Category: Conventions

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Our pick of the artists to watch out for at Brighton Tattoo Convention 2015…

Artists chosen by T&I editor Alice Snape, T&I editorial assistant Rosalie Woodward and T&I managing editor Keely Reichardt…

Here at Things&Ink magazine, conventions are our favourite… like being in a tattoo bubble… we can spend forever searching for artists, and looking at their back catalogue of work. So we’ve compiled this little round-up of some of our favourite artists who are attending the Brighton Tattoo Convention this year, with reasons why we like them. Hopefully we’ll see some of you at the convention, as we will have a stand there all weekend, and you can let us know if you agree with our picks – and crucially who you think we missed…

Kid Kros from Casa Occulta in Split, Croatia @Kidkros
“I love his animals, they range from unbelievably cute to downright frightening, but always intriguing and he perfectly captures their latent personalities. His detailing is mesmerising, especially his jewellery inspired pieces and he’s really finding his feet style wise.” Rosie

Rafaela @rafaela2die4 Tattooing at ‘To die for tattoo’ Leverkusen, Germany
“Rafaela continues to create beautiful women but with a sadness in their eyes that captures my soul. Her colour palette is divine, a wash with pinks and blues, whose depths reflect the tone of the piece.” Rosie

Alix Ge, France @alixge
“I love the way Alix Ge experiments with style and inspiration, including Japanese influences and a more traditional range of colours. Her women are soft with almost plump faces, as if they have been plucked from period dramas, forever suspended in time on someone’s skin. Definitely on my tattoo wish list!” Rosie

“Alix Ge is someone I am saving the top of my arm for (this is a big deal for me, as I used to not want my arms tattooed at all)!  I love the romantic expressions on her lady faces and the rosy coloured cheeks she gives them.  Her style is really interesting in the way she mixes traditional Japanese with beautiful soft women’s faces who look like they have stepped straight out of a Jane Austen novel!”  Keely

Greggletron @greggletron, Scapegoat Tattoo, Portland USA
“He’s just one of the many incredible talents that work out of Scapegoat in Portland (I would get tattooed by all of them). Greggltron uses such a beautiful palette of colours, reds, warm colours that have a wonderful vintage vibe – kind of  traditional with his own twist. The girls he creates are stunning and their eyes are hypnotic.” Alice

Danielle Rose, The Illustration Issue cover star and travelling tattoo artist @DanielleRoseTattoo
“Danielle Rose was our cover star for ‘The Illustration Issue’ and has become one of the most sought after artists of the last 18 months. I have a Larry David portrait by her from 2013, which is still one of my favourite tattoos.  She is particularly well known for her weeping lady faces who have all been characterised into different scenarios – the beekeeper, the punk rocker, even a Marie Antoinette lookalike!”  Keely

Big Sleeps, LA @bigsleeps  
“The godfather of lettering all the way from Los Angeles… Big Sleeps is your go-to man if you want some bold yet beautifully crafted words!” Keely

Matthew Gordon, Berlin, Germany, @Matthew_Gordon
“Matt is currently working on my butterfly lady backpiece, I love how he creates huge pieces that really work on the body. I was first drawn to his work when I saw the front piece that he did on my friend Celine.” Alice

Miss Juliet, Don’t Tell Mama
“I love her ornate and beautiful style, her work is instantly recognisable and the way she creates shapes from hundreds of small lines is amazing.” Rosie

Araceli 4ever, London UK @araceli_4ever
“I have loved watching Araceli grow into her own style as a tattoo artist. I knew her before she started her apprenticeship and she has really come into her own, and created a style that is just hers. She is super-lovely and a beautiful person too.” Alice

Andrea Furci, Seven Doors, London, UK @andreafurci
“Andrea did one of my first ever tattoos (a cameo on my wrist), I love his bold traditional style.”

Bugs, USA
“I love Bug’s style, it is so artistic and unusual and looks like a fusion of cubism, art deco and classical art. A true artist” Alice

David Corden, Edinburgh, UK
“David Corden is an incredible portrait tattoo artist, the likeness he manages to create is just out of this world.” Alice

Also look out for Things&Ink cover stars – past and present: Brian Wilson, Delphine Noiztoy, (stripped back) Wendy Pham (The Identity Issue), Grace Neutral (The Modification Issue) and Tiny Miss Becca (The Celebration Issue)…

Things&Ink the celebration issue 5
Time to party with two of the tattoo world’s leading ladies, Amy Savage and Tiny Miss Becca
Space Elf Grace Neutral on the cover of issue 6 – which launched at last year’s Brighton Tattoo Convention

 

Come and see us at our stand at the convention! And find out if our anatomy issue cover star is also tattooing at The Brighton Tattoo Convention 2015… we cannot wait, see you there?

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Female Tattoo Artist Show

Earlier in September, we had a stand at The 4th Annual Female Tattoo Artist Show in Leamington Spa.

But we wanted to find out more about the need for an all-female tattoo show, and why it was first set up. So we spoke to one of the organisers at CBA Promotions to find out more, see how the show went for them and if any changes will be made to the convention in the future.

How long has the show been running for and who started it? This was our 4th year of running the show and it was started by Dave Boyle with a lot of help from his team at Creative Body Art in Coventry

Why have you chosen to create a female only convention? Honestly, we just wanted to put on a tattoo show and this was the only thing that had not been done in the UK before. The idea came from a show in the USA that has run for more than 20 years.

Is it at related to sexism in the workplace or the tattoo industry? Do you think it is harder for women to get noticed purely for their work? It is not related directly to sexism, however people would be stupid to think that it doesn’t exist. Even now, in our tattoo studio, we have guys come in and ask the female artists where the tattooist is. We were also told by a female artist one year she was denied applying to work a tattoo show “because they already had enough female tattooists on the list”.

I don’t think it’s harder for female artists to get noticed these days, the tattoo industry has come a very long way in recent years and there are now so many amazing tattooists both male and female. Most studios have a female artist – and so they should, I’ve always had female artists in my studio and long may that continue. I can remember when you could count on one hand how many female owned tattoo studios there were in the UK and now that has changed and it’s totally awesome.


Why was the judging done by three men when it is a female only convention? It wasn’t something we gave a great deal of thought to to be honest, in recent years we have had female judges, but like all tattoo shows we grab what judges we can as it’s not a job everyone wants to do, it usually depends who’s free and available at the time.

The entertainment was very similar to other conventions – dancing girls, pinups etc – why did you pick the same formula? The 1st Annual Female Tattoo Show had a very vintage feel. This theme came from the Art Deco and up-market venue, so the show was born from that. We are only a very small, one-day show and we put a lot of time and effort into the entertainment.


What are your plans for next year? Will you change anything? We are currently in the planing stage idea wise for next year’s show, I don’t think we will change much. We have a few things to address and we learn every year and listen to feedback. We make slight changes every year, for example we reduced the entrance fee this year and allowed children in for free, whereas previous shows have been 18 only. We are looking at reducing the cost of trade spaces too, especially for smaller independent traders.

Was the show a success for you? Any words for people wanting to attend next year? This year’s show for us was a huge success! The number of people who attended was up on last year and we had a huge waiting list of artists wanting to work. We also sold out of tattoo booths three months before the show. Anyone thinking about attending next year’s show definitely should as it’s a great day out. There is lots to do in the local area if people wanted to make a weekend of it, we have Shakespeare’s birthplace just up the road, Warwick and Kenilworth Castle and Coventry Cathedral are all great places to visit. Leamington Spa itself has some lovely shops, cafes and bars.

Photos from Things&Ink and Female Tattoo Show

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The UK’s 4th Annual Female Tattoo Artist Show

The Female Tattoo Artist Show is a small and intimate convention packed with an array of different female artists and performers from across the UK. The event will be filled with live music, burlesque acts, fire shows and, of course, tattoos! This is the 4th year that the show has been held at The Assembly and we can’t wait!

We’re most looking forward to seeing Grace Neutral, cover star of Issue 6 The Modification Issue, Anna Garvey and Keely Rutherford. There are many more amazing artists who can add to your tattoo collection: see the full artist list here.

Come and visit us at the Things&Ink stand! See you all there!