Taking inspiration from Torture Garden’s 25th anniversary this weekend,Hunger beauty editor-at-large Andrew Gallimore and photographer Louie Banks have teamed up to recreate some of the looks you may encounter tonight at the legendary fetish club.
creative director Vicky Lawton photography Louie Banks make-up Andrew Gallimore at CLM Hair and Make Up for Nars Cosmetics stylist Keanoush Da Rosa hair Brady Lea make-up assistant Ana Fry nails Lyndsay McIntosh assistants Stephanie Galea, Rui Jeorge models Maisie at Profile Models, Alina at First Model Management
The Queen celebrates yet another landmark as she reaches her 90th birthday today, Thursday 21 April 2016. We’ve decided to celebrate by sharing our favourite magazine covers starring the Queen… shame she never made it onto a Things&Ink cover, well, it’s never too late to get a tattoo, right?
Our editor Alice Snape is getting excited about the next Brighton Tattoo Convention, here she takes a glimpse at just some of the faces who attended last year in a stunning portrait series, including some familiar faces from the pages of past issues of Things&Ink…
We LOVE tattoo conventions, here at Things&Ink, and one of the highlights in the tattoo calendar is always Brighton Tattoo Convention. Not sure if it’s the sea air, but there’s always such a friendly, party vibe! And it’s the perfect convention to meet up with friends, old and new. Nothing brings people together like a passion for tattoos, after all.
At last year’s convention, I had my photograph taken by James Hole for a portrait series capturing convention-goers and artists. The results are absolutely stunning and a real insight into the contemporary tattoo community. I think this is down to the wonderful nature and talent of the photographer James, who made me feel instantly at ease in front of the camera – I normally hate having my photo taken and he even managed to capture a natural smile (see below). The setting for the images was incredible! In a grand room in the Hilton in Brighton, which you can see glimpses of in each image behind the backdrop.
As part of the portrait series, some interviews were also filmed. They will be coming soon, so watch this space.
Portrait of editor Alice Snape
The next Brighton Tattoo Convention is 30 April – 1 May, which will hopefully mean the sun is shining (the convention is usually in February!) and in a brand-new venue, The Brighton Centre.
And we have TWO weekend tickets to give away, all you have to do is share one of the images in this blog post on Instagram and use the hashtag #BTCTIcomp. We will pick a winner this Sunday 24 April. Good luck and hopefully see you at the convention! We won’t have a stand this year, but we will be taking pics and enjoying the convention, so come say hello!
Some of our favourite BTC portraits are below… all these people have also graced the pages of T&I over the years…
Wendy Pham, cover star of The Identity Issue
Cally-Jo, cover star of The Anatomy Issue
Grace Neutral, cover star of The Modification Issue
Claudia de Sabe, cover star of The Launch Issue
Matt Lodder, art historian
Brian Wilson, cover star of Stripped Back 2/3
Tiny Miss Becca, cover star of The Celebration Issue
Rebecca Vincent, interview in The Love Issue
Andrea Furci, interview in The Art Issue
you can see more portraits on the Brighton Tattoo Convention blog
Our exhibition The Archive #tiarchive has been a wonderful celebration of the end of the printed magazine and new beginnings (you can read more in editor Alice Snape‘s final letter)… And it has been incredible to see our back catalogue of Things&Ink magazines turned into stunning works of art, to raise money for The One Love Project.
Thank you everyone who has been bidding for the #tiarchive over at galabid… We would like to announce that we have extended the auction to end TOMORROW Sunday 17th April at 7pm! So don’t miss out on your favourite items and get bidding!
Wandering around the Vogue exhibition at The National Portrait Gallery, I think of the magazines that have inspired me over the years – and still continue to do so. I have always collected magazines, devoured every page, every inspirational photo shoot and article. From More and Sugar magazine when I was a teenager, to Dazed and Frankie when I was at university, I loved them all! I never dreamt that one day I would launch my own magazine… But I did.
I launched Things&Ink more than three years ago to become a part of that inspirational world that had spoken to me so much while I was growing up. I wanted to provide a source of tattoo inspiration for women and men just like me – who adore tattoos and wanted to see them presented to them in an arts and lifestyle publication.
From the first ever cover with the tattoo artist who inspired me to want to become heavily tattooed to our latest cover for The Horror Issue, the magazine has progressed and grown immensely over the years… and I really hope we have inspired readers, young and old.
Working on the first ever cover
As we prepare for our latest exhibition called The Archive, which sees artists who have featured on our pages over the years turn our back catalogue into works of art in their own right, I realise that it’s time to say goodbye to Things&Ink as a print magazine. Our latest exhibition was created to celebrate everything we have achieved over the years since we have been in publication. And I truly believe that we have made an impact on the tattoo world and beyond by representing tattoos in a interesting and thought-provoking way.
Editor Alice Snape with the now sold-out Horror Issue
However, as much as it pains me to say it, print is dying. Which is heartbreaking for me, I always loved the feel of a new book or magazine! Even the smell, opening the cover and wondering what you will discover… But the magazine world is changing, and without financial support, independently run magazines just cannot survive. As much as I have loved creating every single issue of Things&Ink, I just cannot take the financial burden anymore. Although the magazine looks like it is thriving, it is actually really struggling. I work as a freelance magazine editor and writer, and almost every penny I have earned over the years has been ploughed back into the magazine.
But not to dwell… Things change, evolve, and move into something unexpected. Things&Ink has become a very recognised brand, and although we will no longer exist in print, we will exist online in the form of this blog, and our social media accounts. We will also still organise events and exhibitions and be a hub for people who are passionate about art and tattoos.
I would also like to take this time to thank everyone who has contributed to the magazine over the three years that it has been running. Especially my right-hand women Rosie and Keely, without them I would have probably had a nervous breakdown a long time ago. And also my sister/stylist Olivia and my digital genius friend Pares, who helped me right back when the magazine was purely a figment of my imagination. They have put up with my tears and dramas, and dedicated hours, days, weeks to Things&Ink. All unpaid, all voluntary, just for the love of it. And that goes for every single person who has done something, no matter how big or small, for the magazine. That includes photographers, stylists, designers, writers… So many people.
“I loved watching the magazine come off the presses… such a magical moment every time”
Running a tattoo magazine means that we have had a rare glimpse into the tattoo world, tattoo artists have opened up to us and given us a unique take on what could have been a very closed world. We have met some of the most incredible artists along the way, and hope we continue to do so… I also hope that as many of our readers, contributors, artists, friends and supporters will join us at our exhibition The Archive, opening on Thursday 31 March at the Circle in London… and don’t be sad, come celebrate!
Team T&I at London Tattoo Convention over two years ago…
Thanks so much for reading this, what is my final – and most difficult to write – editor’s letter… it has been a pleasure compiling every issue for you, and I hope I can continue to inspire by curating content for this blog and also artwork for future exhibitions… there’s lots of cool projects brewing.
