, and should be comfortable for all small to medium size lines. The TOP RIGHT LINER is a ‘go getter’! It runs super strong and super solid with a longer stroke, I would recommend this machine for medium to bigger lines and for tattooers who work fast. The BOTTOM SHADER is a traditional long stroke smooth shader with a reliable steady hit to it, it can be turned high or low and still keeps a good pace. Let’s also just stop for a moment and appreciate the shear talent it takes for someone like Dan to hand engrave each one of these frames, that’s right, HAND ENGRAVE. When I got the first 4 in hand I just studies them all evening and appreciated the example of the bar being raised to a new level just sitting in my possession. Makes me feel lazy…
On my last trip to Miami I snapped this pic of a family portrait I did months before. Me being the busiest jerk-off I know, I just now finally took it of the camera, filed it under my ‘tattoos’ folder, photoshopped the shit out of it(fooling those into thinking I know what I’m doing), uploaded it to my website and then wrote this horse-shit you’re reading now. Anyhow, I really enjoyed making this tattoo and the guy I did it on is one cool ass dude, I hope you like it.
On my next trip to Miami I will not fail to remember my skateboard! My friend Tim who tattoos at Colorfast Tattoos is also a fellow skateboarder. Him and his friends have been building this beautiful, sexy but ominous bowl you see above you at a undisclosed location. So next time I go back to Miami to make some tats I know exactly where I’m headin’ on my days off! Skate and destroy… Enjoy.
This is a iPhone picture of two machines that Dan Dringenberg engraved for me. There will be eight all together, and they are fu#@in’ cool as a cucumber. I will be selling these eight machines once I finish building them, but for now I am posting this picture Dan took and sent me, I wanted to show you the new level of engraving he has been doing at his shop. This engraving is all done by hand the old school way, if you want to see more of Dan’s engraving work and machines check him out at www.dringenbergtatoocompany.com
I have a hobby of collecting vintage and antique tattoo machines and paraphernalia. I love this stuff, it’s like fancy shoes to women (sorry to stereotype). Well this time around I scored a very old rotary tattoo machine, and I especially love this find for two reasons. One, because a shit-ton of tattooers these days are like, “I really love these new rotary machines”… NEW? Two, because it has a god damn light on the front! It shows that we’re still just improving upon old inventions by brilliant minds likeThomas Edisonand Samuel O’Reilly. So now when someone talks about the ‘”new rotary design”, you can say, “Man, that shit been played out since the 1920′s holmes!”.
If you are in the L.A. area Saturday night I highly recommend you go check out this event. Besides the fact that going to an art show on a Saturday evening is what all the ‘cool kids’ are doing, Bob and Bert create some beautiful and intriguing art to view. Unfortunately I will not be able to attend due to family business, but if I was in SoCal then that’s where I’d be!
Isn’t it a good feeling when you’re at tattoo convention and you buy a print or a hand made tattoo machine and you know that the money you pay goes directly to that artist? I try very hard to sell my Tattoo Pen to only tattooers and NOT distributers, hell I’ve even refunded orders on eBay many times that came from suspected distributers. Alas, somehow they still seem to get a hold of it and re-retail to tattooers who are too ignorant to know any better or who just don’t care about the magic of this business. These websites you see before you have NOTHING to do with me, the Tattoo Pen or Saltwatertattoo. I DID NOT authorize the sale of my product to them OR the use of my name. One of those unauthorized distributers is selling the pen for FOUR TIMES the original retail price. The Original Tattoo Pen retails from myself for a $1 and the holder $15, if you’re paying more than that, you’re being ripped off. The Original Tattoo Pen can be found on my personal eBay store at http://stores.ebay.com/saltwatertattoo
I have just left Miami this morning and am now on my way to Hawaii. There was some HEAVY tattooing going on last week, my hands still ache from the 11 hour days of non stop ink slinging, 8 days straight. South Beach is so unique, no matter how many times I visit, and even living there, it still never gets old for me. If you are wondering “what does he mean by that?”, just google image search ‘South Beach‘ or ‘South Beach Party‘ and trip out on the pictures that come up! I spend most of my days and nights tattooing, but every other day or so I treat myself to an expensive dinner and late night out. You know what they say, “when in Rome…”. Here are some of the tattoos I made this last week in the sweltering heat of Miami Beach. Enjoy
I am currently not taking appointments and Conventions I only tattoo walk-ups, please DO NOT email me about an appointment. If you would like to contact me about Custom Machines or other inquiries please email me at timchendricks@sbcglobal.net
