BLOG POST: Save Your Skin After You Die

Picture courtesy of Reuters via Mirror

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Mirror online featured a news story of Dutch tattoo artist, Peter van der Helm who has created a way of preserving tattoos after death at his studio, Walls and Skin in Amsterdam. This procedure, which was also covered in another national publication we came across (see right) has shocked the public with the idea of immortalising body art.

You may remember Tappu! interviewed Duncan after he was featured in the notorious Channel 4 series, My Tattoo Addiction. Duncan paid tribute to his pet dog, Thor by including a pinch of his pet’s ashes within his tattoo ink.

Do you think these concepts are too weird or in bad taste, or can you see the value in saving the decorated skin you’ve lived in? We’d love to hear your opinions – you can post directly on this blog entry, tweet us or leave us a message on our Facebook Page.

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Amanda

Twitter: @AmandaCoban
Vine: @AmandaCoban
Instagram: @RadarDetector

GUEST BLOG! Brighton Tattoo Convention 2014

EMMA MENDES DA COSTA returns to Tappu! for a new instalment as our guest blogger. We’re thrilled to have her on board so she can share her latest ink adventures with us.

This week, Emma reports back from a wild weekend beside the seaside at the 7th Brighton Tattoo Convention, held once again at the Hilton Brighton Metropole Hotel. With huge thanks to George Green for his fine photography – see more from George’s portfolio in his Flickr account. Click the images to view larger in a new window!

 

The last time I went to the Brighton Tattoo Convention, it was a comparative tiddler of a show in its second year, held way up on the windswept hills of Brighton Racecourse. Last year, the convention moved to the swanky seaside location of the Hilton, and it’s a joy to see that the event has evolved into a mighty beast. It now hosts over 300 international artists, along with an amazing array of traders, seminars and live entertainment.

Marshall amps by Vicky Morgan

Tattoo artist, Vicky Morgan

As many attendees stay in the hotel for the weekend, the Magnum Opus Tattoo pre-party on Friday night was a packed-out, Sailor Jerry-soaked affair. I snapped up a ‘Heavy Punch’ – an evilly strong cocktail similar to a right hook to the face – and sipped while admiring Marshall‘s new tattoo-themed amps (see left). Marshall teamed up with 5 of the UK’s top tattooists, including Magnum Opus Tattoo‘s own Phil Kyle, and Vicky Morgan (see right) from Ghost House Collective in Derby. The result is a stunning selection of neo-traditional sound kit.

By Alex Binnie, Into You Tattoo, London

I skinned a mouse!

On Saturday, I took time out from roaming the multi-layer labyrinth of booths to take in The Valentine Art Show, organised by Ade from Nine Tattoo Studio in aid of Cancer Research UK. Scores of visiting artists donated love-themed work for the exhibition (see left) which will be auctioned off online at the end of February. That evening, I was treated to Made from the Dead‘s Mouse Anthropomorphic Taxidermy Workshop by self-taught stuffer, Tonja Grüng – I tested my vegetarian sensibilities to the limit by skinning a ripe little rodent (see right).

When Sunday rolled around, Brighton beach was bathed in glorious sunshine and the amorous atmosphere of Valentine’s weekend turned the crowd into a gaggle of loved-up loons.

Total Tattoo Competitions: Jappa, the winner of the A3 Flash Sheet category

Total Tattoo Competitions: Winner of the Ornamental category

The completed work flooded in to the Total Tattoo competitions and everyone gathered in the main bar to admire the stand-out work of the show. Jappa won the A3 Flash Sheet competition with a traditional, Eastern-infused sample of swallows surrounding a ferocious tiger (see left), but the judges were blown away by this year’s winner of the Ornamental category. The astonishing backpiece on Jonathan James (see right) was the result of more than 70 hours of hard graft by Dotwork Damian of Blue Dragon Tattoo Studio in Brighton.

Blue Dragon is Brighton’s oldest established tattoo studio, celebrating its 25th anniversary this year, and the award is proof of its consistent high standards.

I came away from the convention with handfuls of business cards, buzzing with new ideas for tattoos, and proud that the industry can be so positively represented on such a mammoth scale. Next year, I’m hoping to pluck up enough courage to get tattooed in front of a crowd, so I can leave with the ultimate souvenir.

Emma can be found in many corners of the world wide web – she has a WordPress blog, a Twitter profile and an Instagram feed. We highly recommend you follow, like and tweet Emma to your heart’s content, but be sure to check out the Tappu! blog for regular installments from her.

BLOG POST: Stylist Magazine “Women and Tattoos”

Pictures courtesy of Stylist magazine

Stylist magazine featured an editorial piece in December written by Anita Bhagwandas about women with tattoos. (You can also read the full thing on their website.) This report came just before an unsavoury comment from The Guardian concerning body art in general. (At the start of the year, The Guardian boldly – and wrongly – claimed that tattoos should be one of the “13 things to forget in 2014“, identifying them as “So indelibly last year, so indelibly the preserve of elderly attention seekers.”) You may also remember a video posted by BBC News shortly after the London Tattoo Convention 2013 which we shared on the Tappu! News page.

The same questions still stand – do you think there are parts of a woman’s body that should never be touched by the needle? Do you think feminine designs – butterflies, bows or flowers – suit a woman far better than anything else? Are you a lady that loves ink and hopes to have full body coverage one day? Perhaps you share my belief that nobody has the right to comment on whether or not my tattoo choices are a good idea, regardless of my gender? Either way, we’d love to hear your opinions – you can post directly on this blog entry, tweet us or leave us a message on our Facebook page.

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Amanda

Twitter: @AmandaCoban
Vine: @AmandaCoban
Instagram: @RadarDetector

BLOG POST: Feelin’ Vine!

Sept 17, 2013 – Are you on Vine? I was introduced to Vine earlier this year and have been hooked ever since – it’s one of my favourite apps that can easily swallow up my time. Not sure what I’m on about?

Vine is an app owned by Twitter which allows you to create short video clips that play on a continuous loop. You can hold down to record for a non-stop chunk of time (6 seconds maximum) or you can create stop/start videos for stop-motion filming. Some uploads on the Popular Now page range from side-splittingly funny to bewilderingly complex so it’s easy to watch the same upload at least 5 times – before you know it, you realise you’ve spent almost two hours watching (literally) hundreds of 6 second videos posted by strangers. In fact, if I’m ever late for anything – and I often am – you can bet you bottom dollar it’s because of Vine. I’ll be the first to put my hands up and admit to uploading some rubbish – sure, there are boring pet Vines in my uploads (one made it to a “Best Vine Videos” list!) because what would the internet be without them?

I decided to upload a Vine of the process of cleaning my calf tattoos just after the blue skull on my right leg was finished, which you can watch here.

On a separate note, I’ll be getting tattooed tomorrow by Keely Rutherford at East Side Tattoos on Bethnal Green Road in London. My good friend Rayna and I will be getting matching retro-robots! I’m excited to see the design – Keely has such a vibrant style! I’ll be sure to blog the results over the next week or so.

Thanks for reading! And if you’re already on Vine, comment or tweet me your handle so I can see what you’re uploading (even if it’s your cat taking a nap…)!

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Amanda

Twitter: @AmandaCoban
Vine: @AmandaCoban
Instagram: @RadarDetector