Introduction

This is a blog to fill what I, and on further consultation a number of my friends, have discovered in my searches, is a void in the market for tattooing.

I should explain in advance that I am not myself a tattooist and while I have tattoos I am not by any measure an expert.  I am a person who enjoys tattoos. The history, the art and the unexplored beauty, which is so often underappreciated and lost behind a screen of misguided perceptions and long history of negative publicity.

A girlfriend of mine said it perfectly; “tattoo sites seem to be about ‘typical’ kinds of tattoos, on ‘typical’ kinds of tattooed people. The thing that I like about having tattoos is that most people don’t expect me to have them because I don’t fit the traditional mould as such, and I think that most tattoo sites focus on tattooed people, rather than people with tattoos, tattoos as an art form.”

And she is right, I have spent much time searching and looking for inspiration, countless hours of research and referencing to find something that I liked. I trawled website after website and found that my biggest problem lay in that I was not looking for a big piece, I was after something that probably wouldn’t make it into a portfolio. The problem with looking for inspiration for smaller pieces is that unless the owner has posted it themselves, or you know exactly what you’re after it is near impossible to find a resource that provides you with a diverse collective of different styles.

This is what I’m trying to do.

To change perceptions and open up tattooing to a new audience. To make them non-intimidating and accessible to people like me. To provide a platform for people to share their own tattoos and the stories behind them and a place people can find answers to their tattoo questions.

This is about tattoos and the people who have them.

*Please respect that the photos on this blog are either taken by me or are posted with the permission of the owners and will be credited, where possible, to the artists who did them. 


All other images will be credit where possible, obviously with the amount of reposting that occurs on the internet it can be difficult to credit the correct source. In these instances if you come across a picture which is your own or that of somebody you know please email me and I will credit it correctly.